Departure
96%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Buochs Airport (LSZC) lies in the town of Buochs in the Canton of Nidwalden, at the heart of Switzerland, and is best known today as the factory airfield of Pilatus Aircraft. A former Swiss Air Force fighter base with a long and eventful military history, it now combines general aviation, business flying and aircraft manufacturing test flights on a single long hard runway.
Buochs Airport sits in the town of Buochs in Canton Nidwalden, in the heart of Switzerland, close to Lake Lucerne. It began life as a military airfield and grew into a major Swiss Air Force fighter base before its transition to civilian operation; today it is the factory airfield of Pilatus Aircraft, the well-known aircraft manufacturer, making it a particularly interesting destination for a simulator pilot with an interest in Swiss aviation history and modern business-aircraft production.
The airfield lies in the Nidwalden region of central Switzerland, within the area served by Zurich Information. Nearby aerodromes include Alpnach, whose tower can be contacted on 128.475 MHz for arrivals, and Emmen, with its tower on 120.425 MHz, both of which are relevant when routing into or around the Buochs area.
Buochs has a single physical runway, 06/24, of hard surface construction and lit for night operations. Runway 24 is 6,355 feet long and runway 06 is 6,352 feet long. There is no ILS at the field.
Buochs Tower operates on 119.625 MHz for arrivals and departures. Zurich Information (FIS) is available on 124.7 MHz in English and German. An air-to-air frequency of 134.125 MHz is also published, along with a GCA frequency of 140.65 MHz. Pilots inbound from the west or east may also need to work Alpnach Tower on 128.475 MHz or Emmen Tower on 120.425 MHz depending on routing.
Buochs is a tower-controlled aerodrome and pilots should contact Buochs Tower on 119.625 MHz for joining and circuit instructions. Prior permission is required before flying to or from the airfield.
The airfield occupies the Buochser-Ennetbürg Allmend, a flat area beside the Engelberger Aa river, with the surrounding Nidwalden mountains and Lake Lucerne providing prominent visual references for pilots approaching the field.
Construction of a landing strip on the Buochser-Ennetbürger Allmend began in 1937, and from 1940 the Pilatus aircraft factory was built alongside the field, with the first proper runway laid out where the current main runway now lies. During the Second World War the airfield hosted active flying units, and in 1943 a second hard-surfaced runway, together with fifteen aircraft shelters and cavern hangars in the Bürgenberg, was completed. Barriers and guardhouses were installed in 1953, and by 1959 five Hunter squadrons were operating from Buochs. In 1962 the original short runway was extended to 2,000 metres to support Mirage jet operations, and a new control tower, in use until 2011, was occupied in 1964. By 1975 nine Hunter squadrons and a special squadron flew from the base, which also saw the Tiger F-5 procured. The 1990s and early 2000s brought the transition from military to civilian status: an operating company, Airport Buochs AG, was founded in 1997, operating regulations were approved in 1998, and air traffic control passed from the Swiss authorities to the airport company in 2000. The Mirage IIIS fleet was retired in 2003 with a festival and military air show, and by 2004 there was no more jet operation, though Pilatus Flugzeugwerke continued to use the field as its factory airfield; that year also saw a fatal accident when a woman was struck by an aircraft on the redundancy runway. A PC-21 prototype crashed on the airfield premises in 2005. Land no longer required by the federal government was later returned for civilian use, a new tower was built with relocation in 2015, and that year also saw the first flight of the Pilatus PC-24, the first business jet developed in Switzerland. In 2021 the Federal Office of Civil Aviation approved the full conversion of the former military airfield to civilian use.
Buochs today functions primarily as the factory airfield of Pilatus Aircraft, supporting production, test and delivery flights of types including the PC-6, PC-7, PC-9, PC-12, PC-21 and PC-24. Prior permission is required for flights to and from the airfield. The former military infrastructure, including cavern hangars, remains in place, and the airfield retains the capability to be reactivated for military use in an emergency, reflecting its origins as a Swiss Air Force base.