Zeltweg Air Base

Zeltweg Air Base Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser
IATA: none ICAO: LOXZ
Summary
Location	Austria
Elevation AMSL	2,238 ft / 682 m
Coordinates	47°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]

Crowds at Zeltweg Air Base for Airpower 2016

Pilatus PC-7, Zeltweg, 2008

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.

History

Zeltweg Air Base has been home to 2.Staffel / Überwachungsgeschwader (Surveillance Wing) since 1976, operating a variety of fast-jet types including Saab 35OE Draaken until 2005, Northrop F-5E Tiger II, and Eurofighter Typhoons since 2007.^[3]

It is also a base for training aircraft, such as the Saab 91 Safir (retired 1992),^[4] the Pilatus PC-7 (12 in service, since 1984) and the Diamond DA 40NG (4, since 2018).^[5][6]

AirPower air show

Since 1997, the AirPower show is held at Zeltweg. The 2003 and 2005 editions featured Red Bull Air Race events.^[7][8] The show was held in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2019.^{[citation needed]} It is scheduled to be held again in 2022.^[9]

Franz Hinterstoisser, for whom the air base is now named, was an early pioneer of Austrian aviation (1863-1933).^[10]

Zeltweg Military Aviation Museum

Hangar 8 of Hinterstoisser Air Base is home to the "Zeltweg Military Aviation Museum" (Militärluftfahrtmuseum Zeltweg), a branch of the Vienna Museum of Military History (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum). The collection includes over 25 historic aircraft, and associated military equipment.^[11]

Aircraft on display include;^[12][13]

• Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter
• Agusta-Bell 204 helicopter
• De Havilland DH.115 Vampire
• Fouga CM.170 Magister
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21R (Yugoslav AF)
• Saab J29F
• Saab 35OE Draken
• Saab 105 jet trainer
• Short SC.7 Skyvan
• Yakovlev Yak-18 - the first aircraft to enter service with the Austrian Armed Forces of the Second Republic

• 
  Saab J29F
• 
  Saab 35OE Draken
• 
  MIG 21R
• 
  Skyvan SC-7
• 
  Saab 91 Safir (now preserved at Zeltweg Museum)
• 
  General view of museum

Motorsports

Zeltweg

Grand Prix Circuit (1957–1968)
Location	Zeltweg, Styria, Austria
Opened	6 October 1957; 67 years ago (1957-10-06)
Closed	25 August 1968; 56 years ago (1968-08-25)
Major events	Austrian Grand Prix (1964) World Sportscar Championship 500km of Zeltweg (1966–1968)
Grand Prix Circuit (1957–1968)
Length	3.186 km (1.980 miles)
Turns	4
Race lap record	1:04.820 (Jo Siffert, Porsche 908, 1968, Group 6)

Built in 1957 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 nearby at Kattigar.

Lap records

The Formula 1 lap record on the Zeltweg Airfield circuit is 1:10.560 by Dan Gurney in a Brabham BT7, 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.^[14] The fastest official race lap records at the Zeltweg Air Base are listed as:

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Event
Grand Prix Circuit: 3.186 km (1957–1968)
Group 6	1:04.820[14]	Jo Siffert	Porsche 908	1968 500km of Zeltweg
Group 4	1:09.400[15]	Denny Hulme[a] Paul Hawkins[a]	Ford GT40[a]	1967 Sports Car Grand Prix Österrich
Formula One	1:10.560	Dan Gurney	Brabham BT7	1964 Austrian Grand Prix
Formula Two	1:16.000[16]	Stirling Moss	Porsche 718	1960 Flugplatzrennen

Notes

1. Both drivers took the same lap time independently.

References

1. Airport record for Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser at Landings.com. Retrieved 2013-08-08
2. "location of Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
3. "2staffel-uberwachungsgeschwader". NatoTigers.org. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
4. "Photo of Saab 91 3F-SS on last day of service". www.airhistory.net. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
5. "europe/austria/zeltweg-air-base (LOXZ)". spotterguide.net. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
6. "New Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte DA40NG (article dated 22nd November 2018)". Key.aero. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
7. "2003 - Red Bull air race is born". redbull.com. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
8. "Airshow Action Zeltweg AIRPOWER05". steehouwer.com. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
9. "Bundesheer veranstaltet 2022 die AIRPOWER in Zeltweg". OTS.at (in German). Retrieved 2021-10-28.
10. Aus-Meinem-Luftschiffertagebuche, Franz-Hinterstoisser. ASIN 1167508564.
11. "Zeltweg Military Aviation Museum". Heeresgeschichtliches Museum. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
12. "Luftfahrtmuseum Zeltweg". aviationmuseum.eu. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
13. "Mig-21R, Zeltweg Museum". planewatcher.com. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
14. "Zeltweg 500 Kilometres 1968". racingsportscars.com. 25 August 1968. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
15. "Zeltweg 500 Kilometres 1967". racingsportscars.com. 20 August 1967. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
16. "1960 Zeltweg F2". Motor Sport Magazine. 18 September 1960. Retrieved 8 May 2022.