| Bernhard Berset | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | Beni |
| Place of birth | Switzerland |
| Allegiance |
 Switzerland |
| Service/branch | Swiss Air Force |
| Years of service | 1984–present |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel German: Oberstleutnant NATO-Code: OF-4. |
| Commands held | Chief Testpilot at Armasuisse |
Bernhard "Beni" Berset is the chief test pilot aby the Armasuisse and a pilot of the Swiss Air Force. He is a professional officer in the rank of Lieutenant colonel and Chief Air Defense (CAD) in militia duty.
Life[]
Bernhard Berset had begun his aviation career with gliding flying lessons of the FVS. After completing the pilot recruiting school and certification in 1984, he was assigned to an F-5 militia squadron. He studied physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich. After this he flew for several years as a co-pilot for Swissair before moving to Armasuisse in 1995 as a test pilot. During this period, he also changed in the Air Force to the Fighter Squadron 18. Berset is working as hief test pilot for Armasuisse on the Militärflugplatz Emmen. He is responsible for test flights and tests of updates of the F-5E, F-5F, F/A-18C (usually with the J-5001) and F/A-18D (mostly the J-5232). He also participated in weapons tests (including shooting on QF-4Target drones[1]). ) with weapon tests of AIM-9X Sidewinder’s in China Lake from April 2 to December 15, 2007.[2] He is responsible for evaluation flights with airplanes, which are available for procurement for the Swiss Air Force. In addition, he runs FLORAKO calibration flights with the ArmasuissePC-12 HB-FOG as well as test flights with the Diamond DA42 Centaur OPA R-711 to develop procedures for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in mixed airspace. Bernhard Berset also served as a chief testpilot for the evaluation of a successor aircraft for the F-5. In this function, he tested the Gripen, Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon. In view of the planned procurement of the Gripen he passed the test and integration flights for the new Gripen E from the Swiss side. Prior to the vote on the procurement of the new combat aircraft, he gave several lectures on the topic. .[3] The debate on the tests and the procurement discussion received a great deal of media attention in Switzerland, and international aviatics media also pursued their work with interest.[4][5][6]
In his militia function, he acts as Chief Air Defense in the Air Force ‘s Air Defense and Directions Center ADDC at the Dübendorf Air Base. As a fighter jet pilot, he flies the F/A-18 Hornet at the Fliegerstaffel 18 On the Payerne Air Base.[7]
Personal life[]
He is married and lives in Neuenkirch.
Types of aircraft[]
- During his training, he had been trained as a combat pilot on Pilatus PC-7 and de Havilland Vampire aircraft. In his training as a test pilot he flew the Dassault Mirage 2000 in France.
- In his function as a professional military pilot, he currently flies the following types of aircraft in the Swiss Air Force: Pilatus PC-7, Pilatus PC-9, F-5E, F-5F, F/A-18C und F/A-18D.
- In the Armasuisse, he flies the Pilatus PC-6 Porter, Diamond DA42 OPA, Pilatus PC-12, F-5E, F-5F, F/A-18 C and F/A-18D.
- For the evaluations he flew the following aircraft: Alenia C-27J Spartan, Dassault Falcon 900, EADS CASA C-295, Dassault Rafale , Eurofighter Typhoon and the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, (before the referendum against the procurement of the Saab Gripen he flew all Gripen versions Jas-39A, Jas-39B, Jas-39C, Jas-39D and Jas-39NG /Jas-39F).
External links[]
- Bernhard Berset, explains the phenomena of the supersonic flight
- Bernhard Berset says to 20 minutes how it feels to fly the fighterjet.
- Bernhard Berset provides professional information on the Gripen at public events
- Cheftestpilot Bernhard Berset Bernhard Berset About flight simulator procurement. skynews.ch May 2009 page 46
- English-language report on Gripen testflights with statements from B.Berset
- Pakistan Defence English-language report on Gripen testflights with statements from B.Berset
References[]
- ↑ In den USA scharf geschossen - Pilot erzählt Mitgliedern des Huntervereins von Testkampagne Berset reports about missiletests
- ↑ skynews.ch No. 5. 2007. Page 12.
- ↑ Bernhard Berset provides professional information on the Gripen at public events
- ↑ Bernhard Berset says to 20 minutes how it feels to fly the fighterjet
- ↑ English-language report on Gripen test flight with statements from B.Berset
- ↑ Pakistan Defence English-language report on Gripen test flight with statements from B.Berset
- ↑ online Berhard Berset profi F/A-18 Pilot
The original article can be found at Bernhard Berset and the edit history here.