My heroes of the air
In the summer season, the people who live in Upper Valais are often woken up in the morning by the noise of the red and white helicopters. The local residents can be divided into two groups when it comes to their reactions – those who get annoyed and crawl further under their duvet, and those who get up and look out of the window to admire the Air Zermatt machine in action. I definitely belong to the second group!
As a child I spent lots of summers in Zermatt exploring nature, and of course the helicopters from Air Zermatt didn’t escape my notice. From that point onwards, my story was pretty much like everyone else’s in the helicopter industry. I was about four years old when I went to the heliport in Zermatt with my mother, in my hand a drawing I’d done specially for Gerold Biner. I can still see it now. A red helicopter – I’m afraid I can’t say if it was a Lama or an EC135 – set against a spectacular mountain backdrop. And as an essential ingredient of a child’s drawing, a golden sun in the top right-hand corner. I mustered all my courage to give Gerold this drawing, but he wasn’t at the base. I still got to see the hangar, though, and even sit in a Lama. I went home happy and with a bag full of Air Zermatt stickers – the fire had been lit.
Fast forward almost twenty years, and a series of coincidences brought me an even deeper insight into helicopter flying. I’ve been together with a helicopter pilot since 2020, and I’ve come to see that flying isn’t just about enjoying the view, but also involves a lot of paperwork, time and energy. All of which only adds to my respect for the Air Zermatt crew. Because among all that there’s all the busy flight operations at the bases in Gampel, Raron and Zermatt. My family also benefits from the work with helicopters, whether for hut supply deliveries, a transport, or a rescue. And I’m eternally grateful to Air Zermatt for saving the life of more than one of my relatives. It’s hugely reassuring to know that the mountain rescuers will be there to help in just minutes if necessary.
I also had the chance to travel in one of the red and white helicopters when I did the fire services basic course back in 2019. Or my personal highlight was one of my first flights last year. I hadn’t spent much time sitting on the right-hand side of a helicopter, but my partner gifted me a trial flight with Gerold for my birthday, originally planned with the Lama but ultimately with the “Papa Bravo”, an Ecureuil. I was so nervous to take my seat in the rescue helicopter, and after flying for 15 minutes and landing on the Unterrothorn I was glad to leave the flying to my partner. What about training as a pilot myself? We’ll see…
I’d like to take this chance to thank the entire Air Zermatt team for your amazing dedication to the people of Valais. Take care, and happy landings!
Author's details: Alena Schmid works at AirWork and Heliseileri Gmbh. She has been passionate about helicopter flying since early childhood. After her experience of flying lessons with Gerold Biner, she was willing to write this blog article for Air Zermatt.