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.

LTDB with reduced flighthours of the fleet due COVID'19

 

The Lufttransportdienst des Bundes (LTDB, the military transport agency for the government with BizJets and Helicopters) flew 463 hours for the Administration in 2020 (2019: 680):

Super Puma Display Team season planning 2021

 

The Swiss Super Puma Display Team will also begin the training week soon and will be present on some shows if #COVID19 will end. Stay safe and wear masks !

Repetition course TA1 in SST

Normally based in Payerne, TA 1 (Helicopter) is making there yearly repetition course out of the former Swiss Air Force base of St. Stephan the next weeks:

SST is known for the famous Hunterfest and has an webcam - so you can watch some activity there:

Webcam SST

Measurement of Radioactivity - Swiss Air Force with Tiger F-5 and Super Puma

Every year an special campaign week to detect radioactivity (Aerial radiometry) is driven by the Swiss Air Force. This - in combination with the ground based Automatic Dose Alarm and Monitoring Network (NADAM),  the Network for Automatic Monitoring of the Dose Rate in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants (MADUK, also ground based) and bi-monthly flown missions with the EKUR-equipped sample filter on an F-5 Tiger II - allows the government to monitor the ambient dose rate in and above Switzerland.
The Section Environmental Radioactivity (URA) of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (SFOPH) operates also two distinct air collection networks: RADAIR and LUSAN.


EKUR-Pod / Höhenflugfilter (HFF) on the F-5 Tiger

Two filters attached to the F-5 Tiger are deployed in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, meaning between 8,000 and 15,000 meters altitude, to collect aerosol samples. The filters are then analyzed in the URA laboratory in Liebefeld using gamma spectrometry. This method allows to detect the smallest concentrations of radioactivity in the higher air layers. Since the rapid air mass movements (jet streams) play primarily in the higher air layers, very large-scale shipments of radioactivity can be detected quickly before the radioactivity settles on soil and plants. Each flight takes 20-30 minutes and samples in between 2000 and 4000 kg of air with Mach 0.8.

Link

Sample collector on the F-5 Tiger II and the results of the flights 2010-2016

Aerial radiometry with the Super Puma

Aerial radiometry enables the NEOC (National Emergency Operational Centre, the federal centre of expertise for exceptional incidents) to measure nuclide-specific deposits in the soil and activity over a large area. This is performed by a measurement system consisting of a NaI detector with a volume of 16.8 l; a spectrometer with 256 channels and automatic gain control; industrial computers for the control of the measurements, for data collection, processing and storing. For positioning a GPS receiver is used.
In three hours, a surface area of up to 70km2 can be measured. The measured values are tracked online and are presented in a ready-to-print map on landing. Aerial radiometry is used if a larger area needs to be scanned for radioactivity, e.g. following a transport accident, plane crash or during the search for sources of radioactivity that have either been lost or acquired illegally.

You can see Super Puma T-322 in use with the special equipment, monitoring the cities of Solothurn and Fribourg, the four national nuclear power stations, the area in between Berne and Kandersteg and the area of lake geneva. 

Some pictures taken Mai 30th, 2018 above Fribourg/Freiburg:

Spectacular views with the Poya-Bridge - the helicopter has to follow the ground in 90m distance and in exact lines of 250m

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Fribourg, built in the Gothic style, dominates the center of the medieval town of Fribourg (Switzerland). It is built on a rocky outcrop 50 metres above the river Sarine (Saane).

The results of the flights showed normal readings and will be used as 0 (Zero)-probe of the city in case of an emergency.

ALPA MILI - Swiss Air Force will support some alps with fresh water

Like in 2015, many alps in Switzerland have again not enough water for the cows and other animals. After an hard winter and not much rain thereafter, the water sources are limited. Swiss Air Force will help and use Super Puma / Cougar helicopters with Bamby buckets in support of the civil helicopter companies.

Super Puma Display Team cancelled the displays in Kreuzlingen and Rapperswil for this weekend in support of ALPA MILI !
EDIT 21.08.2016: Also the displays im Zeiningen amd Dittingen are cancelled !

Some lakes received temporary restrictions for swimming / boating, duration is 1 to 3 weeks, here are those in Canton of Fribourg (Canton of Vaud and Berne are also in the program, but you have to search for yourself then):

Lac de Gruyère / Gruyère Lake, Canton of Fribourg

Lac de Montsalvens / Montsalvens Lake, Canton of Fribourg:

June 21st, 2018: Pope visits Geneva - strenghtened Air Police

Swiss Air Force will reinforce the Air Police LPD24 during the visit in Geneva. The Pope will held a mess with  41'000 places (already sold out). Up to 200 soldiers for medical help and logistics are ready.

Temporary Flight Restrictions 21.06.2018:
- from 0900-2100h LT on the line Geneva Airport–Bogis-Bossey, Radius of 10 nautical miles
- for helicopters and small aircrafts (normal traffic for GVA is permitted)

Link

Restriction zone - http://staysafe.bazl.admin.ch/besuch-papst-franziskus-in-genf-einschraenkungen-des-luftraumesvisite-de-pape-francois-a-geneve-creation-dune-zone-reglementee/

On other international events in the area (G8 summit 2003, Francophonie summit 2010), an participation of the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) and a mixed CAP (Combat Air Patrol) was installed. This is not yet discussed for the pope.

Swiss Air Force supported 'Berghilfe' with an special transport by Super Puma

On Mai 9th, Swiss Air Force helped the 'Schweizer Berghilfe' - an organisation to help people working high up in the mountains celebrating 75th anniversary in 2018 - to install a crane on the Rigi Mountain.

(all pictures by the Swiss Air Force)

Source: https://www.vtg.admin.ch/de/armee.detail.news.html/vtg-internet/verwaltung/2018/18-05/forces-aeriennes---transport-aerien-a-vitznau.html

Royal Canadian Armed Forces to upgrade the CH149 Cormorant

RCAF announced to upgrade the 14 CH149 Cormorant with Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade Program (CMLU) based on AW101-612 (Norway) and expand the fleet by up to seven additional AW101s to serve beyond 2040. The upgrade consists of an digital 360° radar, cell-phone detection system and 4-axis digital Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS).
AW101 are in military use by Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Italy, the UK and many other countries in the world.

Pictures
In 2002, one of the new CH149 was on static display on the former military airfield of Interlaken due Airmed'02 exposition. Pilots where intrigued by the very well equipped Agusta A-109K2 of the REGA nearby, but budget had not permitted to equip Canada's new SAR helicopter with FLIR and other important gadgets from the beginning.

 

 

Norway sent an SeaKing to AirMed'02 - actually the country uses 16 new AW101-Mk612

REGA introduced the A109K2

Swiss Air Force with former (Alouette III, above) and new SAR-helicopter (Super Puma)