US NewsFrench chateau with a collection of WARPLANES: Eccentric collector, 87, boasts world's largest private fleet of 110 fighter jets (and a hovercraft on his lawn)

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The castle is located in Savigny-les-Beaune near Beaune. The website says that it overlooks an impressive estate of several hectares and a fierce collection of fighter jets The Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune, nestled in the rolling hills of Burgundy's wine country, is the last place you'd expect to find a fighter plane which once had atomic bombs strapped expectantly under its wings.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Among the collection are Michel Pont's record breaking collection of WWII fighter planes. The Vautour, pictured, was designed during the 1950s and not removed from service until the 1970s. 28 of the 149 built were supplied to Israeli military Michel Pont, who is the world's biggest private collector of fighter planes with 110 according to the Guinness Book of World Records, inherited the castle in the 1980s and stuffed every corner of his property with his prized possessions.

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Video: French chateau with a collection of WARPLANES : Eccentric collector , 87 , boasts world ' s largest private fleet of 110 fighter jets ( and a hovercraft on his lawn ). Michel Pont, is the world ' s biggest private collector of fighter planes with 110 according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

This French chateau is home to the world ’ s largest private collection of fighter jets . Parked on its lawns were an F-100F Super Sabre, an F-16, a MiG-21, and the French At the last count, his collection of fighter jets numbered 110 , officially listed by Guinness as the largest collection of its

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited In addition to the planes which include the F-100F Super Sabre above, the estate includes a collection of 30 tractors used specifically in the vineyard

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Dassault Super Mystère (pictured above) is a French fighter-bomber and is pictured on the grounds of Michel Pont's estate

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Despite all the military hardware, the Château de Savigny les Beaune, is still a functioning vineyard and winery

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The French Air Force, Dassault MD-450B, known as Ouragan or 'Hurricane.' It was the first French designed combat aircraft to enter production

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The DH 112 Venom, pictured, is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft and was used by the RAF during the Suez crisis

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, pictured above, is a Soviet plane which earned itself the nickname 'Silver Swallow' in Vietnamese and was the most produced combat aircraft since the Korean war His collection and the abundant size of the property has allowed him to open nine separate museums in the castle, one for each type of vehicle.

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Or a record-breaking collection of World War II fighter jets for that matter. Not to mention a warehouse full of vintage firetrucks, 200 antiques motorbikes Wow that is impressive - I had a look on his website but couldn't see a list of the full collection . I assume from the commentary above that the

Guiness World Records/YouTube. A French vinter holds the world record for the number of fighter jets in private hands. Pont has 110 aircraft, mostly fighters but including a handful of military helicopters. His collection is diverse. Chronologically it starts with the Gloster Meteor, the U.K.’ s first

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Dassault Mirage III (pictured above) is a single-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft. It was  developed and manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation Some of the most memorable sites of the museum include a soviet helicopter sitting on the back lawn, a 1970s hovercraft, a warehouse full of vintage firetrucks, 200 antique motorbikes and 36 racing cars.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The F-16, pictured above, is single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved to be used in all weather scenarios Transporting all of the machines from across the world was a task in itself.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Vought F-8 Crusader (pictured above), a plane developed by the French Navy, was primarily used during the Vietnam war

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French chateau with a collection of WARPLANES : Eccentric collector , 87 , boasts world ’ s largest private fleet of 110 fighter jets ( and a hovercraft The Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune, nestled in the rolling hills of Burgundy's wine country, is the last place you'd expect to find a fighter plane which

French chateau with a collection of WARPLANES : Eccentric collector , 87 , boasts world ’ s largest private fleet of 110 fighter jets ( and a hovercraft The Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune, nestled in the rolling hills of Burgundy's wine country, is the last place you'd expect to find a fighter plane which

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited A Belgian fighter aircraft, the Dassault Mirage 5 BA, can be seen sitting on the front lawn of Michel Pont's medieval castle at Chateau Savigny-lès-Beaune in Burgundy

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Mirage 5, pictured above, was built after Israel requested 50 units in September 1966. Due to the rising tensions in the Middle East, their production was put on hold later in 1967 by Charles de Gaulle. The jets were also sold to Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Pakistan, Peru, Venezuela, and Zaire

Pont dismantled one himself on a runway in Djibouti and rebuilt it when he got it back to the confines of the castle.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Nord Noratlas (pictured above) was a dedicated military transport aircraft, developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation Many came from WWII scrapheaps in Belgium and Poland.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French jet attack aircraft used by the RAF and French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear attack role. It's still used by the Indian Air Force with modifications 'When you have a head for collecting you find a way,' Pont told MessyNessy.

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© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Aero Jet Trainer L-39 Albatros, pictured above, was a Czechoslovakian training aircraft used during the 1960s He said that it was his parents who inspired his passion for heritage.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Dassault Mirage III was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizontal flight The octogenarian was also in the French air force and said he caught the bug by speaking with pilots and buying planes when they were declared unfit for service.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Originally built as a supersonic interceptor aircraft, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, eventually became widely used as an attack plane He told Guinness World Records that he wanted to stop them from being destroyed.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The Dassault Super Mystère, pictured above, is a French fighter-bomber and was the first Western European supersonic aircraft to enter mass production As all military bases are closed to the public in France, Pont believes this is a way to let people get up close with fighter jets and he opens his property and surrounding estate as a museum.

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Many of Pont's planes were discovered in the WWII boneyards of Poland and Belgium. One he deconstructed himself on a runway in Djibouti to rebuild when he returned from the Chateau

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The Château de Savigny les Beaune sits on a 50 acre vineyard and the cellar contains vintages dating back 600 years

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The Canadair Sabre was an aircraft manufactured for use during the Korean war. It was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Canadian Air Force

More than 30,000 people visited the Chateau during 2018.

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© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Pont's collection boasts more than one hundred fighter planes with some helicopter plus over 2000 models inside the castle Originally built in 1340 for the Duke of Burgundy, the Chateau was demolished during the 1400s and later rebuilt and restored in the 17th Century.

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The Château de Savigny les Beaune is open for tourism and saw 30,000 people visit its nine permanent museums last year

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The Ouragon or 'Hurricane' were purchased in India who renamed it the Toofani (Typhoons). Israel bought 24

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In combat over Korea, the Soviet made Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was successful as a straight-winged jet day fighter

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited While earlier Mystère variants could attain supersonic speeds only in a dive, the Super Mystère could exceed the speed of sound in level flight Along with the impressive collection of military hardware, it is still a 66 acre vineyard with vintages dating back 600 years.

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