Air14
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The Air14 or 100 Years of the Swiss Air Force Airshow was an international air show organized by the Swiss Air Force in the summer of 2014 at the Payerne military airfield .
history
The Swiss Air Force took part in various military and civilian events with demonstrations. For events organized by the military, foreign military aircraft were usually not invited. The reason was strict Swiss neutrality . Civil flight show organizers, on the other hand, also brought foreign military aircraft into their program, such as the Harrier several times at the flight days in Bex that took place from 1976 onwards . With the end of the Cold War , invitations from the Swiss Air Force were also sent to countries in the former Eastern Bloc . At the Air94 on 26 and 27 August 1994, a Su-22 of the Slovak Air Force on the airfield Buochs guest where the Patrouille Suisse her 30th anniversary on the Hawker Hunter celebrated. The highlight and occasion of the event was the farewell to the Hunter with a formation overflight of 40 Hawker Hunters. It was decided to hold such an airshow every ten years. The next airshow took place as Air04 on September 4th and 5th, 2004 at the Payerne military airfield. Around 275,000 people watched the military spectacle with 186 aircraft. Its highlight was an unusual joint overflight of five aerobatic teams. Director for Air04 was Ian Logan .
The next airshow was therefore due in 2014. As the Air Force celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2014, the Patrouille Suisse its 50th anniversary and the PC-7 team its 25th anniversary, it was decided to extend the celebrations to two weekends. It was also decided to keep the airshow open to all interested parties every day between the two weekends with a reduced demonstration program and a comprehensive static display. The Air14 with the training day thus lasted a total of 10 days, of which the Swiss demonstration teams performed at least one demonstration every day. For Air24 in 2024, a demonstration is again planned over a weekend.
organization
Planning for the Air14 began in 2009 with the approval of the then Defense Minister Ueli Maurer , Army Chief André Blattmann and the then Air Force commander Markus Gygax . Colonel Ian Logan, who was already responsible for Air04, was appointed director of Air14. The current commander of the Patrouille Suisse Nils "Jamie" Hämmerli was responsible for the flying display, while the commander of the PC-7 team "Höffi", Werner Hoffmann, coordinated (apart from the Patrouille Suisse for which the then commander of the PS "Dani" Daniel Hösli was responsible) all demonstrations of the current means of the Swiss Air Force. “Jose” Jascha Haller was responsible for the static display. Air14 was opened by the new commander of the Air Force, Aldo C. Schellenberg , together with Doris Leuthard , who, as Federal Councilor, is responsible for civil aviation.
The Swiss Air Force had various partners to organize the airshow. These included: the civil defense , Swiss Red Cross , Federal Office of Civil Aviation , cantonal police of Vaud , Canton police Freiburg , REGA , Swiss Federal Railways , Switzerland Tourism , Field Post (Swiss Army) , Aviation Museum Altenrhein , flyer Flab Museum , Musée de l'aviation militaire de Payerne , Télévision Suisse Romande .
A traffic concept was developed for the airshow with three parking areas near the Payerne motorway exit or near the two adjacent motorway exits with free shuttles to the airshow area. The SBB used special trains for the airshow. The airshow was broadcast live on television in western Switzerland and was also shown live on YouTube . Since the airshow had to be self-supporting, entry was required on the one hand, and fuel was obtained from the regular annual air force contingent and the costs were covered by sponsors on the other. In return, the sponsors Henniez and Nestlé had a monopoly on the supply of food and beverages, although the local industry was also taken into account. The Emmen military airfield acted as an alternate airfield and as a base for various Swiss aircraft that were shown at the airshow. SBB was responsible for the online sale of tickets and combined rail / entry tickets.
| partner | role |
|---|---|
| air force | organizer |
| Army staff | military |
| EM cond A FSTA | military |
| army | military |
| Army logistics base | military |
| Higher management training | military |
| Leadership support base | military |
| Armasuisse | military |
| Breitling | Main partner |
| Switzerland tourism | Main partner |
| SBB | Main partner |
| Renault | Main partner |
| Henniez | Main partner |
| Heineken | Main partner |
| Payerne | Main partner |
| Postbus | Main partner |
| RUAG | Main partner |
| Swiss | Main partner |
| Swisscom | Main partner |
| Henniez | Main partner |
| Banque Cantonale Vaudoise | Main partner |
| 24 hours | Media partner |
| RTS and Deux | Media partner |
| la 1ère RTS | Media partner |
| Look | Media partner |
| Quantis | partner |
| State of Freiburg | partner |
| Canton of Vaud | partner |
| APG SGA | partner |
| Touring Club Switzerland | partner |
| Lausanne Hospitality Consulting | partner |
| École hôtelière de Lausanne | partner |
| swisstopo .ch | partner |
| skyguide | partner |
| MeteoSwiss | partner |
Special
The SBB provided a Re-460 locomotive with special paint for the Air14. The Swiss Post painted a post bus in a special paint for the Air14 and issued two special stamps for the occasion. Swissmint issued a special coin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Patrouille Suisse.
Various airworthy vintage cars were painted for the Air14 that corresponded to the type of aircraft in service with the Swiss Air Force. The F / A-18C J-50 14 received a color scheme that corresponded to that of the Swiss aircraft in World War II. The J-5014 flew displays alone, or in a pair with the Morane HB-RCF painted as J-143, which was painted neutral with additional red and white stripes. Other pairs were the FA-18 with a Cougar or the Super Puma with the special livery of the Air Transport Squadron 4.
The PC-7 team offered a unique flight demonstration on September 7, 2014, when they presented a flight demonstration together with Patrouille Suisse with a total of 15 aircraft. With a Morane painted in the Swiss color scheme of the time and a Boeing B-17 , a historical event of a bomber shooting down near Dübendorf in World War II was recreated. With Claude Nicollier and Chris Austin Hadfield , astronauts were also involved in Air14. The Air14 had their own official song, One Hundred Years . The singer is the F / A-18 pilot "Jason" Stucki.
For the varied flight program with the lively and dynamic presentation of 100 years of military aviation as well as the promising traffic and environmental concept, Air14 was awarded a "Platinum Award" by the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) in December 2014.
Subject areas
The flight program was designed in such a way that it was varied for visitors who only attended the event for one day, as well as for visitors who followed the program on all four main days. Each of these days should show a broad spectrum of the epochs of Swiss military aviation from the founding years to the present, as well as individual demonstrations, team demonstrations and special files for the anniversary. Therefore, the program for each of these days was divided into the categories “Teams”, “Jets”, “Oldtimer Jets”, “Propeller aircraft”, “Helicopters”, “Special demonstrations” and “Tribute 100 Years Military Aviation”. Each of these days had a topic and a color as well as a theme. This was also listed in the program, on the tickets and at specialist events on the respective topic during the week:
- Saturday August 30, 2014 The Sky Outwatch (Green)
Reconnaissance in the past, today and the future. Air reconnaissance theme Green color.
- Sunday August 31, 2014 Above the Battlefilds (Amber)
Air to ground in the past, today and the future. Subject area Air Soil Use of amber colors
- Saturday September 6, 2014 The Spirit of Air Defense (Cyan)
Air Defense in the past, today and the future. Air combat theme Blue color
- Sunday September 7th, 2014 Heavy Metal and Evolution (Purple)
Innovation and Air Transport in the past, today and the future. Air transport and innovation. Purple color.
The days between the weekends were also public. Some days had a focus on specific visitors, so these were designed for school classes, for people with disabilities and for entrepreneurs from the private sector.
One of Air14's tasks was also to familiarize visitors with the professions in the Swiss Army and in aviation. The army therefore set up a tent in which the various (teaching) professions were shown. Companies that are active in Swiss aviation were also involved in the exhibition, including Swiss , Skyguide , Swiss Air Rescue , RUAG and Pilatus Aircraft . In addition, various branches of the military and their tasks were presented to the visitors in static exhibitions, for example the military police , EOD , Swissint and NBC defense . In addition to aerial vehicles , the Swiss Air Force was also present with ground-based systems such as the TAFLIR , IFAS-directional jet Piranha , STINGER , Oerlikon 35 mm with fire control device Skyguard and RAPIER . The army was present with Bergepanzer Büffel , Leopard 2 , M109 , M113 , Mowag Eagle , Mowag Piranha IB 6 × 6 , Mowag Piranha 8x8 , DURO GMTF , CV9030CH , Mobile Brücke and the Mobile Rollstrasse.
Flight program
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Fly in
- Thursday August 28, 2014
No program
training
- Friday 29th August 2014
| Aircraft | country |
|---|---|
| Patrulla Águila |
 Spain
|
| Wings of Storm |
 Croatia
|
| Patrouille de France |
 France
|
| Midnight Hawks |
 Finland
|
| Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter |
 Poland
|
| Mirage 2000 Ramex Delta |
France
|
| P-51 Mustang |
France
|
| P-38 Lightning |
 Austria
|
| PC-9 M. |
 Switzerland
|
| Eurocopter Tiger |
France
|
| North American B-25 and Chance Vought F4U |
Austria
|
| Mil Wed-24 /35 |
 Czech Republic
|
| Tribute 100 Years Military Aviation |
Switzerland
|
| Jetman |
Switzerland
|
| Tribute 50 Years Patrouille Suisse 25 Years PC-7 Team |
Switzerland
|
The Sky Outwatch (Green)
Reconnaissance in the past, today and the future
- Saturday August 30th 2014
Above the Battlefields (Amber)
Air to ground in the past, today and the future
- Sunday August 31, 2014
Midweek
- Monday 1st September 2014
| Aircraft | country |
|---|---|
| 2 x Pilatus PC-6 with Recce |
Switzerland
|
| Great Puma Display Team |
Switzerland
|
| F / A-18 Hornet Solo Display |
Switzerland
|
| PC-7 team |
Switzerland
|
| Patrouille Suisse and 1 Hawker Hunter "PS" |
Switzerland
|
| WeFly! team |
 Italy
|
- Tuesday 2nd September 2014
- Wednesday 3rd September 2014
| Aircraft | country |
|---|---|
| 2 x Pilatus PC-6 with Recce |
Switzerland
|
| Mirage III DS |
Switzerland
|
| Hawker Hunter papyrus |
Switzerland
|
| PC-7 team |
Switzerland
|
| Breitling Jet Team |
France
|
| Breitling Wingwalkers |
 United Kingdom
|
| WeFly! team |
Italy
|
| Sukhoi Su-26 |
Switzerland
|
- Thursday 4th September 2014
| Aircraft | country |
|---|---|
| Pilatus PC-6 with Recce |
Switzerland
|
| Great Puma Display Team |
Switzerland
|
| F / A-18 Hornet Solo Display |
Switzerland
|
| PC-7 team |
Switzerland
|
| Patrouille Suisse |
Switzerland
|
- Friday 5th September 2014
The Spirit of Air Defense (Cyan)
Air Defense in the past, today and the future
- Saturday 6th September 2014
Heavy Metal and Evolution (Purple)
Innovation and Air Transport in the past, today and the future
- Sunday September 7th 2014
Static display
The list is not comprehensive.
Air14 in numbers
- Visitors: approx. 400,000 *
- Visitors with ticket: 395,000
- SBB special trains: 138
- Bicycles: 15,200
- Cars: 86400
- Flight displays: 184
- Flying hours: 50
- Planning staff: 150 people
- Members of the army per flight day: 2000
- Days of volunteer work: 4800
- Medical treatments: 1056
- of which serious: 10
- Transport by ambulance: 31
- Transport with rescue helicopter: 5
(* VBS employees, school classes and children under the age of 16 do not need a ticket)
criticism
The Air14 was criticized in advance by army-critical organizations and politicians. The criticism of the unnecessary waste of money could be invalidated by the transparent recording of the financing by admissions, sponsors and partners. Criticism from the point of view of environmental protection was also limited, as environmental protection was given due consideration with the SBB and mandatory fees for parking spaces, a comprehensive waste and recycling system as well as strict compliance with the usual annual flight hour quota. The criticism of some exponents that it was improper to celebrate “killing machines” did not attract much attention from the public or the press.
However, due to the Crimean crisis, the invitation of the Russian aerobatic team Russkije Vitjasi was criticized. The leadership of the Air Force announced that Air14 is not a political event. The commander of the Russian Air Force also pointed out that the aircraft, even if they are combat-ready, are used exclusively for aerobatics and should come to Switzerland as a token of friendship. The leadership of the Air Force and the organizing committee of Air14 clung to the invitation, but they were just forced before Air14 by Federal Council Russian Knights unload. This in turn led to criticism of Air14, because never before has an invited aerobatic team been unloaded at an airshow. In addition, the decision called into question the neutrality of the Federal Council, as only this team was discharged, while the participation of other states, including those active in conflicts, was not questioned.
literature
- Booklet Air14 Histoire Hommage Innovation
- Swiss Air Force, annual publication 2015, p. 71
- Swiss Air Force, annual publication 2014, pp. 9–11
- Issue intra, 2/14, pp. 4-9
- Booklet armee.ch, 2/14, pp. 2–13
- Demonstration program of Air14
Web links
- Air14 Payerne ( Memento from May 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on the Swiss Air Force website
- David Marquis: Celebrating the 100th birthday ( Memento from October 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 3.8 MB). In: armee.ch , No. 1/2013.
- detailed report on Air14 in English
Individual evidence
- ↑ Air '94 Buochs. (No longer available online.) In: aviatikphoto.ch. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016 ; accessed on January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ Air04 Payerne. In: swiss-wings.ch. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ Payerne overrun by aviator friends. In: look. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ intra. 2/14 page 6
- ↑ Fahrettin Calislar: The sky is buzzing and booming. In: Freiburger Nachrichten. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ Flight meeting AIR14. (No longer available online.) In: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016 ; accessed on January 16, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://finanzblog.ch/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/mob1767_1401882891.jpg
- ^ One Hundred Years
- ↑ http://www.schule.sh.ch/fileadmin/Dokumente/Wochenbriefe/Eingabe_Tag_der_Schuelerinne_8._und_9._Klasse.pdf
- ↑ http://vdesign.ch/berufe-der-schweizer-armee-an-der-air14 ( Memento from July 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.cms.vbs.admin.ch/video/VTG/LW/AIR14PAYERNE/Program/TheSkyOutwatch.pdf
- ↑ http://www.cms.vbs.admin.ch/video/VTG/LW/AIR14PAYERNE/Program/AboveTheBattlefields.pdf
- ↑ http://www.cms.vbs.admin.ch/video/VTG/LW/AIR14PAYERNE/Program/TheSpiritOfAirDefence.pdf
- ↑ http://www.cms.vbs.admin.ch/video/VTG/LW/AIR14PAYERNE/Program/HeavyMetalAndEvolution.pdf
- ↑ armee.ch 2/14 page 5
- ↑ http://www.flugzeugforum.de/threads/78562-100-Jahre-Schweizer-Luftwaffe-Air14-Payerne-CH-Bilderthread
- ↑ Christian van Singer: Air 2014. Considerable support from the federal government and invitation of school classes despite the lack of historical reference. In: The Federal Assembly - The Swiss Parliament. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ Rejection-to-the-Russian-Knights. In: Tagesanzeiger. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ Christoph Lenz: SVP army foams because of «Federal Council brainless». In: look. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ Philipp Loser: The pseudo-sanctuary will hardly meet Mr. Putin. In: The Bund. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
