U.S. Army Europe aviators join multinational colleagues at Niederstetten air show

Sept. 21, 2011

By U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs

Photo credit Sgt. Joel Salgado

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Russell Grau, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot with 5th Battalion, 158th General Aviation Support Battalion, 12t Combat Aviation Brigade, guides a German family through a tour of his aircraft at the 2011 Neiderstetten air show at Hermann-Köhl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, Sept. 18. The U.S. crews were joined in the show by fellow aviators from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic.

HEIDELBERG, Germany – Not even a torrential downpour could keep Soldiers from U.S. Army Europe's 12th Combat Aviation Brigade from the 2011 Niederstetten air show, at Social Media: the Hermann-Köhl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany September 18. Facebook

The CAB's 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment sent an AH-64 Apache attack Twitter helicopter with its pilot and co-pilot to participate in the show. They were joined by crew YouTube members from the 5th Battalion, 158th General Support Aviation Battalion who added one UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter and one CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter to the Flickr event. The USAREUR aviators were joined by air crews from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic who also came to showcase their various aircraft in flight and static displays.

The air show celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Bundeswehr's Army Aviators Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 and the 50th anniversary of the Bundeswehr presence at the airfield, according to the show's website.

"I like it very much. It's good for communication, especially since we are all NATO," said Staff Sgt. Harald Lummerstorfor of the Austrian air force, who came to the event as part of the crew of a C-130 cargo aircraft.

The aircraft in the show were open for the public and allied aviators to tour. The 12th CAB aviators were on hand to answer questions about their aircraft. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Russell Grau, a Black Hawk pilot with Company A, 5-158th Aviation, said taking part in the show was "pretty cool."

"It's a blast," Grau said. "As a kid I used to love crawling in and out of helicopters, but now I get to be the guy that is standing next to them."

Bundeswehr flight test engineer Stefanie Nuebel said international participation in the show made it interesting.

"It's quite good that there are many nations coming here," she said. It's a really nice opportunity to meet people and see their aircraft."

"The opportunity to take part in an event like the Niederstetten air show is part of what makes an assignment to Europe special and important," said Col. Van Voorhees, commander of the 12th CAB. "This event provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase the American military … It will without question help be an important part of continuing to strengthen partnership and understanding between our allies and the United States Army in Europe."

More information on the show can be found online at www.flugtag-niederstetten-2011.de.