"Patrouille de France" uses eight aircraft that all fly at the same time. A ninth reserve plane always stays on the ground, ready to take off. The call sign of pilots is "Athos" like the character from the famous book "The Three Musketeers". If all pilots have an important role, both the essential leader and his second, called "Charognard" (which is the French word for "scavenger") who present all the display.