3rd Round of the F3C Swiss Cup at MSV Unteres Aaretal

It’s Saturday, October 23, and the third and final race of the 2010 Swiss Cup is taking place today at the MSV Unteres Aaretal near Leugern in the canton of Aargau. Since it’s already fall and the days are cooler, the weather forecast isn’t quite as good as it was for the last two competitions, but let’s see what’s in store for us.

After a brief search in the fog, I arrive around 8 a.m. at the beautifully situated MSV Unteres Aaretal airfield—with a view of the Leibstadt nuclear power plant. A few volunteers and Rolf Hug are already there, making the final preparations; the hardworking Rolf had been there the day before and marked out the FAI field on the ground, so that’s already taken care of. It’s foggy and cold—the thermometer reads just about 7°—but it’s supposed to get better as the day goes on. Little by little, the pilots and the rest of my Swiss Cup colleagues arrive. Everyone is on time, and the fog isn’t thick enough to force us to postpone the start.

Andreas Städler kicks off the competition with the pre-flight. He competed as a Newcomer earlier this year and is now trying his hand at the Promotion class today. There are two Newcomer and eight Promotion pilots at the start—roughly the same number of pilots we’ve had at the start of every Swiss Cup round this year. There’s no wind, but it’s still a bit foggy and quite cool. Still, it’s possible to fly. Heinz Engel, the competition director, has everything under control, and the rounds are proceeding smoothly. Fabian Bersier is the first pilot to start the Promotion round. Some pilots are having trouble keeping their nerves in check and are making mistakes. But perhaps it’s also the foggy backdrop that’s preventing them from executing the maneuvers exactly as they’d like. Hans Schmuki is the only one to deliver a very good flight and, as a result, receives by far the highest score in this round. He has thus already laid the groundwork for the overall victory in the 2010 Swiss Cup; now it’s up to Swen Egli to follow suit in the second round. For lunch, we head to the nearby Restaurant Sonne in Leugern. This is a welcome opportunity to warm up a bit, since it’s still cool and foggy outside.

Finally, the announcement of the rankings and the crowning of the 2010 Swiss Cup winners. But first, the “Pilot of the Day” is named. This time, the award goes to Andreas Städler; he has improved tremendously this year—he started out as a newcomer at the beginning of the year and today competed among the promotion pilots for the first time. He was able to slot right into the middle of the pack, which is a fantastic achievement; we want to honor him for that. Heartfelt congratulations, Andreas—keep up the great work. In the Newcomer class, Max Frey ultimately prevailed over Bernhard Wirz, thereby also winning the 2010 Swiss Cup in the Newcomer class. In the Promotion class, it was already clear after the second run today that the winner would be Hans Schmuki. He’s made tremendous progress this year and has improved with every race. He is therefore the well-deserved 2010 Swiss Cup champion in the Promotion class. Heartfelt congratulations to both Swiss Cup champions, who also claimed victory in today’s race.

It was the perfect conclusion to another successful Swiss Cup season. The number of pilots was generally on the low side, but we still had exciting competitions, and it wasn’t clear until the very end who would be the 2010 Swiss Cup champion. The wonderful fall day, the autumnal colors, and the participants’ positive spirits all contributed to making it a beautiful conclusion to the 2010 Swiss Cup season. We started this year with a training day in the spring, then had two wonderful competitions in the summer, and now the final round in excellent fall weather—what more could you ask for? Postponing the third round by four weeks was more than worth it. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the pilots, the judges, and the organizers, whose infrastructure helps ensure the event’s success—so a big thank you to everyone who was there.

Then I hope to see you at the 2011 Swiss Cup. I’m looking forward to more exciting competitions and pilots who are determined to succeed. To everyone reading this: Please consider joining us sometime—it’s not that difficult, but it’s a lot of fun and a great way to make new friends.

*Swiss-Cup F3C Team,
Urs Herzog*