A heated competition in the cool drizzle

Although the Trophy was advertised as an international competition—one of the few in all of Europe this year—unlike in previous editions, it did not count toward the World Cup or the Contest Eurotour. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, there have been hardly any competitions in F3J, just as in all other model aircraft categories.

That was incentive enough for organizer Markus Schneuwly. “Now more than ever, we mustn’t bury our heads in the sand,” he told himself, and took the risk of organizing a competition. However, the event could only be scheduled on short notice and not until late fall. It was also only possible thanks to the active help of the members of the Modèles Réduits Groupement Fribourg.

One reason was the many unanswered questions surrounding the coronavirus; the other was the weeks of rainy weather in the spring and summer. The latter meant, for example, that the farmer who provided the site didn’t know until three weeks before the event whether the meadow would even be mowed by the competition date.

The weather gods were reasonably kind. Despite occasional showers, each pilot managed a total of at least eleven scoring flights over the two days. As expected for autumn days, however, the thermals were weak and sparse. The pilots therefore had to gain as much altitude as possible at takeoff. It was also crucial not to lose any landing points.

There’s little new to report regarding the models used: Maxa, Pike, and Explorer in various versions

are still the choice of many pilots. The only new addition was the Prestige 2PK from Samba Model.

For the first time, the launch distance was shortened to 130 meters from the winch to the pulley. The rules actually stipulate a maximum distance of 150 meters. The landing areas were set up between the launch runways. While this was a bit of a new experience for all pilots, the terrain simply didn’t allow for more space. The competition kicked off at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. With drizzle in the air, the difficulty level was extremely high. Flight times of 10 minutes were only possible in very few runs.

Sunday morning began with fog. But gradually, the sun began to peek out, bringing smiles to the pilots’ faces. Because sunshine usually means thermals! After the first

After runs with flight times of less than 8 minutes, light thermals finally set in. By noon, the fly-off qualification was complete. After eleven rounds and one discarded result, there was only a 1.1 percent difference between first and sixth place—a very close contest.

But in the final, with a time limit of 15 minutes, everyone started from scratch. Although there were some thermals, the pilots played it safe—none dared to make a short takeoff. At the end of a thrilling fly-off consisting of two rounds, Dominique Wettstein (CH) came out on top. Behind him, Thomas Kuebler (CH) and Roland Kurtz (D) took the runner-up spots. At the awards ceremony, Düdingen City Councilwoman

Marianne Dietrich, the council member responsible for sports, addressed the audience and the pilots. She said the Fribourg’s Trophy had been a very educational event for her. “You could also call it continuing education, because I wasn’t aware that model flying is possible without disturbing the surrounding area,” she said.

Following a successful event with an excellent atmosphere among the pilots and volunteers, it has already been decided that the 4th Fribourg’s Trophy will take place next year at the same location, once again as a World Cup and Euro-Contest. The date has been set for the weekend of May 21–22, 2022. ■

*Christian Hunkeler*