Memories of the Spilve Helicopter Base
During the Soviet era, there was a helicopter base in the southwestern part of Spilve Airport. It could be clearly seen from the nearby Kleisti Forest dunes and the Riga-Bolderaja railway branch, which led to the Riga varnish and paint factory.
At that time, at least once a day, helicopters flew over Iļģuciem and Pārdaugava, creating a deafening noise. Whether they were military or civilian - it seems to be both types. Of course, this excited us children: we ran along the yard with them, threw our hats in the air and shouted loudly "hurrah, hurrah". Then we played the most popular game of "that time" - "war", where "ours" usually defeated the "Germans". The location of the helicopter field is still visible today. To the west of the Helicopter Base was the Kleisti Forest massif with a high, standing dune, which in the 70s and 80s was popularly called Locator Hill. During the Soviet era, there were two (later - probably one) radars there, which constantly rotated around their axis. Locators, apparently, provided airport communications. The hill was surrounded by a barbed wire fence, but there were no restrictions on movement in the nearby forest. Near the locator hill was a huge farm complex where Soviet soldiers raised pigs. It could be clearly seen from the highest points of the dunes. The locator hill has still been preserved (including the concrete foundations of the locators), but in place of the former pig farm there is now a real “pig pen”. In terms of appearance - even worse than a quarter of a century ago! Needless to say, the legendary Battle of Spilve took place in 1701 on the site of the current Spilve airfield - in the Spilve meadows - a rather significant military event at that time.
