2nd March
We arrived in the early morning at the foot of Alpe d’Huez. After some sleep we headed for the famous mountain. It was grey in the valley, but when we finished the 21 hair pin bends, the sun shined. The altiport (1812 mtrs) was covered with snow. Unfortunately the Securite Civile EC145 remained inside, but a SAF AS350 was already outside.
It was an impressive visit due to the views, but less interesting for photography. Back in the grey valley we found the SAMU at the CHU Grenoble – La Tronche, operated by SAF-Helicap.
Outside the town we went to Le Versoud for the next Securite Civile helicopter. Outside was only a SAF AS350, F-GZSH, as the Securite Civile was on a mission.
First the heli from Alpe d’Huez arrived to get some spare parts.
Shortly followed by the based Dragon 38. They were busy today and were forced to make a hot refueling. Directly followed by the next mission.
Albertville was empty and we headed for our main target, Altiport Courchevel. It is located at a height 2008 mtrs and considered as the 7th most dangerous airport in the world! Within 2 hours we catched 21 helicopters delivering wealthy tourists for the ski resort. Helicopters were originating also in Switzerland, Austria and Monaco. Photography conditions are perfect with the sun in your back and a nice snow mountain backdrop.
For possible ski accidents, 2 SAMU’s were on standby
A view of the runway with a length of only 525 mtrs and a gradient of 18,5%. A go around procedure does not exist and you need to depart towards the same direction as you arrived. Wind direction doesn’t count. You can only land on VFR conditions. You land “uphill” and depart “downhill” to minimize the used runway length.
The DHC6 and DHC7 are the largest aircraft which can land here. PC12 was the largest aircraft we have seen during our visit. Nothing wrong with the leveling, it is the runway.
3rd March
The next morning we started with the Dragon 74 at Annecy. Due to the weather, she remained inside.
A good reason to go higher again where the sun was shining! One of the most spectacular heliports (or “drop zones”) is Chamonix-Mont Blanc close to the border of France, Italy and Switzerland. After arrival, we needed to wait as the sun could not reach the heliport due to the mountains.
After the Gendarmerie helicopter left, an AS350 of Chamonix-Mont Blanc helicopters was pulled out and departed.
Enjoying the sunshine next to the langlaufpiste, also the EC145 of Securite Civile left for the first rescue mission.
After 2 missions, the Gendarmerie EC145 finally returned back to base.
Our last stop in France in Annemasse didn’t result in interesting helicopters. All were flying! We moved to Geneva. The airport is also the base of the HUG (Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève) / Rega 15 only EC135. It is the toughest to get because it is not visible from any ramps on the northside. Access is not allowed due to security procedures. Nevertheless we still tried our luck. The crew was friendly to move the EC135 outside the hangar in the sun, so we could make our picture through the hangar door. Many thanks! Our effort paid off.
With a unique helicopter in our pocket, we moved towards Lausanne. Rega was still on a mission, so we made a quick stop at Heli Lausanne. 3 of their 4 helicopters just returned.
At the same time Rega 4 returned from the mission, so we could capture it in evening light.
4th March
One of the old airforce bases is Zweisimmen. Early on the Monday morning, at our arrival, an EC635 came by for practicing. With the 1st landing a huge amount of dust and debris was blown up.
With the 2nd practice we moved to another location. We requested a slow departure and the pilot friendly handled accordingly.
Zweisimmen is the base for Rega 14, which was shining already in the sunlight.
We moved toward Bern-Belp and unfortunately it was grey again. The pilot was friendly to move the EC145 outside.
At the other side of the airport, both Kamov32’s were present for maintenance.
Heading south to Gsteigwiller, one of the AS350’s of Bohag was outside.
If you continue the same valley, you get towards Lauterbrunnen. The TCS (Touring Club Schweiz) operates with 2 helicopters since 2012. This one is leased from SHS, operated by Air Glaciers and has a mixture of various titels.
While we were capturing the EC135, one of the 3 remaining Alouette III’s was pulled outside. This machine will be out of service 2 weeks after our visit.
Although we could not arrange a visit at Interlaken, it was a worthwhile visit. At our arrival, the 1st A109 departed after some tests.
Immediately an EC145 was pulled outside and left as well.
We haven’t seen any fighter aircraft, so we moved to Meiringen. There was still snow in the valley. The 2nd afternoon mission consisted of a pair of F18’s and a pair of F5’s.
PC6’s were practicing as well
2 German CH53’s planned for Alpnach were re-scheduled to Meiringen.
We were fortunate to have evening missions as well. Leaving around 6PM
Last F18 wave left around 8PM, but 3 PC6’s were also practicing night flying, so we could practice some night photography.
5th March
Due to strong föhn winds on Wednesday the CH53’s couldn’t fly. We moved to Alpnach. A Cougar was practicing already with a Bambi bucket on the Alpnachersee, but still carrying his skies.
The next stop was in Erstfeld. Again due to heavy föhn winds, speed of 110 kms/hour, the helicopters were kept inside. Outside would be too dangerous. “Heute is Fliegen selbst mort!”.
Moving northbound, we stopped at Kussnacht am Rigi. The AS532 was still enjoying her wintersleep and remained in the hangar with a wooden floor.
We closed the day at Mollis. Rega 12 returned from her last mission of the day.
At Heli Linth we saw 3 AS350’s. The HB-ZLN was painted in the colors of an expected new Indian customer, but has never been delivered.
6th March
The next morning we started at Dübendorf. My last visit was a long time ago. Shortly after our arrival, they were called for the 1st mission of Rega 1.
We spend some time at Zurich-Kloten. After all the helicopters of Rega, we also saw one of their Challengers.
Always nice to see Fokker’s
Our last stop was at Birrfeld-Lupfig. The only TCS EC135 in full c/s is present here, HB-ZJE. It operates both primary, secondary as well as organ transports. A nice way to complete our trip.
All our main objectives were achieved
. Some wishful thinking helicopters remained inside the hangars due to various reasons.Best regards,
Michiel
/reeve.gif)
