Hawker Hunter Jet
6,900.00 €
The Hawker Hunter is a legend in Switzerland – No other Air Force operated this plane for so long – The Cold War was over, 4th generation Fighter Jets were active with many air forces – but Switzerland still operated the upgraded subsonic Hawker Hunter. And they did not stop before 1994. Today the Hunter has a huge fan community here. And thanks to this, many Hunters were not scrapped after service, but associations started to operate it. It wasn’t a problem to find highly motivated mechanics and pilots to operate the planes. And there are still original Alpine air bases available to start from!
The experience is unique: wonderful view as you sit next to the pilot, not behind him. Incredible Alpine valley runs, low level flying over famous glaciers and mountain tops. These pilots know the landscape from active Air Force times and they’ve accumulated countless flight hours. Their passion for flying this beast hasn’t declined a bit – you will feel this first-hand!
Fly the legendary Hawker Hunter in Switzerland
The Hawker Hunter is a legendary aircraft in Switzerland with thousands of fans. The Swiss Air Force operated 160 Hunters as long as till December 1994, when the last Hunter flight took place. The Hunter, produced by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. won against the North American F-86 Sabre and the Swiss Project FFA P-16. A last minute rethinking by the Swiss government saved the remaining 73 hunters from scrapping. Many Hunters went to new Swiss owners and 42 Hunters to owners in other countries, like Thunder City in Capetown. Most of these Swiss Hunters ended as static display, but a few Hunters kept flying. In Switzerland alone 4-5 Hunters fly regularly on Air shows. But there are two seater hunters available for passenger Hunter flights – in a stunning landscape.
Fighter Jet Rides in the Swiss Alps
As a Swiss company we might be a bit biased but it it is really hard to beat this experience: Top Speed up to Mach 0.97 when coming down from a huge 5km-looping. A landscape that foreign jet pilots are afraid to fly in. Start from former Swiss Air Force mountain airbase St. Stephan makes very sporty landings and take-off necessary. Low level flight over glaciers, through very narrow valleys and over mountain tops. The Hunter Flight will include all manouvers and aerobatics you are looking for.
The Swiss Hawker Hunter Flight can include among other maneuvres:
- Loopings
- Immelman
- Rolls
- Split-S
- High Speed Parallel Flight
- Breathtaking flight in the Swiss Mountains
- Ground Attack simulation
- Flights through narrow valleys and over mountain tops
Swiss Air Force Pilots
You’ll fly with a former Swiss Air Force pilot. Switzerland has one of the most famous and ancient militias, the Swiss Armed Forces. So the whole service is based on part-time soldiers, with very few professionals like instructors. Switzerland long maintained, proportionally, the second largest military force in the world. And even Air Force pilots where militia pilots, not professional ones. Most of them were airline pilots, with a fighter jet repetition course and some additional flights to practice every year. But you could also find other professions like farmers or mechanics among them. Today with the complex systems of the 4th generation, Swiss F/A-18 pilots are all full-time professional military pilots, but Swiss F-5 pilots are still reservists today.
The Swiss Hunter pilots enjoy every single flight as they miss the active duty time. You can be sure that they are highly motivated and will make sure you get the maximum out of your hunter flight. Some want to enjoy the beautiful landscape and do a cosy flight, others focus on aerobatics and military freaks often want things like ground attack simulation. It’s no problem for your pilot. A mixture of these possibilities and a route across certain famous landmarks are also possible of course. The pilots know the area very very well, so they are not only famous fighter pilots, but also very good guides. Among the Swiss Hunter pilots such well known names like Yves “Jetman” Rossy and the Swiss Astronaut Claude Nicollier can be found sometimes.
Hunter Jet Flight availability
Due to the strict regulation for fighter jet flights in Switzerland only a few dates are available. So make sure you contact us early. Usually we can offer around 4 date ranges with 3-4 days each:
-
- From Sion usually in May, June, October
- From St. Stephan usually around August 20th
Please contact us for exact dates. They are usually out by January, and especially St. Stephan is always sold out very fast.
Where does this take off from?
St. Stephan, Bern, Switzerland
Top 5 Reasons for this Flight
Speeding at near the speed of sound through mountain valleys, simulating ground attacks with veteran military pilots – enough reasons to set this flight apart from everything else, literally.
Biplane Flights in Switzerland are performed by experienced military pilots that know the country’s topography inside out. These pilots flew either the Venom, Hunter, Tiger, Mirages and the F/A-18 and know the best spots to provide a once-in-a-lifetime flight experience.
The airbase you’re going to take off is hidden in the Swiss Mountains inbetween steep mountain walls. This air strip, built and maintained mainly to fortify Switzerland, is re-opened regularly for the Hunter flights.
The topography in the Bernese Oberland simply demands high-speed valley runs. If this is your thing, that’s the way to go!
Hunter Flights are available on select dates only to preserve the aircraft from excess use. If you decide to fly the Hunter, you can be rest assured that this is a highly exclusive venture that can’t easily be copied.
Flight Characteristics
FAQ
Flights Ops are taking place at irregular intervals throughout the summer months and tend to sell out early. Contact us to appoint your flight date.
To get the most out of your flight, we recommend a 45-minutes flight. However, 25 minute flights are also lots of fun.
Sure! Up to 4 of your family and friends can accompany you to the airfield for free and watch your preparation, briefing, take-off and landing.
Photos and videos can be recorded free of charge by yourself or your friends before and after the flight. In-flight videos can be added to your flight for a fee. When buying your flight, just select it from the checkout page.
Client Quote
The Hunter jet flight experience is siply unique! Instead of sitting behind the pilot I was sitting right next to him in the Hunter. I was flying with former Swiss Air Force pilot Ueli – we had a great time and you could feel that he enjoyed the flight very much. The Swiss mountainous landscape is very beautiful, we did some high-paced valley runs, a lot of aerobatics and low level flying over glaciers. I’ll come back for sure.
More Testimonials
This truly rare opportunity to enjoy and re-live the pride of England’s glorious jet aircraft engineering first hand was worth every penny.
Four stars because the 25-minutes flight felt a little short. Still, the flight exceeded my expectations in all aspects. Highly recommended!
As regular flyer, I was especially happy to see a de Havilland Venom appearing as our right wing for parts of the flight.
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