4th Gathering of the Knights of the Skies at Langholz Airfield

Amid beautiful weather and a lively atmosphere, the pilots arrived at the airfield with their aircraft and ground crew. There was screwing, gluing, assembling, and so on. And lo and behold: 20 stunning models were lined up on the field—large, small, electric, or turbine-powered—all built over months of work and resembling the originals almost down to the smallest detail.

After the welcome and a brief briefing, the first round got underway. Fully focused, the “knights of the skies” set to work, and the first round concluded almost without a hitch. While the pilots indulged in culinary delights prepared by the host couple, the three jury members had their hands full, as it was now their turn to examine and evaluate each model.

After discussions, technical chatter, full bellies, and streams of sweat, the second round began; once again, everyone gave it their all and skillfully piloted their aircraft through the air, as they were graded on their faithful recreation of their vintage aircraft’s flight, as well as on takeoff and a skillfully smooth landing—which didn’t always go as planned. This round, too, went off without a hitch. Now it was the jury’s turn, and they retreated to the clubhouse. Behind closed doors, they tallied the scores and discussed the results, and lo and behold, a ranking list was drawn up. Before the rankings were announced, six provisional members of MG Butikon were inducted into the club with a traditional pilot’s initiation ceremony. The five male and one female member were welcomed with laughter and applause. Last but not least, everyone was naturally curious to see how they had fared—whether their flying skills and superbly restored vintage aircraft had impressed the jury. Each of the 20 participants received a medal and a certificate from the Red Baron as a memento. But who is the 2008 Knight of the Skies? Third place went to Fabian Gafner with his Skywalker, second place to Hermann with his turboprop agricultural aircraft, and first place to Beat Egli (a member of MG Buttikon) with his Sopwith—he had already taken first place in 2006. As is customary, the winner was doused with champagne.

The satisfied faces show that it was once again a successful event, and everyone is looking forward to the next Oldie Day, when the question will be asked once more: “Who will be the Knight of the Skies 2009?” Thank you very much, Rainer, for the great event.