Alpnach helicopter base - actual maintenance news

It's always interesting to visit maintenance halls, and Alpnach as maintenance center for all kind of helicopters is of special interest. Unfortunally it was not allowed to take pictures, so the pictures shown here are from earlier public day's - mainly from 2004 🛈

all information out of memory and as accurate as possible

-> save the date !

80 years Alpnach Air Base - April 30th, 2022

Super Puma / Cougar maintenance

- Two special visitors in maintenance actually - Hellenic Air Force HAF 2620 and Albanian Air Force  FA 633. The first in need of an complete overhaul of the aluminium cell due corrossion and the latter on the 150h inspection of the engines.  

- Swiss AF T-318 in regular maintenance circle

- Slowenian AF Cougar expected soon, crashed after colission with an cable and planned to arrive in an NATO C-17A Globemaster to Emmen a few days ago. Due availability problems now expected to arrive on an truck. Incident happened back in 2019 already, possibly involving H3-72.

EC635 and others

- Swiss AF T-356, T-357 and T-358 in regular 800hrs maintenance circle for about six weeks each.

- There are 15km of cables in an EC635, Swiss Air Force and the german Bundespolizei are using the same configuration (cockpit and other systems).

- There is an avionic deck in the back of the EC635 that can be descended for maintenance.

- EC145 T2 HB-ZVA in regular 5yrs revision, NVG system installed.

Back to the Cold War ? Hornets in SST

Strange noises and tails in the Simmental valley - four Hornets out of Payerne where used for an decentralisation exercise on the former military base of St. Stephan (in use 'till 1994).

Contrary to the cold war times, the huge amount of military security personel was very friendly and had a lot of military cookies and chocolate to give - thank you 💗🍫🍫🍫

Such exercises are important for ground and flight personal and are held regularly on Geneva airport and former Swiss Air Force bases like Buochs, Mollis and St. Stephan. Hornets will be back in SST next year, and the new fighter aircraft NFA is also planned to use those bases in the future.

Hornets temporarly in SST

 Good news for the Fans - due an decentralisation exercise, some Hornets will fly the Axalp shooting exercise out of St. Stephan, an airbase in use 'till 1994 y the Swiss Air Force and knowed by enthousiasts for the yearly Hunterfest !

The Hornets will arrive for three days in the second week of repetition course.

100 years Payerne airfield - two days of not public celebrations

 

Another event went private due COVID restrictions - but the little airshows we had watched from outside the fences. September 30th, 2021

Swiss Hornet Display, Swiss Super Puma Display, possibilities of aitr transport with helicopters in the Swiss Air Force and the Patrouille Suisse - not bad like an airshow that never was 👍

Swiss Cargo Trains

Today to something completely different - trainspotting !

Together with nature and military aviation, my lenses had always been in use for trains too. One more, then less and now again some more with the final years of our big locomotives like Re 4/4 and Re 6/6. And yes, many other swiss aviation photographers had also this history - so I'm completely sane 😂