fit for f3c?

As in previous years, the 2007 season began with a training seminar, which was held in conjunction with the training session for regional judges in Bätterkinden. In the morning, Sepp Emmenegger, the national chief judge, personally guided the pilots and judges in attendance through the fundamentals of scoring and then explained each maneuver in the Promotion and Newcomer programs, as well as their evaluation, in detail. The F3C hopefuls used the afternoon for training flights.

Unfortunately, on May 5, 2007, continuous rain prevented the first round of the Swiss Cup F3C from taking place in Diessenhofen.

The second round, held on June 23, 2007, in Willisau, took place as scheduled. Despite strong winds, the beautiful weather allowed for three flights in each class at the beautifully situated airfield. By the end of the day, Marc Emmenegger had secured victory in the Promotion class, ahead of Markus Speckert and Jean-Pascal Marmy. In the Newcomers class, Niklaus Gilgen won, ahead of Andy Gasser and Swen Egli.

For the third round, as in the previous year, the Cup was hosted by the MG Rapperswil-Jona at the MG Pfäffikon airfield. The weather cooperated once again, allowing another fantastic competition to take place under the beautiful autumn sun. The third round was won by Werner Maurer, closely followed by Hugo Markes and Marc Emmenegger. Niklaus Gilgen won the Newcomer class ahead of Swen Egli and René Stoll. This year’s “Pilot of the Day” awards went to Renzo Lanini, who traveled all the way from northern Italy specifically for both competitions, and to Hugo Markes, who, thanks to his great dedication since the Cup’s inception, consistently manages to motivate many new pilots from his circle to participate.

Since the Swiss Cup F3C has now become a fixture on the Swiss helicopter competition circuit’s calendar, it will be held again in 2008. The first round will take place on April 26, 2008, at MG Bern. The second round will take place on June 7, 2008, at MG Gstaad-Saanenland. And the fall finals will, as is tradition, be held in Pfäffikon. We’re already looking forward to many exciting competitions, interesting encounters, plenty of shop talk, and, of course, lots of fun flying among like-minded enthusiasts. Why not join us? We’d like to thank everyone who has supported us through this third year and made the continued success of the Cup possible. We’re already looking forward to the fourth year of the Swiss Cup F3C and wish all pilots an exciting start to the 2008 competition season under the motto “fit for f3c?”. As always, you can find all the details and plenty of photos at www.f3c.ch. Clubs interested in hosting a round of the Swiss-Cup F3C are invited to contact us.

Text: Armin Heini Photos: Robin Cadez