Swiss Indoor F3P Championships in Hochdorf/Baldegg

On March 28, 2010, the 3rd Swiss Championship in the F3P class took place. The event was organized by the Emmen-Seetal Model Aircraft Club in collaboration with the local Hofdere-Indoor Model Aircraft Club. This year, it was even possible to crown a Swiss champion in the F3P-AM (Aero Musical) category as well.

Fourteen pilots competed. It was particularly gratifying that four competitors from French-speaking Switzerland and Sergej Glavak from Germany took part in the competition. Slightly fewer pilots registered for the F3P-A class, but there was a pleasingly large number of participants in the F3P-B and F3P-AM classes. Thanks to the discipline of the pilots and the judges, the competition ran smoothly, allowing for a fourth round to be flown in both the A and B programs, as agreed upon during the briefing. Overall, the skill level of the participating pilots has risen significantly. The routines performed today that placed in the middle of the pack would have been enough to win the Swiss Championship just two years ago. This shows that pilots have been training diligently and that the models they fly have been further refined. Today, a competitive model weighs around 100 grams.

In the A program, Sergej Glavak and Nico Strebel gave each other a run for their money. Sergej ultimately came out on top. However, Nico, by far the youngest participant, was crowned Swiss champion. Raphael Tinguely and Felix Zünd followed in second and third place. In the AM program, Nico also made it clear that he has what it takes as a pilot and was able to translate that into his choreography. He was also crowned Swiss champion in this program, ahead of Christian Oppliger and Raphael Tinguely. In the F3P-B class, the podium was occupied exclusively by our colleagues from French-speaking Switzerland. In terms of points, they were in a league of their own. Stéphane Drand ultimately claimed victory ahead of his colleagues Michel Guye and Boris Ziegenhagen. We hope that these pilots will aim to advance to the A program and soon compete there as well. At the end of the event, Felix Zünd presented the SMV medals to the top-ranked pilots. A heartfelt thank you to the sponsors, judges, jury members, and volunteers who ultimately made this event possible. *mitg.*