Within the Swiss aviation community, Jörg Wiesmann is almost universally known as “Capito.” I was naturally curious and asked him about the origin of the nickname: “Back then, the Swiss Air Force used the Bambini radio code, which stayed in use until 1998. To acknowledge a message, we would say ‘capito’ at the end. The nickname “Capito” was given to me by Peter Bregg, a flight instructor and chief of the airfield in Schänis, where I was flying the plane used to tow gliders. Since then, many people have started calling me by using this nickname”.

Jörg Wiesmann was born in 1949 in Uetikon am See (ZH), a village overlooking Lake Zurich. He attended the local compulsory schools and then, between 1965 and 1969, completed an apprenticeship as an aircraft mechanic with the Direktion Militärflugplätze Dübendorf – DMP (Directorate of Military Airfields in Dübendorf).
After finishing his apprenticeship, he continued working on behalf of DMP, first as an aviation mechanic, and later as an air traffic controller. This allowed him to finance the cost of earning his private pilot’s license. His first training flight took place on November 2, 1970 at the airport of Locarno/TI, with instructor Ruedi Meier in a Cessna 150. He later gained experience as a glider-towing pilot flying a Champion 7 GCA and a Morane-Saulnier MS 894A at Schänis airfield/SG. Afterwards he learned to fly the Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter thanks to Pilatus pilot Guido Good. On behalf of the company Zimex Aviation, he carried out numerous ferry flights between Zurich and Buochs. For about 15 years he flew the Turbo Porter for parachute-dropping operations.

On July 4, 1975, he obtained his commercial airplane pilot’s license. That same year, he left his job at the control tower in Dübendorf and began working for Rega as an aviation mechanic. From that moment on, he gradually became involved in the world of helicopters. 

Helicopter pilot

During the 1960s and 1970s, faced with a rising need for aerial transport by helicopter, a number of Austrian army pilots moved to Switzerland to become commercial pilots bringing their flight experience with them. The Swiss Confederation recognized the need to train its own pilots and therefore subsidized part of their training, on the condition that the candidates signed a five-year employment contract with a civilian helicopter operator.
After discussing the matter with Dr. Christian Bühler, then director of Rega, Rega helicopter pilot Ueli Soltermann (1944–2024) suggested that Jörg Wiesmann should train as a helicopter pilot. Jörg embraced the idea with enthusiasm and, after obtaining the subsidy, started his training on January 12, 1976 in Wangen-Lachen. His instructor was Soltermann himself — Jörg was his first student — flying a Hughes 269C operated by Fuchs Helikopter.
On February 20, he finished the “Level A” training program for private helicopter pilots. Back then, 35 flight hours were required; however, he was granted a 10-hour credit because he already possessed an airplane pilot license. On the same day he took the examination flight with FOCA inspector Werner Donau, after which he was issued private pilot helicopter license No. 211.

Qualification as a commercial pilot

The next step was obtaining the commercial pilot license. On October 19, 1976, in Belp, together with Heliswiss instructor Jean Seydoux, he began the “Level B” course (commercial license) flying an Agusta-Bell 47G3B-1.
The course was completed on November 3, after the required 25 flight hours, and was followed by another 15 hours of flight training ("Level C" – mountain landings up to 1,500 meters), during which he obtained the type rating for the Bell 206 Jet Ranger.

The “Level D” training course – high-mountain landings (above 1,500 meters) was completed in the following weeks, partly in the Bernese Alps and partly in the Grisons Alps. The final part ("Level E" – night flying) took place in Belp between the end of November and the beginning of December.
On December 2, 1976, the then Heliswiss chief pilot Walter Demuth certified the completion of the entire training program.

First commercial flights

On May 7, 1977 with a total flight experience of 137 hours, Jörg carried out his first commercial passenger flights in Affoltern, flying Hughes 500D and Hughes 269C helicopters operated by Fuchs Helikopter under the supervision of Werner Stokmaier. During the summer, Rega’s flight activity intensified. After completing several flights as co-pilot with Ueli Soltermann and Christian Bühler at the controls of SA 319B Alouette III, BO-105, and Bell 206 JetRanger, Rega operations center assigned him his first missions as pilot-in-command (PIC) transporting injured patients. At first he flew the Bell 206 JetRanger and the Alouette III, and later the BO-105.

At the same time, he also had the opportunity to carry out passenger and sightseeing flights on behalf of Heliswiss and occasionally Fuchs Helikopter.

Pilot at Heli-Linth

Heli-Linth, based at Mollis airfield in the Canton of Glarus, was for many years an important Rega partner in central Switzerland. In addition to commercial transport operations, the company also carried out air-rescue missions.
In February 1979, Jörg Wiesmann joined the small team of the Glarus-based company as a helicopter mechanic and commercial pilot. Flying Hughes 269C and Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters, he carried out passenger and cargo transports, scenic flights, heli-skiing, and supply flights to mountain huts and alpine pastures.
He frequently flew the SE 3160 Alouette III (HB-XDF), which was used both for commercial operations and as an air ambulance.

On April 26, 1979, in Marseille, he attended (as one of the first Swiss pilots) the training course on the brand-new AS 350B Écureuil. At the end of the course, together with Peter Kolesnik, he ferried the brand-new “Golf-Whiskey”, the first AS 350B Écureuil registered in Switzerland, to Mollis.

Move to Heliswiss

A year later he began working for Heliswiss at the bases of Samedan and Erstfeld where he mainly flew the SA 315B Lama, the Alouette III, and the Bell 206 JetRanger. During the summer he carried out numerous transport flights with these aircraft, gaining new valuable experience. At the end of the summer he attended an introductory course in Belp to become a flight instructor. 
It was in the role of flight instructor that in May 1981 he was sent for a week to Lesotho. In this South African enclave, entirely located above 1,400 meters above sea level and crossed by a network of rivers and mountain ranges — including Thabana Ntlenyana, the country’s highest peak at 3,482 meters — he was tasked with training a flight instructor of the newly established local air force, using a Bell 47 Soloy.

This first assignment abroad was followed by others. For example, in Oman in October–November 1980 (and again the following year), he carried out numerous flights for the aerial treatment of date palm trees using a Bell 206 JetRanger equipped with a spray system.

Heavy transports with the Super Puma

In the late spring of 1982 rumors began circulating that the newly founded company Helog (Helicopter Logging) planned to purchase an Aérospatiale AS 332C1 Super Puma to carry out logging operations. In July 1982, the helicopter, the first of this series to be registered in Switzerland, landed in Belp flown by Josef Zanger and Bruno Diethelm. Many professionals from competing companies predicted a short career for the newcomer, but they turned out to be totally wrong.
Jörg Wiesmann followed the development of the new helicopter company with interest and reveals, among other things, why the helicopter was painted in three colors. Each represented one of the main investors: light green for Christen AG Bauunternehmung of Küssnacht, dark green for the transport company Huber of Cham, and red for the Schilliger sawmill in Küssnacht am Rigi.
The Super Puma was initially used mainly for timber transport (about 80% of operations), while 15% consisted of other types of transport such as moving large machinery and construction equipment. The remaining 5% included ferry and technical flights, and occasionally participation in aviation meetings.
Attracted by the prospect of sitting at the controls of such a large aircraft, he enthusiastically accepted Helog’s attractive job offer. He therefore attended a technical course at the French manufacturer in Marignane, and in early May 1983 began Super Puma flight training with Joe Zangerl, who served as Helog’s director of flight operations.
After passing the examinations required by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), he began his first logging operations as a co-pilot. In July, after accumulating the required flight hours he started flying as pilot-in-command (PIC). 
Thanks to its lifting capacity of up to 4,500 kg, the Super Puma soon found new areas of application.

Regarding this development, Jörg Wiesmann recalls: “The know-how for carrying out aerial assembly work developed slowly. Among the various difficulties, we also had to build the trust of cableway manufacturers. Over time even the most skeptical began to build larger and heavier sections and entrusted Helog with new assignments, sometimes very demanding ones. From our side it must be said that at the beginning it wasn’t easy, it was quite a challenge. Step by step we moved from using mirrors, then we removed the door so that the pilot had a direct reference, and finally the bubble door was introduced. That was a big step forward. Another major improvement came from more efficient radio transceivers and new equipment, such as the transport cable with an electrically operated release controlled by the pilot”.
During that period Aérospatiale closely observed Helog’s operations to understand how the helicopter was being used and required Helog to install the Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS). This system records the condition of critical helicopter components and systems, allowing technicians to detect early signs of problems, such as abnormal vibrations, and correct them before they affect operational safety. The onboard equipment stores the data, which can later be analyzed by technicians. These systems brought significant improvements in safety and reliability. Helog can therefore rightly be considered a true pioneer in the commercial use of the Super Puma.
One day, while flying the Super Puma, Wiesmann heard over the radio that a Rega crew was in difficulty on the Galenstock. Because of the strong wind, the pilot was unable to recover the doctor and the patient. Wiesmann then spontaneously offered his help. He decided to drop off his passengers on the glacier so he could assist the two men in trouble. Shortly after they were successfully recovered and transported back to the rescue helicopter waiting nearby.

A very special passenger

In one of his logbooks there is an entry and a signature highlighted in green to commemorate a very special event. The signature belongs to Pope John Paul II, who on June 14, 1984 during his visit in Switzerland (and the following year in Liechtenstein), was transported aboard the Super Puma piloted by Jörg Wiesmann.

During the years spent with Helog he carried out every kind of transport operation with the large helicopter: logging, aerial assembly work, transport of machinery and silos, installation of antennas, forest-fire fighting, and much more, including the training of new pilots. 
In March 1985, he attended a mountain flight instructor course organized by the inspectors of the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation Gaston Monod and Markus Burkhard. 
In the spring of 1987 he returned to Heliswiss. Trained by Walter Tschumi, Jean‑Bernhard Schmid, and Matthey Grünenfelder, he first learned to fly the historic Agusta‑Bell 204B HB-XCG and later obtained the type-rating on the Bell 214B‑1 BigLifter and the Bell 205A‑1. With these and other helicopters, he carried out thousands of flights transporting timber, building materials, and supplies for construction sites and alpine pastures throughout Switzerland.

During the winter months he could often be found in Samedan or Gstaad, where he performed heli-ski flights, or in Schindellegi, where he was engaged in training student pilots on behalf of Fuchs Helikopter.

From rotor to fixed wing aircraft

Although he continued to fly helicopters regularly, between 1988 and 1997 Jörg Wiesmann also worked as an airplane pilot.
Fascinated by instrument flying, he used a bonus received from Helog to attend an IFR course with the company Horizon on a Piper PA‑34 Seneca. After completing the course he was hired by Cargo and Passenger Service, a company owned by Moritz Suter, founder of Crossair.

While he was in San Antonio, Texas, completing the type-rating course on the Saab 340, he was informed that Cargo and Passenger Service had ceased operations. He was then offered the opportunity to join Crossair. For this airline he flew several aircraft, including Fokker 50, Saab 340, and Saab 2000.

Federal Office of Civil Aviation pilot

For about two years, between 1997 and 1999, Jörg Wiesmann was employed by the Swiss Confederation aerial transport service, which at the time was still part of FOCA. In that period he had the opportunity to fly aircraft such as Aérospatiale Alouette II and III, Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, Agusta A109E Power, and Beechcraft King Air.
With these aircraft he transported Federal Councillors and other political figures. VIP transport was a task he carried out frequently. Even in later years, as a helicopter pilot, he performed many flights during the World Economic Forum in Davos, flying distinguished passengers to Samedan Airport, Friedrichshafen, St. Gallen–Altenrhein, Mollis and Zurich.
In 1999 he returned to work for Crossair, and later joined the German airline OLT – Ostfriesische Lufttransport, flying passenger services on the Saab 2000.
During those years he often had the opportunity to fly helicopters for Heliswiss, Heli-Linth, and also Rega, replacing other pilots or helping during periods of heavy workload.
After a brief period flying the Fokker 100 with Helvetic Airways, he was hired periodically by various helicopter operators such as CAT‑Heli, Air‑Glaciers, Helog, Heli-Linth, and occasionally Heli Bernina. With the aircraft of these operators he carried out commercial flights and air-rescue missions. 
After historic helicopters like the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama and the Aérospatiale SE 3160 Alouette III were withdrawn from service, he went on to complete many flights with the newer Eurocopter AS350 B3 Ecureuil.

Sometimes they come back…

In September 2005, at the heliport of Hältikon, Jörg Wiesmann came again across his beloved HB-XNE, now carrying the new registration D-HLOG. On September 10, he took the controls of the Super Puma once more for a refresh training, in preparation for an important new mission abroad.
On September 21, along with pilot Daniel Neugel, he departed from Salzburg and, flying in stages, reached Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where the helicopter was employed for a long period on behalf of the United Nations. His last flight at the controls of this helicopter took place on July 1, 2007.
After completing that assignment, he went back to work for Air-Glaciers at the base of Saanen and later in Mollis for Heli-Linth, where he was entrusted with Rega standby duty. At the controls of helicopters he carried out an endless variety of missions: from concrete transport to VIP flights, from sightseeing flights to aerial assembly operations.
On January 9, 2014, just a few days before turning 65, he transported a patient from Poschiavo valley to the Cantonal hospital of Chur, thus bringing to an end his incredible adventure in the Swiss skies, which had lasted more than forty years.