They fly faster and further, are bigger and stronger: The “Krone” was on a sightseeing flight with one of the new Leonardo AW169 in Aigen im Ennstal.
The helicopter hovers briefly above the ground, then turns towards Grimming. “The wind is blowing from the right,” Brigadier Wolfgang Luttenberger’s voice can be heard over the headphones. There is shaking in the new Leonardo AW169. “We don’t want to do that to our guests,” says the pilot – then it’s better not to go to Grimming and instead take a lap over the rainy Ennstal. In an emergency, the military pilots at the air base in Aigen obviously cannot take the stomachs of passengers into account. They rescue casualties, transport soldiers and equipment, blow up avalanches and can fly fire-fighting flights with up to 1000 liters of water. “The Leonardo AW169 is a flying computer,” says Brigadier Gerfried Promberger, Commander of the Air Force. Completely different from its predecessor, the Alouette III, or as Promberger says: the flying winter garden. After more than 50 years, the Italian Leonardo replaces the Alouette. In the future there will only be this and the Black Hawk helicopter. The fleet should be complete by 2028. The AW169 has a winch that is half the length, can fly from Langenlebarn to Hohenems without refueling, is quieter, more maneuverable and has a maximum speed of 280 km/h twice as fast. Ten people can fly with you. “There are reconnaissance cameras, armament with larger caliber on-board cannons, guided and redirected rockets,” says pilot Wolfgang Luttenberger. The fleet costs 870 million plus training and infrastructure. Five of the helicopters are already at the Fiala Fernbrugg air base and have been in regular operation since the beginning of the year. “By the end of the year there will be nine,” says Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP). Maintenance of the new helicopters in Aigen The Federal Army has purchased a total of 36 helicopters, twelve of which will be stationed in Aigen. The entire fleet is maintained in the small Styrian town: the armed forces have already conducted 160 job interviews by November in order to fill the necessary positions with technicians and the like. The hangar now looks more like a high-tech company than a workshop, as it was in the days of the Alouette. 26 pilots are also needed here. “There is also a women’s initiative, so far we only have four female pilots in Austria,” says Promberger. The people of Ennstal can expect an influx, but they also have to prepare for night flights again. Because the crew prepares for all eventualities – whether wind, rain or fog.
source site-12