French Riviera the weather between various locations. Strong winds such as the Mistral, a cold dry wind from the northwest or from the east, are another characteristic, particularly in the winter. Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes département are sheltered by the Alps. The winds are usually gentle, from the sea to the land, though sometimes the mistral blows strongly from the northwest, or, turned by the mountains, from the east. In 1956 a mistral from the northwest reached at Nice Airport. Sometimes, in summer, the sirocco brings high temperatures and reddish desert sand from the Sahara. (See Winds of Provence.) Rain can be
Aviasud Mistral of aircraft. Aviasud Mistral The Aviasud Mistral is a French two-seat ultralight biplane built by Aviasud Engineering. This plane is notable as it has forward swept wings and side-by-side seating. The lower wings are movable and are used as the roll control (wing leveler). The aeroplane (along with the Sirocco) was taken over, and is still supported by, Aériane in 1989. The Aviasud Mistral was designed by two Belgian engineers, Francois Goethals and Bernard d'Otreppe. The prototype first flew in May 1985, and the aircraft entered production with AviaSud engineering in Fréjus, with the first production model having its maiden