Active Swiss Akro Connection

April 15, 2023, had long been marked in red on the Swiss Akro Connection’s calendar. In addition to the annual judging clinic, the first official training session for acrobatic pilots was also planned for this occasion. Despite the dismal weather forecast, the turnout of tow pilots and acro pilots that Saturday morning was more than impressive. Virtually the entire glider acro community, from near and far, gathered in steady drizzle at the MFV Kulm airfield. Clearly, for many model pilots, meeting old friends and acquaintances after the long winter break was just as important as the training itself. As every year, inside the club’s own tent, the

15 judges were trained. In addition to several experienced and “veteran” Puris, chief judge Peter Streit was also able to welcome five new candidates and introduce them to the responsible task of flight judging. Meanwhile, the tow pilots and acrobatic pilots sought shelter from the rain, and there was plenty of discussion, technical talk, and the sharing of experiences and anecdotes—as well as simply enjoying the chance to get together with friends and like-minded people. A few die-hards, mainly from French-speaking Switzerland, weren’t deterred by the drizzle and managed a few beautiful—albeit “wet”—flights. During the lunch break, everyone enjoyed the delicious grilled sausages prepared by our experienced head grill master

Christoph Jäberg. Coffee and cake were also provided. All in all, it was an important and interesting day, even though the weather wasn’t ideal. The judges were prepared for the upcoming season, and the pilots certainly enjoyed

the get-together and the great atmosphere. A big thank you goes to the MFV Kulm, which provided the venue and all the necessary infrastructure and supported us in every way. →

Thanks to the various activities organized by Swiss Akro Connection—such as open house days, the Styrocup, and so on—the number of participants in the competitions has steadily grown. As a result, the event had to be split into two interregional competitions: the Eastern Interregional Competition (Central, East, NOS) and the Western Interregional Competition (AeRO, BOW, NW). This means that each event has fewer pilots and is not subject to

There is less time pressure, and more flights can be completed. On April 29, the time had finally come for the pilots from the eastern Swiss regions. Early Saturday morning, a sizeable crowd of pilots and officials gathered at the beautiful and spacious airfield of the Diessenhofen and Weinland Model Flying Club. Thirteen participants had registered for the regional program and two pilots for the rookie program. After a welcome address by competition director René Koblet and the briefings

Due to the judges and pilots, the start of the competition had to be postponed by a good hour, as a low-hanging cloud had settled directly over the airfield. At 10:30 a.m., the scoring flights were finally able to begin. The schedule called for four rounds plus a freestyle routine for the regional pilots, and five scoring flights with the standard program for the rookies. After the first round, tows were always conducted “overlapping.” This saved a lot of time, but it required a high level of attention and discipline from all participants. As planned, the freestyle flights with smoke and music began after 4:00 p.m. They always serve as both the highlight and the finale of a competition. A total of about 80 tows were performed that day, all of which went off without a hitch thanks to the tremendous experience of our tow pilots—a big compliment to the three tow pilots at this point! Following the commemorative photo, René presided over the awards ceremony. Rankings were announced for the individual regions and an overall ranking in both categories—