For the 13th time we left in the winter towards the Alpine region. The intention was to visit the entire north of Italy. The last time was already back in 2016. Because we wanted to start in the west, the most efficient route runs through France.
Saturday 18th February 2023
We left pretty early, because we had no idea about the traffic during the carnival weekend. The first stop was Lyon Bron. Soon an AS350 arrived from Hélicopteres de France, with a sticker "First on top of the world - 8850 meters".
The same platform was shared by the SAMU, Securite Civile and Gendarmerie. We didn't get any visit at the SAMU. They waited for a doctor and would leave immediately. After 45 minutes they were still there! Anyway, the first SAMU was in the pocket. SAF is the operator.
The Securite Civile is still using the classic EC145.
At last, also the Gendarmerie
Before we left, a Falcon 10 passed by, a dying breed.
A very productive first stop. We continued to Grenoble hospital. Unfortunately, the based SAMU 38 had just left. We waited for some time, but they got another follow up mission. Since the last visit, a large helipad has been built on the roof. I expect, there is space for 3 to 4 helicopters to park. When we arrived, Dragon 38-2 of the Securite Civile and an EC145 of the Gendarmerie were present.
The last stop of the day was Grenoble – Le Versoud. Via Facebook I had seen a nice place from the outside. This one was tried first. Pretty soon Dragon took off 38-1. In this case an H145D3, the last version of Airbus H145 with 5 blades. Then it got dark. We were still in a long traffic jam towards Alpe d'Huez.
Sunday 19th February 2023
The first stop was altiport Henri Giraud at Alpe d'Huez. Always nice to drive up this alp, by car.... Along the way it became painfully clear that there was little snow. Two AS350s have now been put outside at SAF.
A while later followed by Dragon 38-2
Pretty soon they left for the first mission
We continued to the south, airfield Gap-Tallard. The based SAMU was operated by MCS Babcock. It is an upgraded T3.
There was also a factory of ultralights and the headquarters of Hélicopteres de France. This includes Mont Blanc Helicopters, Swiftcopters, Eagle Valais & Tahiti Nui Helicopters. Among other things, there was an AS350 without a rotor with a lot of sand from the Dakar Rally 2023. Probably straight from the container. This helicopter had been a photo ship there. They also had a SAMU that is only used for minor accidents, which do not require a doctor. For others the yellow SAMU is used.
On our way to Briançon we passed Saint Crepin. An SAF was quickly catched.
Because the Gendarmerie is going to replace the EC145’s with the H145D3, we wanted to visit two more locations. Unfortunately, there was no activity in Briançon. Then we continued to Modane. Unexpectedly we already entered Italy. Apparently, we had to cross the Frejus tunnel twice. A return ticket would costs € 66. We thought that was a lot of money for one helicopter. We kindly thanked them and drove on to Turin. It wasn't dark yet, so first along Turin – Aeritalia. Present was an Airgreen AW139. The HEMS concessions in Italy are made per region. In Piedmonte this is Airgreen. The based I-NOST has been leased to Vigili del Fuoco Trentino for some time. I had seen this there before.
Monday 20th February 2023
The day started very foggy. Fortunately, our first appointment was at Airgreen in Cafasse. They had three SA315 Lamas that will soon go to the Argentina Army. Probably as a spare.
We were only allowed to photograph their helicopters, but the others were much more interesting. These included two white Bell 412s destined for Africa and helicopters from Carabinieri, Vigili del Fuoco and Guardia di Finanza. Two HEMS AW139s were present. A white one and this yellow one
A nice visit. Continue to Torino-Caselle. During the first visit we were not allowed to enter Vigili del Fuoco at the time, during the second visit in 2019 the helicopter was being maintained by Airgreen. Now the third attempt. Fortunately, there were two Bell 412s. One with and the other without weather radar nose. At various locations, the Bell 412s have already been replaced by the AW139. Leonardo, formerly Agusta Bell, is especially difficult to supply spare parts. Because people prefer to sell their newer AW139/AW169/AW189.
Please note the colored tailrotor in the national Italian colors.
At a car maintenance company near Venaria Reale there was a nice G91 as an eye-catcher. The tail and nose cone belong to another G91.
In the fog we saw five Bell 205 / AB412 of the Escercito at Venaria Reale. On the way to the sunny south, Cuneo – Levaldigi. Here we expected a AW169 from Airgreen, but it was exchanged for a larger model. We had to wait a while before she returned.
During an earlier visit in 2019, a S64 from the Corpo Forrestale was also parked here, but that seemed like a bit of luck at that time. We drove to the next destination. Because the road was closed, we had to go in a different direction. Surprise!! A beautiful Sikorsky 64 of the Vigili del Fuoco appeared. A nice bonus.
The last destination this day was Alessandria. Here was the AW169 that we expected earlier. Question resolved.
Tuesday 21st February 2023
The first location was Borgosesia. They were busy giving the AB139 a daily wash, so we had to wait a while. Airgreen introduced the Agusta Bell 139 in 2006, around the Olympic Games in Turin. They decided it was nice to give the first two the colors of the Italian flag. We had already seen the other 139 in Cafasse.
.Malpensa is not too far away. There we had a visit at the Polizia di Stato, RV2. Their most modern toy is the AW139. An engine test was made. The engines are so powerful that one can take off on one engine. Although that will not be possible at a higher altitude.
Fortunately, our guide was willing to put the Bell 212 outside in the spotlight. This chopper is becoming a dying breed within the PdS.
Inside was another Partenavia 68. This has been sold and the Polizia titles were already removed. After maintenance, this aircraft will leave for its new owner.
We made a tour around the airport to see if there is anything outside at the Vigili del Fuoco. We were lucky.
A quick stop at the Agusta museum and we moved on to Varese – Venegono. There was nothing to see at the Guardia di Finanza. An Italian M-345 made a test flight and a P180 was doing calibration rounds. She made one final flyby before heading home.
Next destination was Como-Villa Guardia in the Lombardia region. The domain of MCS Babcock. The call sign is Horus, which is also applied at the tail of the helicopters.
Continue to Milano-Bresso. Since the previous visit, the station had been moved to the other side of the airport. The airport was built in 1912 and there are still some historic hangars. The Breda aircraft were built here in the past. Luckily the sun came out again, so we could take some pictures before sunset. The hangar in the background was formerly used for maintenance of the Hueys. It is currently out of use and a tent hangar has been placed next to it.
Wednesday 22nd February 2023
We started in Sondrio. The own helicopter was not present, but a backup was. Judging by the registration, this is often a backup.
We had to go back south along Lake Como. On the way a short visit to Elitellina in Talamona. Many helicopters were on their way, so there was not so much to photograph on this day.
In Bergamo we visited Horus 5. Due to the poor visibility, the helicopter had not flown yet and was waiting on the ramp.
On to the next HEMS helicopter in Brescia, Horus 4. Fortunately, they told us in Bergamo that the location has changed recently. The AW139 is too large to operate safely from the helipad at the hospital. The location was moved to Brescia-Montechiari airport. A quiet airport, but the helicopter could not be photographed. Sometimes things don't work out. This gave us the opportunity to go to Verona, in the Veneto region. This region is also assigned to MCS Babcock. Good timing, the helicopter had to leave immediately for the next mission.
We were now ahead of schedule. Since Trento was on the program the following day, this gave the opportunity to visit already the local Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics. This factory produced aircraft between 1910 and 1950. In addition to various Caproni aircraft, there was also a Fokker D.VIII from 1918. The frame is still original!
The nicest plane was an SM-79 III Sparviero L-113 in the livery of the Lebanon Air Force
Thursday 23 February 2023
We started in Trento at the Vigili del Fuoco Trentino. This is the only unit in Italy where the fire brigade and HEMS are integrated. I visited this unit here already several times. My main target was a temporary AW139 leased from MCS Babcock. Fortunately, this helicopter flew the past few days. Except on this day. A 900-hour inspection was scheduled and the helicopter was completely locked in.
There was also an AS350 hired from Helica. Both hired machines are a temporary replacement for the crashed AW139 and AS350.
Brigitte stood outside, an aging AS365. Despite its age, the most reliable helicopter of the entire club. It will be replaced this year by the H145.
On the way to Padova. There was no flying activity here either, but they were kind enough to move the AW169 out. The sale of MCS Babcock to Ancala has recently been completed. And the Babcock stickers were already removed here. During previous visits, the company was still part of Inaer, so next time it will be different again.
Next destination: Venice. The visit to the Vigili del Fuoco went differently than planned. We already provided the ID data twice. Apparently, something had gone wrong. And it couldn't be fixed quickly. Too bad: unfortunately no Vigili del Fuoco AW139. The second visit here was at the Polizia di Stato, 10RV. That went as scheduled. It wasn't great flying weather yet, but the helicopters did go out. The AW139 was equipped with FLIR here.
The Bell 206 is used for more simple police work around the corner, such as traffic controls, crowd management, etc. They still have two.
There was also an Agusta 109 in storage, the last of the Polizia di Stato. And an P68.
The last visit of this day was Treviso. Here was the same helicopter as during my last visit in 2019, but then it was sunny. So no photo today.
Friday 24th February 2023
Aviano was scheduled for this morning. However, the visibility was 500-1000 meters. That offers little perspective and would certainly not give us the beautiful mountains in the background. Then we went straight to the next stops: Eli Friulia. The first visit was at Trieste – Ronchi dei Legionari Airport, the main base. Two AS350s were parked outside!
They come in various colors, such as this one in the Italian colors.
The next location was Udine, on an AMI barracks belonging to Rivolto. To our surprise there were two H145s. One for HEMS region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the other for civil protection. During 2023, two other regions in the south will also be served. That is why there are still a few H145s on order.
I-GOOO is an H145T2
I-DNAM is an H145D3 with five blades
A little further north in Tolmezzo was the next location. One helicopter is based here. This was already neatly put outside for us.
This helicopter is used for various airwork tasks, but can also support avalanche generation and search for victims if things go wrong. This device is attached to a rope of 8 meters. If the helicopter hovers 80 meters above the avalanche, it can still track skiers who are buried under an avalanche of 5 meters of snow. Provided they are equipped with the correct safety sensor.
Eli Friulia's last location was in Audore - Cima Gogna. Also this helicopter could be photographed outside. This one was also in our pocket.
The last HEMS location was nearby in Pieve di Cadore. After waiting for a while, it came back from a mission.
The last location was Fiames. This heliport is at the location of the airport Fiames. After a few fatal accidents, due to the difficult conditions (wind in combination with high mountains), this airport was closed in 1976. There is only one helicopter based, so the chance of a photo was very small. By chance, this helicopter came back just before we arrived. With a bit of luck I could take a picture before dark.
This was the last location in Italy. There were still a few locations in Austria in the planning. The weather forecast for Saturday was rain and snow, depending on the altitude. So we wanted to pass the Felbertauern before Saturday. On the north side of the tunnel, hotel costs proved to be extremely expensive. In combination with the bad weather forecast, we decided to go home immediately. The missing helicopters in Austria still wish for a future.
In summary, several nice helicopters have been added. Little snow and several large reservoir lakes were dramatically empty. Unfortunately, the second part of the trip was affected by the weather. But fog in the north of Italy is common. There will probably be a next visit. In this week we still covered 4140 kms.
Regards,
Michiel
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