Swiss Air Force by Grimmi

The Mirages are gone and now it's the time to catch some breath - here a little Teaser of my Footage. The final Film is a production of three different people and edited by a fourth one.

The French Air Force had visited Payerne with those aircrafts:

M2000B: 115-KJ
M2000-5F: 116-EA spec c/s (only 1st week), 116-ED, 116-EL, 116-EX (only 2nd week), 116-FZ and 116-MG
Alphajet for support: 118-AH and 118-FE (stayed only short @ Payerne)
Transall: 64-GB
Socata TBM-700 for support: 104/XJ

C u again in two years latest

This yearly Franco-Swiss Exercice is held again at Payerne Air Base in western Switzerland. L'escadron de Chasse 'CIGOGNES' flew five of there Mirage 2000-5F from Luxeuil (last summer the Squadron was transferred there from Dijon) to Switzerland, supported by an (Air Refueling) Transall from Evreux and a Mirage 2000B.

Stork's are famous of giving Birth wherever they arrive

The french Part included on the 1st of two weeks the following aircrafts:

M2000B: 115-KJ
M2000-5F: 116-EA spec c/s, 116-ED, 116-EL, 116-FZ and 116-MG
Alphajet for support: 118-FE and 118-AH
Transall: 64-GB

The Sparring Partners of the Mirages where Hornets from all three Hornet-Squadrons of Switzerland - here one of them fighting against very low clouds in the vincinity of Payerne.

Rain, Snow and stormy Winds where forcing everything from the Photographers, the aircrafts and the Crews.

 Landing Mirage in BIG

The Exercise ends on April, 27th - c u @ Payerne

When I was little, I hated the work in the garden. But now, with quite a lot of these Beauties using my village as Waypoint for their Navigation Training, I think different ... 

 A big Thank You goes to the Students and Teachers of Pilot class 06 for having an eye on my garden

Normally you can watch the track of our PC-21's with flightradar24 - unfortunately they fly mostly too low to catch them online, especially in my area with quite a lot of hills and mountains.

Payerne ist the main military base of Switzerland and always worth a visit - enjoy my newest video

Yes, the World Economic Forum 2012 in Davos is already nearly history and a lot of the delegations on their way home. This Year, our Guardians flew out of Sion, with MilCap in the Areas of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau for the Tigers and the Hornets over the Gotthard.

Some impressions of the Tigers and Hornets you can see now here ...

 Early Tigers 

Hornets where wearing for the 1st time some Markings on the External Fuel Tanks - Switzerland had copied that from the Austrian Tigers I think (in BIG) ;)

Hornet's twilight - in BIG

This will be the 3rd time that Swiss Air Force will guard the World Economic Forum in Davos out of Sion since 2003. The 'Wannabe-Topshots of our world' will be partying in between 25 - 29 Jan in the snow and Swiss Army uses up to 5000 people for preparations and guard duties in between 16 - 30 January for that. The first training missions where already made those days, but on 23rd of January is the big trainingday out of Sion and the 24h-guard with Hornets (and 0730-1900h with F-5 Tiger II) will beginn on 24rd January.

For plane spotters there are some nice arrivals in Zurich, Altenrhein and Samedan  - but real photographers have to go up the hills around Sion for such stunning shots like I'd made in 2009

Hornet and Tiger in BIG

For those shots I suggest to take snow shoes (Rackets) with you - if you are not a mountain goat you have to take maybe a ladder (especially 90°/50mm shots) with you for some shots around the fences of the airport.

Swiss Air Force's Cessna Citation Excel (560XL) I've taken without ladder - with a quite normal hivernal bright blue sky above Sion in BIG

If you've got no sun you have to act like this hoodiecrow and wait for some burners - in BIG

And if you are lucky then you can get also some former Danish Air Force's Alouette III - the HB-XOE and  HB-XOF in BIG.

 Also Night- and Sundown-Shots are again possible - see you there !

C u again in January 2012 on an airfield near you 

On last day of military activity - especially the Jets will stay in the Shelters 'till 3rd January - the new Pilots of Pilotenklasse'05 (www.torqmax.ch) had their Graduation Ceremony in Central Switzerland. The fresh Pilots and their guests where visited by the Patrouille Suisse and the Super Puma Demo Team.

 Patrouille Suisse with fresh snow and due holiday absence only with 5 aircrafts - in BIG

The Super Puma Display Team arrived with Cougar T-340 - in BIG

After this small Airshow we approached Buochs for some Pilatus Aircraft Action - the Aircrafts of the United Arab Emirates are a bit rare in Western Switzerland and we enjoyed some nice Touch-and-Goes 

HB-HXC (c/n 130) and HB-HXD (c/n 131)  in BIG

Yes, Axalp (Ebenfluh) Shooting Demo/Airshow 2011 was cancelled due the flooding of some valleys in the area - but a complete Airshow was shown on Tuesday and I was one of the few who where lucky enough to see it.

Enjoy another bunch of my pictures, taken in the two weeks I was up there  

Fightersquadron 8 during the overflight on Airshow-Day - maybe you can see yourself on the Tschingel ?

Some Hornet-Pilots where the 1st time up there - one or two sessions with the Instructors in the back seat and then they where by themselves  - in BIG

SWOOP-flight after his attack in BIG

Early morning in the mountains - Sun and Night side-by-side

The Patrouille Suisse and my crazy group, the latter used some more time to climb up there with our snow-rackets 

A Tiger's Roar - just before shooting to the next target. In BIG

Tiger with 1/400s - in BIG

Hornet just before passing in front of me - in BIG

Nine Hornets with three of the big 'bombs' each where taking off @ Payerne. This yearly exercise is to improve nightflying for the Swiss Pilots - in Switzerland they are only aloud to train during October 'till March once per Week.

Yes - the Training Season had begun (October - Mai) and the sky over the Range was filled again with Hornets, Tigers and bullets !

Already three days here - and not so many words. Let the pictures speak

 And yes - it's not Axalp !

In a couple of days starts the Sion Airshow - time to have a look to the last very big Airshow there 6-7-8 June 1997 

Star of the Show - Swissair's B-747

One of the 10 Display Teams in 1997 - the Red Arrows ! Also in BIG

Czech Mil Mi-24V Hind's

Yes - do you remember those roaring demos of this Swedish Masterpiece ? Available in BIG

The 'Stress-Team' 

I can't wait to see again a nice Airshow in Sion - are you coming too ?

It's a shame - people have holidays and most interesting bases like Meiringen and Payerne are closed  Meiringen actually the second month (due touristic and political reasons) and Payerne as mainbase during August. Only Emmen is housing a couple of Hornets and Tigers this month with activity.

But this summer - if we can call it like that with rain/snow and wind - Payerne showed some very nice Formations. Some of my shots from June and July 2011 - have fun 

above and down: 16th June was the last flight of the french exchange pilot. Two nice formations and a nice break on Hornet'007 - bonne rentré en france mon ami 

Formation in BIG

 Due the Air Force Day on 27th July, a Tiger clears the airspace in the last seconds for the demonstrations of the Helicopters.

The Air Force Day is something like a commercial of the Air Force. They invite young officers from all the troops in Switzerland for showing them the possibilities of a career in the Air Force.

With a lot of static and flying activity they should be very successful  . The Formation is also available in BIG.

And for fighting the cold of this summer I had to go deep in my archives - how about an 'BBQ french-style ?' in BIG

A nice Airshow was held also this year again on former Swiss Air Force's Base Mollis - in use with F-5 E/F Tiger II 'till 1998, later for Helicopters.

How do you know that you are there ? Easy - quite a lot of very intriguing architectonic masterpieces where based in the area  - but please do not say it  

Mollis is located on the right side of the Linth valley, in the middle inbetween Zurich and Chur. It includes the area from the Linth Canal and Walensee to the Schlattbach in the Netstal and consists of the village of Mollis and the hamlets of Beglingen on the Kerenzerberg and the alpine settlement of Mullern. Nearby can be found a thrust fault that was declared a geologic UNESCO world heritage site, under the name Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, in 2008.

With so many mountains around the airfield, Mollis is destined for some Air-to-Air photography 'Grimmi Style'

Nearly everything on this picture was used by the Swiss Air Force - beginning from the left:

- Hawker Hunter T68 J-4206 in Tiger livery, belonging to the Flying Museum in Altenrhein as HB-RVV

- GMC-truck (yellow), used by the fire brigade on Swiss military airfields 'till the millennium years. This car was used to save the pilot out of the aircraft.

-  FBW-truck (olive) for fuel, used 'till 2010 on some bases. FBW stays for Franz Brozincevic Wetzikon, see also http://www.fbw.ch

- Pilatus PC-7 training aircraft A-907, belonging to the Flying Museum in Altenrhein as T7-FMA  and in use of the Swiss Air Force in this livery 'till 2006.

- Junkers JU-52 / 3mg4e HB-HOP, former A-703, in use by Swiss Air Force 'till 1981.

- Hawker Hunter F58 J-4086 in Patrouille Suisse livery,   belonging to the Flying Museum in Altenrhein as HB-RVU

 - De Havilland DH-115 Vampire T55 U-1208,  belonging to the Flying Museum in Altenrhein as HB-RVF

All of Swiss Air Force's Display Teams where present - PC-7 Team, Super Puma Display Team, Hornet Display and Patrouille Suisse 

Patrouille Suisse in BIG

For the second time I had the possibility to use Nikon's new D5100 DSLR, and again I made a film in HD

Link: http://www.zigermeet.ch