Swiss helicopter town Alpnach,
Alpnach is the Swiss Air Force`s
primary helicopter base, located just south of Luzern and near to the
legendary mountain of Pilatus. The base is the headquarters to
Lufttransportgeschwader 2 - (Air Transport Wing 2); the latter composed
of Lufttransportstaffeln 6 and 8 - (LT St 6 & 8) and also housing a RUAG
facility for overhauls.
Alpnach is a photography friendly base. A public road goes through the
centre of the airfield to behind the long line of large hangars. A
raised public viewing area has been built to watch or photograph the
helicopters. With the sun being in the best place for pictures in the
mornings.
The first helicopter was based here back in 1964 when an Alouette 2 unit
took up residence. Since then jet aircraft such as the Hawker Hunter and
Northrop F-5 have operated from here, although fixed wing operations
ceased back in 1994. LTSt.6 and LTSt.8 are now the resident squadrons
operating a mix of Alouette 3, Puma, Cougar and EC.635 helicopters.
The Swiss Air Force is currently in the
process of modernising its utility helicopter fleet, with the venerable
Aerospatiale Alouette III being replaced by the Eurocopter EC635.
Backbone of the Swiss light helicopter fleet for many years has been the
Aerospatiale Alouette III. 84 SA316B Alouette III's were purchased from
1964, with a final batch of 60 F+W Emmen built examples which were
delivered between 1972 and 1974. By 2009, less then 30 Alouette IIIs
remained in service. They are used for training, light transport, fire
fighting and mountain rescue.
The fleet of Aérospatiale AS.332M-1 Super Pumas is composed of 15
aircraft, purchased between 1986 and 1989. Apart from troop and
equipment transport, the Super Puma is particularly effective against
forest fires. Two Super Pumas are permanently kept on one hour alert
status for Search and Rescue (SAR) duties. They are fitted with FLIR and
night vision equipment to assist the crew with their duties.
The success of the Puma let to the purchase of 12 AS.532UL Cougars. They were delivered from 2002. 1 example
(T-331) is equipped for VIP transport and normally resides at Bern, Belp
airfield, the rest are used for general transport duties.
The Swiss Air Force officially announced a requirement for a replacement
for the Alouette III. The requirement was filled by an order for 20
Eurocopter EC135/EC635 helicopters. The batch of 20 aircraft ordered was
composed of two EC135P2+ VIP transport helicopters and 18 EC635P2+
aircraft for utility and advanced training. An added bonus in the
training role is that the EC635 has similar avionics and instruments to
the Super Puma and Cougar helicopters also operated by the Swiss
Air Force, providing an easier transition for new pilots.
For the moment, the Alouette and EC635 currently remain operational
alongside each other, but delivery of the remaining EC635s on order will
mean final retirement of the Alouette III.
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