Showing Off to Friends and Family

What pilot doesn't want to show off (a little) to friends and family. So, the list was long... Throughout 1993 and 1994, I spend a lot of gas over the skies of north Texas, usually from Addison Airport to Denton or to the southern Oklahoma border.

(above) Standing with my mom next to my rental C-150 at Addison Airport.

(above) Taking my mom's friend up for a flight north of Dallas.

(above) Flying over my townhouse in Richardson, Texas (suburb of Dallas).

Observing the Swiss Army's Mountain Defenses from Above

One of the interesting things to see while flying in Switzerland is the way infrastructure has been adapted to the mountainous terrain. This flight focused on military infrastructure, including sensitive storage sites, airfields (including hardened tunnels to shelter fighter aircraft), and dual-use communications facilities in the Valais, one of the most mountainous regions of the country.

(above) Military depot adjacent to Sion Air Base.

(above) Aircraft engine testing facility and adjacent fighter HAS at Sion Air Base.

(above) Military depot near Sion Air Base.

(above) Civilian and military satellite ground station at Leuk. The military "Satos" antenna (top, covered). Several antennas have been added at the facility since this picture was taken, including specialized equipment to run the new "ONYX" signals intelligence system operated by Switzerland's intelligence services. Data is shared with facilities located in Zimmerwald, Heimenschwand and Berne.

(above) Military storage facility (including tunnels) just west of Untere Wehreye.

(above) Military airfield and hardened aircraft tunnels (above far right and next two photos below) at Turtmann (no long an active military base).

(above) Military airstrip at Munster (no long an active military facility).

(above) Military airbase and hardened aircraft tunnels (center/top) at Raron.

(above) Military/civilian communications facility southeast of Visp.

(below) Final approach for Runway 08 at Sion.

Copyright © 1993-2008 A.C. Frieden. No reproduction permitted.

Flying over Central Switzerland

In the summer of 1993, I went flying in central Switzerland, leaving from the grass strip at Thun Airfield. The airstrip is located in a Swiss Army practice range, used mostly by armored vehicles. As second in command, I flew part of the flight, which included flying over Lake Thun, past Spiez, over Interlaken and Lake Brienz, past Brienz and making a u-turn over Meiringen Air Base (which is closed on weekends). Meiringen AB is one of Switzerland's most secretive sites, because in addition to being an airbase, it has two nearby hardened aircraft shelters (tunnels housing Mirage, F-5 and Hunter aircraft), which will be modernized and expanded to three tunnels to protect over twenty FA-18 aircraft which Switzerland recently acquired.

(above) Preflight check (notice the Swiss tanks in the background!).

(above) View of hangar while taking off from the grass strip.

(above) Immediately after takeoff I flew over Pz-68 tanks practicing on the field.

(above) Flying over Interlaken Air Base.

(above) Approaching Meiringen Air Base.

(above) Flying over the two mountain aircraft shelter entrances at Meiringen Air Base (each leads to a hardened tunnel for Mirage III, F-5E and Hunter fighters).

(above) Returning west, I flew past the lakefront town of Brienz.

(above) Flying over Interlaken (the famous Victoria Jungfrau Resort in center).

(above) Thun is home to Switzerland's main armored vehicle manufacture, assembly and maintenance facilities.

(above) Many of the Swiss Army's armored units train in and around Thun's army base.

(above) At the center of Thun's military base, not far from the airfield is a collection of old armored vehicles from all over the world.

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Frieden. No reproduction permitted.

Flying Around North Texas

For the next year after passing my check ride, I spent much of my flying time from Addison Airport nearby areas in northern Texas. For simple touch-n-go practice I usually flew to Denton, although weekends were pretty busy.

(above) Heading out in a C-150 with my buddy Doug (was my instructor before the Check Ride).

(above) This C-150 belongs in a museum -- old and cranky, but I flew it anyway.

(above) Filling the tanks before the heading north.

(above) Addison Airport from above, exiting the pattern.

(above) Flying over Lake Lewisville, southeast of Denton.

(above) Downwind at Denton Airport.

(above) University of North Texas campus in Denton (looking north).

(above) Abandoned Boeing 727, DC-8 and DC-9 aircraft at Grayson County Airport.

(above) A close-up of the aircraft graveyard.

Passed my Check-Ride -- Now I'm a Pilot... Yikes!

On August 7, 1992, I passed my Private Pilot Practical Exam, or "check ride", on a Cessna 150 (N8001F) out of Addison Airport in Dallas and got my temporary airman's certificate. I had flown about 67 hours prior to the test. I was happy to have my wings!

(above) A happy Frieden arriving home with a new temporary airman's certificate.

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Frieden. No reproduction permitted.

Flying over Western Switzerland

While on vacation in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1992, I rented a Cessna 172 at general aviation hangar on the north end of Geneva International Airport (GVA). I flew as second in command along the northern shore of Lake Leman, turned toward Yverdon, Payerne, and then back toward Moudon and Montreux and then returned over the lake, past Lausanne and returned to Geneva.

(above) Flying over Lake Geneva (aka Lac Leman).

(above) Flying over the town of Nyon, on Lake Geneva.

(above) Hills above the village of Villarlod (foreground) and the Lac de Gruyeres (back).

(above) The town of Montreux (foreground) and Lausanne (background).

(above) Swiss Army truck and armored vehicle storage/maintenance base just north of Romont.

(above) View of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.

(above) View of Geneva, approaching from the eastern suburbs of Chene-Bourg.

(above) Aerial view of the boat repair facilities in Ouchy (near Lausanne), on Lake Geneva.

(above) Aerial view of the United Nations (European Headquarters), formerly the League of Nations building.

(above) Aerial view of the World Health Organization (upper left), US Mission to the UN (upper right), and the International Labor Organization (lower).

(above) Flying over Yassir Arafat's chartered 747 on the tarmac.


(above) Runway 23 and the freight terminal at Geneva's Cointrin Airport.

(above) Jet Aviation facilities and apron on south end of Geneva's Cointrin Airport.

(above) View on downwind of Geneva's main terminal and apron, the 12,000 foot Runway 23, the much shorter parallel grass strip (center, foreground), and the general aviation hangars (right).

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Frieden. No reproduction permitted.