page_title: Hawker Hunter in service with Swiss Air Force
section_title: Retirement and preservation
hierarchical_section_title: Hawker Hunter in service with Swiss Air Force / Retirement and preservation
caption_attribution_description: Hawker Hunter F.58, J-4040 PAPYRUS, Air 04, Payerne, Switzerland
context_page_description: The Hawker Hunter had a very long career in Swiss Air Force from the late 1950s until they were retired in 1994. The Swiss Air Force operated 160 aircraft, both new and second-hand. The Hunter was upgraded several times and was used mainly as an attack aircraft by militia squadrons in the last decades of its service life. The retired aircraft had a ready market as a warbird and for use in target facilities operations.
context_section_description: Many Swiss Hunters were conserved, including some that were flight-worthy. Several Hunters are used in North America; one is used by a private contractor for the French Navy. Others are owned by aviation companies like ATAC and Hunter Aviation International Inc, Newark, United States. A British company, the Hunter team, claims its fleet is capable of operating at speed up to Mach 0.95, up -3.75/+7.5G for 90 minutes up to 185 km from their base, simulating air-to-air and air-to-surface threats for military customers, at a low operational cost compared to modern fighters. Lortie Aviation is another customer of the former Swiss Hunters, and claims to have flown 8,500 hours since 2002, with military missions lasting up to 2.5 hours (with four auxiliary tanks).
  There is also a Hunter Swiss civil association, Amici dell'Hunter, that perform acrobatic activities. Some of the last Swiss Hunters are available for jet-tourism; one operator charges almost 7000 euros for a 40-minute flight.
caption: J-4040 'Papyrus' at Payerne, 2004
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