50 years in the air, together...
(BRUSSELS2) On February 25, 1963... a first flight of the Transall, the Franco-German plane took to the air. 55 minutes of flight from Melun-Villaroche airport, for the C160 V1 in the hands of test pilot Jean Lanvario. The aircraft would then enter the (French) Air Force in 1967, replacing the Noratlas (or Nord 2501). " No one really imagined at the time that 50 years later, it would still be flying and serving in operations says an officer (in love with this plane). A remark that I found in many pilots who took the controls of this plane, full of charm, despite its more and more breakdowns, with age. And since then, he has flown in all weathers, on all terrains... With a preference for Africa. For 1st Lt. Daniel Weiter, co-pilot on this aircraft. " It's simple. The Transall likes the warm climate of Africa ».
Anniversary Flight
To celebrate this longevity, a souvenir flight took to the air to connect Saint Denis to Reunion. At the controls is a crew from Air Transport Wing 61 (ATW61) which took off from Penzing in Bavaria on a plane that is not 50 years old but 42 years old! Destination: Hyères to load a Panther helicopter for the French armed forces in the Indian Ocean. A flight prepared and "tasked" by EATC, the European Air Transport Command.
The flight had to be changed at the last minute. Austria did not grant overflight clearance. So the flight had to be redirected to Switzerland. On site, the team is grounded. It only takes two hours for the French and German teams to load the 5-tonne helicopter and its rotor into the Transall. But there is not much room left in the Transall, the entire hold is occupied by the machine. As evidenced by an officer. “Seats are very scarce, and the cargo hold staff needs a lot of imagination to find a comfortable sleeping position during the flight. »
Crete, Yemen, Djibouti, the Seychelles ... and Reunion
First port of call: the island of Crete. With a last uncertainty to obtain the authorization to fly over Yemen which, finally, is granted. The plane is refueled, ready for takeoff. And he takes to the air the next day, direction: Djibouti. " The wind is favourable. And so it is possible - after tight fuel calculations to fly non-stop to Djibouti without having to refuel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. » The third day of flight is in the direction of the Seychelles. With an arrival... in the rain. And mandatory disinfection on arrival. Like any aircraft, the Transall must be disinfected. Public health officers invest the device and spray a disinfectant which must act for ten minutes, all doors and windows closed. The fourth day is the right one, with the arrival on Reunion Island after a total of 25 hours of flight.
Unloading the Panther helicopter does not even take an hour. To reassemble it and make it ready for service will take a little longer—two whole days. Meanwhile, another Panther is loaded to be brought back to France. Some (inevitable) technical problems delay (a little) the return flight. This Transall is no longer very young, 42 years of service... But in 30 minutes everything is settled - affirms the German officer - delighted to "the good cooperation between the German flight mechanic, the service technician and the French evaluators of the C-160".
The return flight is on an alternative route: the Seychelles, Somalia (with the glistening corrugated iron shacks of Mogadishu), Ethiopia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt — with a fantastic view of the green strip of the Nile River running through the brown desert of the Sahara —, Greece, Italy and Hyères “, describes Lieutenant Weiter. " Less than an hour after landing, the helicopter was unloaded with the help of French air cargo transshipment personnel ". Then back home in Bavaria, waiting for another mission...
NB: During this time, the French Transalls are performing rotation after rotation in Mali. The 11-day flight of the German Transall thus relieved the French planes of a long mission
