Helicopters Restoration activity

	The activity pupose Enthusiasts all voluntary Restoration means

Alexandre Gomis, a former helicopter mechanic in Indochina and Algeria who died in 1993, took the initiative to develop CELAG's restoration activity in 1977.

This activity, at first oriented toward planes, quickly turned to rotary wings through the acquisition of a Sikorsky H-34, in a regleted state in the court of the Air orphan school of Grenoble.
In 1981, a Sikorsky H-19 and a Piasecki H-21 arrived Quai de France, at the bottom of the "Jardin des Dauphins" close to the Grenoble's downtown, where the head office of the association was until 1987.

Today installed on the airfield of Le Versoud (near Grenoble in France), CELAG has increased its helicopter collection. It proposes to reveal about ten full-scale aircrafts, rebuilt or under restoration, and several historic parts during exhibitions or on this web site.

The activity purpose

With its action of preservation, the restoration activity of the CELAG contributes to the safeguard of the French Aeronautical Patrimony. From that it is affiliated with the "Fédération Française des Ailes Anciennes" (French Federation of Old Planes Restoration and Preservation) under the label "Ailes Anciennes de l'Isère". In spite of lacks of space and means, it endeavours to recover abandoned helicopters or these used as targets on military fields, in order to preserve them.

Later, CELAG intends to create a Regional Helicopter Museum, in order to make easy the discovery of these marvellous and essential aircraft which are the helicopters.
While waiting for this museum, it proposes to introduce you to the rotary wings at the time of exhibitions in its buildings, during open days, or at the time of external events.

CELAG also intends to allow enthusiasts to fully live their passion at lower cost.

The Restoration activity is also affiliated to the Fédération Française de Giraviation. (French federation of old planes restoration and preservation)

Enthusiasts all voluntary

The team's members, all voluntary, will guide you in the so particular technical and historic civil and military helicopter universe. These enthusiastic people will make you share secrets of these marvelous machines.

They will communicate you their enthusiasm, their team spirit and their rigor in the restoration work.

Restoration means

The work of CELAG is only based on the voluntary service of the members of the association, and on the help of a few friendly people.

Facing the scale of the task and the rarity of some aircraft, CELAG only has the subscription free of its members as financial means. Thus, CELAG's materials of the restoration activity come all from transfer from the French Minister of Defence, or from private transfer. The location was placed at its disposal by the city of Grenoble.

This activity only continues to develop thanks to the exceptional devotion and fidelity of its members and
of the entities which sustain it : a large part has been active for more than ten years, without other compensation than the satisfaction of the sight of aircraft revival.

These voluntary passionates, from all socio-professional origins and ages, meet within a competent technical structure, supervised by professional mechanics on helicopters and planes, and having the indispensable technical documentation at their disposal.

During the last two decades, it allowed five young Restoration activity members to make their passion a job (pilots, mechanics, engineer).