Difficult times call for alternative solutions
Every ten weeks, the Hungarians come here to drop off aircraft for inspection or collect them following an inspection. Just before travel restrictions were implemented in 匈牙利, two aircraft had been dropped off in Linköping. An inspection takes between ten and twelve weeks and, last week, the Gripen aircraft were 读y.
Next stop, Kecskemét.
- “Since they are prohibited from travelling, we came up with a solution to take the aircraft to them instead,托马斯说。 Holmstedt, Contract Manager for Forward Maintenance of Gripen C/D. “It’s important to safeguard capacity and availability in the Hungarian 空气 Force, despite the current circumstances.”
正常情况下, the Hungarians come to Sweden for meetings and inspection flights during a so-called handover week, after which they fly the aircraft home themselves. This time, however, the handover was done in 匈牙利. For this to be carried out successfully – or at all – a great deal of planning was required.
- “A few of us flew down in our Saab 2000, while our Saab pilots flew the Gripen aircraft down,托马斯说。. “The handover was carried out at the base in Kecskemét. Before we flew down, we had performed our inspection flights in Linköping while the Hungarians did theirs at the base. When everything was completed, we flew another of their Gripen back to Sweden to undergo inspection. Normally, the process takes about a week, but this time we did everything in one day. Everything went according to plan, much to the Hungarians’ and our satisfaction.”
Two aircraft there. 一个回.
Mikael Olsson and André Brännström piloted the Hungarian Gripen aircraft down. The route took them over the Baltic Sea, through 波兰 and 斯洛伐克, and into 匈牙利.
- “The flight went as planned,” says Mikael Olsson, Head of the Flight Test department. “We flew economically in terms of fuel and it took an hour and forty minutes to reach the air base in Kecskemét. I’ve never flown through Europe this empty. No other aircraft contrails were seen and radio traffic was very quiet all the way down. It’s mostly smaller aircraft and cargo flights in the skies.”
André Brännström getting 读y for the flight.