Rob Perkins wrote:

I dunno about that. There isn't a straight stretch of road or highway
in all the mountainous areas of Switzerland, it seems to me.

There's more about Switzerland than the Alps, you know...

Can't find Arolla on my map. Which Canton is it in?

Arolla in in the Canton Valais. You go to the town Sion and then follow
a little valley which points to the south, direction Matterhorn. At the
very end of that valley you'll find Arolla. You needn't be too
disappointed if you don't find it on your map, as it's a really really
really small village.

I spent most of my time in Basel.

That's where I'm living. You worked for the chemistry, I guess?

In any case, I don't doubt it's possible, just that it'd be really
difficult on any road the Swiss build except the Autobahn.

Yes, those runways are on the Autobahn. In fact, pieces of the Autobahn
were planned with this in mind. Don't forget that jets meant "Venom" at
that time. Runways of 6000 ft were plenty long enough. Today they fly
F/A 18 and landing on the Autobahn isn't in their plans anymore.

You'll find a short history at
http://www.vbs-ddps.ch/internet/luft...lt/freewa.html
(German only).

And even
then, they'd have to be great pilots in any case to operate in those
mountains...

Take a look at http://www.steehouwer.com/ (scroll to the bottom and
choose Swiss Air Force, Axalp). Some of those pictures are impressing.

Stefan