'Fly-In' to the Kilomètre Lancé 2022
Meeting of special aircraft and pilots with car and motorbike enthusiasts at Engadin Airport St. Moritz - Samedan
After the successful inaugural event in 2021 of the kilometre sprint race based on a historical model - the Kilomètre Lancé - at Engadin Airport with its fascinating variety of special cars and motorbikes, the format will be expanded in 2022 and, as an addition, a 'Fly-In' will be held for the first time in the same framework of the opening weekend of the International St. Moritz Automobile Week.
By invitation, selected aircraft and their pilots will be guests in the beautiful Engadine valley and, under the motto 'Petrol meets paraffin', will inspire the numerous aviation and technology enthusiasts among the guests and participants.
The Engadine Airport St. Moritz - Samedan offers the ideal platform for this. The new format will be launched from 2 to 4 September 2022 during the Kilomètre Lancé 2022.
The initiators of the 'Fly-In' are the organiser of the Kilomètre Lancé, Tobias Aichele from the PR and event agency Solitude GmbH and Rainer Kühlwein, advisor for the areas of design and aviation, with the support of the management and the team from Engadin Airport St. Moritz - Samedan. The organisation is initially establishing contacts and partnerships with museums, aviation groups, private owners, restoration specialists, manufacturers and business aviation/jet services.
The first fly-in is planned with a manageable number of 5-6 aircraft. The project manager for the Fly-In is Rainer Kühlwein, Advisor Aviation and Design, Phone +49 151 12736600, Mail
The venue - 'Engadin Airport St. Moritz - Samedan' airport
Engadin Airport is located at an altitude of 1707 m/ 5600 ft, making it Europe's highest commercial airport. It has been around since 1938, and is actually just a stone's throw from the shell road where the Kilomètre Lancé was first held in 1929. Engadin Airport, with ICAO airport code LSZS, is today a regional VFR/ IFR (visual/instrument flight) airport, open to private and commercial operators, which can be approached by international destinations and is thus also a Schengen external border and customs aerodrome. Thus, all extraordinary activities must be approved by the BAZG/Customs. This is also the only way to temporarily close the runway for Kilomètre Lancé. Helicopter operations are maintained throughout, which is indispensable as they also have to be called up for medical emergencies.
The asphalt runway 03 / 21 is 1,840 m long and 40 m wide, with a gradient of 0.4 % (Runway 03) or 0.4 % (Runway 21).
The legendary Pilatus PC-6 Porter YETI arrives, the last piston engine specimen, in the famous livery of the Dhaulagiri Expedition in the Himalayas in 1960.
Flieger Museum Oberaargau/ Yeti Flyers
Pilot: Beat Roos/ Peter Daetwyler
Description: All-purpose single-engine work and passenger aircraft with short take-off qualities (STOL), often used for supply and rescue flights in the mountains.
Wing span: 15.13 m
Length: 10.20 m
Weight: 1070 kg
Top speed: 233 km/h
Range: 1200 km (640 km with max. payload)
Maiden flight: 1959
More than 60 years ago, a Pilatus Porter became famous in the Himalayas. On 12 March 1960, the first prototype of the Porter took off on a trip to Nepal. Christened "Yeti", it provided the best service for the Swiss Dhaulagiri expedition. Until a spectacular crash at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, the Porter flew numerous material and passenger transports with full payloads up to an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level and received an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest landing ever made by a fixed-wing aircraft. After about two years of total overhaul of a PC-6 Porter, Peter Daetwyler and Beat Roos will write Swiss aviation history in Langenthal in early 2022. In the livery of the legendary Yeti of the Himalayan expedition, the aircraft took off for its second maiden flight after a long break from flying and has since proven its airworthiness in numerous test flights. The aircraft, lovingly and knowledgeably restored by the Yeti Flyers, is a valuable unique specimen, the last Porter in the world with a piston engine that is airworthy.
