Heliswiss
Encyclopedia
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
helicopter company with headquarters on the property of Bern Airport
Bern Airport
Bern-Belp Airport is an airport serving Bern in Switzerland. The airport is within the town limits of Belp, and it is often known simply as Belp Airport....
in Belp
Belp
Belp is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is close to Bern's Belp Airport.-Geography:...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, near Bern.
History
Heliswiss - the oldest helicopter company in Switzerland - was founded as „Heliswiss Schweizerische Helikopter AG“ with headquarters in Berne-Belp on April 17, 1958. This was the beginning of helicopter flying in Switzerland. During the following years Heliswiss expanded in Switzerland and formed a network with bases in Belp BEBelp
Belp is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is close to Bern's Belp Airport.-Geography:...
, Samedan GR
Samedan
Samedan is a town and municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:Samedan is first mentioned in 1139 as Samaden. In 1334 it was mentioned as Semeden, in 1367 as Semaden, in 1498 as Sumada and in 1527 as Sameden...
, Domat Ems GR
Domat/Ems
Domat/Ems is a municipality in the district of Imboden in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.- History :Domat/Ems is first mentioned in 765 as colonia de Amede. Ems is the German name for the municipality, Domat is the Romansh name and since 1943 the official name has been the combination of both.-...
, Locarno TI
Locarno
Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
, Erstfeld UR, Gampel VS, Gstaad BE
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
und Gruyères FR
Gruyères
Gruyères is a town in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. Its German name is Greyerz.The medieval town is an important tourist location in the upper valley of the Saane river, and gives its name to the well-known cheese. In this town, a trackless train is the only...
.
During the build-up of the rescue-company Schweizerische Rettungsflugwacht (REGA)
Rega (air rescue)
The Rega is the air rescue service which provides emergency medical assistance in Switzerland, notably in mountains but also in cases of life-threatening emergencies elsewhere. They will also return a patron to Switzerland from a foreign country if they are in need of urgent medical care. Rega was...
as an independent network, Heliswiss carried out rescue missions on their behalf.
Heliswiss carried out operations all over the world: in Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, North Africa and South America.
The first helicopter owned by Heliswiss was a Bell 47 G-1
Bell 47
The Bell 47 is a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Based on the third Model 30 prototype, Bell's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young, the Bell 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946...
. It was registered as HB-XAG on September 23, 1953. From 1963 Heliswiss started to expand and began to operate with medium helicopters like the Agusta Bell 204B with a turbine power of 1050 HP and an external load of up to 1500 kg. From 1979 Heliswiss operated a Bell 214 (external load up to 2.8 t). Since 1991 Heliswiss operates a Russian Kamov 32A12 which was joined by a
second one in 2005.
Current fleet
- 1 Guimbal Cabri G2Guimbal Cabri G2|-See also:-References:* -External links:* * * * *...
(HB-ZLJ) - 2 Schweizer 300C (HB-XYL, HB-XFQ)
- 3 Bell 206Bell 206The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- or twin-engine helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program, the 206 failed to be selected...
(HB-XLA, HB-XPQ, HB-XSI) - 1 AS350B2 (HB-XVB)
- 2 AS350B3 (HB-ZEI, HB-ZPS)
- 1 SA315B Lama (HB-XTD)
- 2 Kamov KA-32A12 (HB-XKE, HB-ZFX) operated by Heliswiss International AG .
(Updated July 2011 )
Products
- Flight-training (basic training, commercial pilot, mountain training, night-flight)
- Charter flights
- VIP-flights
- Heli-skiing
- Film- and foto-flights
- External load flights (up to 5000 kg), logging
- Firefighting
Partners/Subsidiaries
- Air Grischa
- BOHAG
- Heli Gotthard
- Heliswiss International AG
- eliticino
- Rhein-Helikopter AG (LiechtensteinLiechtensteinThe Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
only) - Air Zermatt AG