Basevisit Payerne - Night flights with NVG's

 

Payerne Air Base hosted two guided basevisits for photographers in February/March, 2025. Inscription necessary, and only one date of the two to each person. As exspected the visits where full in a very short time - but your webmaster was successfull for the second date.

The pictures during the day where perfect, weather was sunny, positions where great and quite a lot of activity. But the main party for myself was the nightflight activity from inside the fence at the marshaller area - a rare event for me because of my working times, the luggage to take with me and also a bit the distance. 

Anyway, this day I was travelling without bycicle and had the big gear with me - including stativ, three camera bodies, three lenses and last, but not least, my Night Vision Goggles. Those where used the last few years only on animals, time to test them with Hornets of Steel. And yes - looking good !

Merci à la Base aérienne de Payerne pour cette possibilité 💗

Supplemental Nightflying activities in Mai 2021

 

Repetition course of fo av 11 at Payerne Air Base will see supplemental nightflying activities on:

- Monday 17th 'till 2200h LT and

- Thuesday 25th 'till 2200h LT

Be aware that during repetition course some time restrictions are changed: Normal flight activity will be from 0700-1800h LT without the normal times of departures and landings. It's possible that also some jets will take off or landing in between 1200-1330h, normally a nogo in normal activity (except QRA).

Repetition course of fo av 11: Mai 10th - 28th, 2021

Participation of the Swiss Air Force on International Exercices 2021

The Swiss Air Force will be participating on the following exercises with aircraft and/or personnel:

- NIGHTHAWK, Denmark: Special Forces Night training, 80 persons, 3 weeks.

- MAGDAYS 21, Germany: Interoperability, with Hornets flying out of there bases in Switzerland (no landings in Germany planned), 3 days.

- VOLFA 21, France: Interoperability, with Hornets flying out of there bases in Switzerland (no landings in France planned), 3 weeks.

- NATO TIGERMEET 21, Portugal: Interoperability, Hornets based in Portugal, 45 persons, 2 weeks.

- ARCTIC CHALLENGE EXERCISE 21, Sweden: Interoperability, Hornets based in Sweden, 45 persons, 2 weeks.

Source: The Federal Council

Flight schedule Payerne 2021

Finally - our main base published also the planned activity for 2021 👍

Most of Swiss Air Force's Air policing missions - called Luftpolizeidienst LPD24 / Service de police aérienne 24 (PA24) / Servizio di polizia aerea 24 (PA24) in german/french/italian - where flown out of Payerne. Since December 31st, 2020 those missions are 24/365 'round the clock possible, callsign on radio is HAMMER. 

-> note the info concerning rescheduled flight times for the week of January 18-21 at the end

Special events 2021

January

04 Begin of regular training activity 2021

February

22-05 Pilot School on PC-21 (normally based in Emmen)

March 

22-02 Swiss Hornet Display training weeks

April

05-16 Patrouille Suisse training weeks (mostly out of Emmen), trainings in Bellechasse and Payerne planned

30-01 100 years Payerne airfield - public day Mai 1st

Mai

10-28 Repetition course CR av 11

June

07-11 Flightweek with Mirage IIIDS of Clind'Ailes Museum

21-16 Instruction week / runway closed (aircrafts out of Emmen)

July

19-23 Flightweek with Mirage IIIDS of Clind'Ailes Museum

September

13-17 Flightweek with Mirage IIIDS of Clind'Ailes Museum

20-08 exercice Nighthawk (helicopter)

October

04-29 test weeks with the new ADS 15 drone system

11-29 Repetition course CR av 14 / TA 1

November

22-10 Helicopter exercise in Vidsel (SE) 15-26

29-10 Yorknite exercise (Night flight Training, UK), Meiringen crews the two weeks before

December

16 End of regular training activity 2021

-> info concerning rescheduled flight times for the week of January 18-21

There where some important changes to the regular combat jet flight times (0830-1200/1330-1700h LT) during this week: 1000-1200/1330-1930h LT ! This is a test for possible further use due night flight restrictions in Switzerland. So the normal night flight session on monday eventing 'till 22h LT is also cancelled, training missions of the Air Police on wednesday evening is still valid.

YORKNITE 2020 - night flying of Swiss Hornets in scotland

Our Hornets are migrating to the north again - since many years the night flying training campaign is held in Norway and Scotland. Up to ten Hornets will be based on RAF Leeming from November 24th 'til December 18th,2020.

press release - source: