|
Musée de l'ALAT et de l'hélicoptère Dax
ALAT
helicopters museum (Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre, abbreviated
ALAT) is located on the airbase in southern France close to the town of
Dax. This is a military airfield, which is also used by civic clubs.
You can also find the Ecole d’Application de l’ALAT flight school which
provides initial training for helicopter pilots.
.
|
Valérie
André, the first woman to achieve the rank of brigadier general in the
French military during an armed forces career that saw her deployed as
a doctor, parachutist, and helicopter pilot. Following helicopter
flight training in France, André flew her first of 129 rescue missions
in Vietnam on Jan. 22, 1951, earning the respect of all who served with
her. She went on to serve in Algeria as both a medical rescue and troop
transport pilot and chief medical officer.
|
Open to the public in
1992, this military museum offers a journey through the history of
light aviation. The museum houses nearly 70 aircraft (helicopters and
airplanes) in its collections,not all are on display, all of which have
played a significant role in the history of ALAT and, more broadly, in
the history of rotary-wing aircraft.
It also possesses numerous unique prototypes, bearing witness to the
development of this incredible machine: the helicopter.
The pavilion’s first part
consists of an exhibition gallery. You can watch a film explaining the
history of French light aviation here, as well as see a large number of
documents, photographs, and helicopter models made on a large scale.
The exhibition’s second part is devoted to helicopter technology. You
can see turbines, engines, blades, and other helicopter parts here.
| The AS532 A2 "Horizon"
(Hélicoptère d’Observation Radar Cohérent Héliporté d’Investigation des
Éléments Ennemis) was designed for battlefield surveillance. Only four
where ever build. |
The third and last part is
the aircraft hangar, which houses helicopters and a collection of
aircrafts. The exhibition spaces will take you on a journey through
more than 60 years of history.
The Alouette II is a French light
helicopter, originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later
Aérospatiale. Performing its maiden flight On 12 March 1955, it was the
first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine engine.
|
The cultural heritage
development and preservation, which comprises all the collections
stored in the ALAT Museum, is facilitated by the ALAT Friends
Association – it was created in 1981 and has more than 500 members
today.
Most of them are former pilots and military technicians who operated
helicopters and planes, which are now museum exhibits
.
A former NVA Mil MI-8T
helicopter that was used shortly by the luftwaffe after the
reunification.
|
|
