Zeltweg Air Base

Zeltweg Air Base, now known as Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser, is a military airfield in Styria, Austria near Zeltweg. It is the main airfield of the Austrian Air Force. It was also used as a motor racing circuit in the 1960s.

Zeltweg Air Base

Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser
Summary
Airport typejoint public/military
ServesZeltweg
LocationAustria
Elevation AMSL2,238 ft / 682 m
Coordinates47°12′8″N 14°44′32″E
Map
LOXZ
Location of Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser in Austria
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 2,750 9,022 ASPHALT
08L/26R 1,100 3,609 GRASS
Source: Landings.com[1][2]
Zeltweg Air Base
Location Zeltweg, Styria, Austria
Broke ground1959
Opened1964
Closed1969
Major eventsFormula One
1964 Austrian Grand Prix
FIA World Sportscar Championship 500km of Zeltweg (1966–1968)
Grand Prix Circuit
Turns4
Race lap record1:04.820 ( Jo Siffert, Porsche 908, 1968, 500km of Zeltweg)

History

The planning of an airfield in the middle of Styria was in 1935. A year later construction works carried on and in the late 1937 the first unit, the Schulgeschwader, was based in Zeltweg. On 13 March 1938 the airfield was handed over to the German Luftwaffe. They used the station as an instructor Base for twin-engine aircraft (e.g. Ju88, Ju86, Do17). In the last months of the World War 2 the Jagdgeschader 300 was stationed before the Ukraine Army occupied the region. The airfield was later handed back to the British Government and the 26. Infantry Division and the Royal Air Force was stationed here.

In the year 1955 RAF Station Zeltweg closed and the airfield was transferred back to Austria. After starting up with der Austrian Armed Forces one of the first Infantry unit were located. During 1956 the first troops of the Austrian Air Force were stationed here.

Franz Hinterstosser has done a drive with a balloon in 1902 from Salzburg over the alps to Weißkirchen, near Zeltweg. In honor to this ride the Air Base was named "Hinterstoisser" in the year 1967, to this popular Austrian airman.

Along the years there were a lot of different aircraft types stationed in Zeltweg. Some of them are possible to visit in the Austrian military aircraft museum in Zeltweg as part of the HGM.

In the year 2007 the first Austrian Eurofighter Typhoon landed in Zeltweg.

1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2016 the Airshow "Airpower" was performed on the Air Base.

Motorsports

Built in 1959 in Styria, the idea for the track came from the United Kingdom's success at Silverstone Circuit, also built on the site of an airfield. However, the track engineers at Zeltweg failed to take into account the abrasive nature of the surface. A lone Formula One World Championship Grand Prix was held in 1964. The World Sportscar Championship Zeltweg 500 Kilometres was held later, until the track was abandoned in 1969 following the construction of the purpose-built Österreichring just across the street. The Formula 1 lap record on the Zeltweg Airfield circuit is 1:09.84 by Graham Hill in a BRM, while the overall lap record is 1:04.820 and was set by Jo Siffert in a Porsche 908 during the 1968 Zeltweg 500 Kilometres.[3]

Since 1997, the AirPower show is held at Zeltweg. The 2003 and 2005 editions featured Red Bull Air Race events.

Zeltweg Air Base

References
  1. Airport record for Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser at Landings.com. Retrieved 2013-08-08
  2. Google (2013-08-08). "location of Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  3. "Zeltweg 500 Kilometres 1968". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 23 January 2015.


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