Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/734031
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2016 News Malta could get its own resident aerobatic display team YANNICK PACE AN aerobatic display team is in ad- vanced talks with local authorities to start using Malta as their base of operations, MaltaToday has learnt. Darts Aviation, which will soon start operations out of Malta, will have no fewer than 14 airfcraft based in Malta, which will be used as the training and operations base. Project founder and lead pilot Denis Mouterde told MaltaToday that the company already operated the 9 Aero L-39 Albatros aircraft built by Aero Vodochody in the Czech republic. "It's one of the most famous training military planes in the world, and was also used as a light fighter plane. We have 14 pilots who are trained internally and we are one of the few civilian teams around. We are also one of the larger teams since we operate using nine aircraft whereas most other teams are made of about eight or less," Mouterde said. His passion for flying started when he was 18 years old, and joined the Aeroclub in Lyon. The majority of teams flying at air shows are military teams, so Darts Aviation is pushing for more civilian teams such as the Brei- tling team. Malta's aviation sector has been steadily growing, but at- tracting an aerobatic display team would be something new. "I had been thinking about set- ting up a jet-team for a while until one day I entered the Grand Har- bour for what was supposed to be a one night stop-over en route to the Canary Islands," Mouterde said. "That was the day this island be- came my home. I quickly discov- ered that Malta would be the ideal spot to set-up a jet team both in terms of the infrastructure as well as HR resources." He said that the authorities had been open to the type of project Darts Aviation wanted to develop. "There is also the fact that the cli- mate is quite good here and Malta also allows us to use Maltese air- space over the sea where we can practise without really bothering anyone." Darts Aviation is expected to start training in Malta in a couple of months, following which they will hold "a grand opening" to pre- sent the team. "Then from next year, let's say from next April we will start to perform in different countries around the world," Mouterde said. Darts Aviation plans to have some 70 employees: "We have 14 pilots who each have their own plane and each plane then has its own engineer, which means we have 14 engineers with us. "We also have a supply plane to carry our ground staff, equipment and spare parts when we go to shows. Then we have roughly an- other 10 people working on the lo- gistical side, so we're talking about a smoke and pyrotechnic techni- cian and administrative staff. We also plan to have about 20 to 30 people working on the merchan- dising side of the brand." Darts Aviation also plans on having a central shop in another country and also a mobile shop to follow them around wherever they go. The company plans on taking a part of its profit from the merchandise and use it for a good cause locally. "We would like to give some- thing back to the community that we are going to be working with," Mouterde added.