Thirteen police helicopters fly daily from Munich for Alpine training

Thirteen police helicopters are flying from Munich towards the Alps each day for training in mountainous terrain, BR24 reports. The federal and state police exercise is under way and is scheduled to continue until October 16.

The helicopters take off at about 9 a.m. from the Federal Police aviation squadron in Oberschleißheim, north of Munich. This week they are heading to the Chiemsee area; next week they are due to fly towards Füssen. They generally return between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. The Federal Police said the training prepares pilots and flight technicians for challenging terrain and asked the public to understand that flights may cause noise.

The course is being held for the 45th time. Participants are trained police officers, and the professional helicopter pilot course lasts 22 months. On the first day of training, student pilots learned about the particular demands of mountain flying, including protecting nature. Crews also practised mountain navigation and off-field landings at altitudes of up to 5,000 feet, or about 1,500 metres.

Previous training locations have included the Inn Valley as far as the Reiteralpe and the Alpine region between Lake Kochel and Ruhpolding.