This weekend Cordoba experienced a special visit: the Argentine Army arrived at the Military Aviation School on Saturday afternoon as part of the deployment of units to the north of Argentina for the «General Arias» Exercise, which is being carried out in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy.
Cordoba’s helicopter geeks were aware of this movement and started to get ready early in the morning since the take-off of the helicopters from Campo de Mayo that was scheduled for Saturday at early hours, and it finally took place around 10 am.
As part of the trip, the helicopters belonging to the Assault Helicopter Battalion 601 and the Exploration and Attack Helicopter Battalion 602 were to make stops in the city of Rosario and Sauce Viejo. After this, the trip would head to the city of Cordoba, where these aircraft would spend the night at the Military Aviation School (Escuela de Aviación Militar -EAM) of the Argentine Air Force to continue early Sunday with their trip to Oran, Salta.
After the stopover in Santa Fe, they undertook the last leg of their planned trip on Saturday, arriving in Cordoba at 17hs approximately.
The scene for the citizens and fans of Cordoba was as unusual as surprising: 13 helicopters formed in the air with the particular sound of the Huey II, a rotary wings classic.
The entry route defined by the Cordoba air traffic control indicated an entry from the north of the city, then circling to the west to enter by heading 02 of the EAM runway.
The entry planning to the apron was done in two sections, being the first to enter the second section, divided on the runway by taxiway Charlie.
Guided by the personnel on the ground, one by one the helicopters took position on the pad, while the deafening noise began to make itself felt.
13 helicopters joined the Huey II based at EAM to deploy early Sunday morning and continue north.
On Sunday morning, we met at EAM again, 6 AM was the scheduled time as the first section composed of 6 helicopters was to start at 06:45hs, while in 15 minutes intervals would follow the departure of two more sections, each composed of four helicopters.
Aviacionline was there to portray these movements and in the following days, we will present a video summary of the operation in Escuela de Aviación Militar on the occasion of this deployment of the Argentine Army.
Thanks to the Army Rapid Deployment Section and all its personnel, with whom we shared days in absolute comfort and whose predisposition made it possible to obtain this chronicle, which symbolizes the camaraderie and spirit of the Argentine Army.
