Mega Pit Stops

At Lufthansa Technik Malta, 700 hidden figures keep aviation the safest way to travel. The highly trained team specializes in aircraft safety checks and overhauls. They inspect and repair fleets from airlines around the world. The ultimate Mega Pitstop!

Sapsan means "peregrine falcon" in russian. Both, the falcon and the train are true long-distance-specialists. However, after 1.2 million kilometers, each Sapsan is due for its big R3-revision. Since the Sapsan trains have only been launched in 2009, for the first time ever now a Russian high-speed train returns into the depot for the biggest overhaul in its entire life span.

In only 40 days, the Gripen is stripped down to its bone, everything from the ejection seat to the engine is removed and checked. The 14 Gripen of the airbase are part of the "Quick Reaction Alert" Force of the NATO. If they are not in the air, the airspace is not protected. That puts a lot of time pressure and liability to the 11 mechanics, who are responsible for the aircraft.

The flexible support ship is 137 meters long and equipped with high-precision weapon systems: From torpedoes to machine guns to anti-missile weapons. Thanks to its smooth and angled outer skin, the Absalon reflects only a fraction of radar radiation, making her extremely difficult to detect. The tracking systems of the warship itself, on the other hand, have the most sophisticated technology.

It is an almost impossible endeauvour: The Peter Pan, a gigantic car ferry shall become - even bigger. It is lengthened from 190 to a mighty 220 metres! How do the engineers do that? They cut the ferry into two parts and insert a 30-meter-long section in the middle, which is prefabricated in another shipyard, 200 kilometers away. All this - in just 58 days.