Swiss Championship and National Qualifier for F3C Helicopters: Ready for the 2009 World Championships

Ready for the 2009 World Championships

This year’s World Helicopter Championships will be held this summer in Muncie, Indiana, USA, at the headquarters of the American Model Aviation Association (AMA). The participating Swiss helicopter team also had to go through a rigorous selection process last year. The Swiss Championships in San Vittore and the NMA in Brislach were used as qualifying events.

For the first time in a long while, we were once again invited to a national event in the southern part of our country. Several up-and-coming model helicopter pilots, along with Enio Graber, are members of the GESV club and were responsible for organizing the event. Due to the longer travel time for those from northern Switzerland, many arrived as early as Friday; a practice flight at a new or unfamiliar site always helps pilots get acclimated and calm their nerves. We were lucky with the weather, and so by Friday evening, many of us had already gathered at the San Vittore model flying field. This is a former military airfield dating back to World War I. We then rounded off the wonderful summer evening at the Motel Lumino. The nightcap under the pergola and the interesting discussions put me in a vacation mood.

A “steel-blue” sky drew us to the model aircraft field on Saturday morning; at exactly 9:00 a.m., Peter Oberli, the competition director and coach of the national team, welcomed us. The president of the GESV also addressed us in German (which isn’t always a given) and wished all participants, volunteers, and judges an interesting and exciting competition. Eleven participants had registered on the start list and took part in the preliminary round, which was flown according to the FAI-A program. Five FAI judges were on hand to officiate. After a practice flight to get the judges in the right frame of mind, the first round began. The 11 participants competed for the title, and the best among them vied for a spot on the national team. Since the first qualifying round had already been held in June,

The SM as the second event for selecting the 2009 national team.

By lunchtime, we had finished one run and had even started the second one before the mandatory lunch break had to be observed on the GESV grounds as well. Ver-

Our colleagues from Ticino treated us to typical Ticino dishes in a nearby parking garage—mmm… Thank you so much. The weather was absolutely wonderful; starting with the second round, winds of varying strength began to pick up. Delicious Ticino cuisine, Ticino music, and a cozy get-together followed—

The focus was on model flying. Discussions revolved around model flying and related topics. The atmosphere was really friendly and relaxed. A key event on the first day of the competition was the selection of the six finalists: Enio Graber, Hans and Marc Emmenegger, Urs Herzog, Markus Rohrer, and Roland Schreiber. Most of the non-finalists left on the first day. On Sunday, the competition resumed at 10:00 a.m. with the three final rounds, now following the FAI-C program. The weather conditions had changed—it was slightly overcast and windy. Marc Emmenegger had bad luck—engine trouble in the third round—as did Roland Schreiber, who experienced a problem with the tail steering caused by the gyro system. Marc stayed hot on his father’s heels and would surely have liked to pass him in a race, just as he did at the 1st NMA in Brislach—even if only by a narrow margin! Once again this year, the competition was dominated by one pilot: Enio Graber. The participants in attendance were able to measure themselves against the newly crowned European vice-champion. As the standings show, he consistently led the pack with a 1,000-point result. He has thus proven himself a worthy successor to Patrick Kessler. If he keeps this up, will he even follow in the footsteps of his father, Daniele, as a future European champion? I’d like to take this opportunity to once again congratulate Enio and the entire national team on their performance—including Enio’s silver medal—at the 2008 European Championships.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the GESV club, led by Sergio Pedrazzini, and all its volunteers. We were able to

a wonderful and cozy event in southern Switzerland. It will remain in our memories for a long time, if not take its place among the unforgettable ones. I wouldn’t want to forget our “Pesche,” Peter Oberli—a heartfelt thank you to him as well for organizing the competition and ensuring it ran smoothly. We’ll meet again all too soon in 2009, hopefully at the next F3C events.

This year, the first qualifying round to select the national team for the 2009 World Cup was held exceptionally early at the beautiful MFV Brislach grounds. The briefing was scheduled for 9:00 a.m., so for me, coming from eastern Switzerland, that meant once again having to “get up early.” Around 9:00 a.m., the welcome and briefing began; all six registered FAI pilots had arrived. Three FAI judges and the jury were ready, and team and competition director Peter Oberli explained—

He outlined the planned schedule for the day and referred to the current FAI flight programs. In Switzerland, we conduct the National Championship qualifiers alternately with the internationally recognized FAI programs, spread over four rounds. Starting this year, FAI Program A applies to the preliminary round, and the final is held according to FAI Program C. This means that for the NMA, flights follow an A/C/A/C rotation. As usual, Peter Oberli ensured that everything ran smoothly.

During the lunch break, as well as throughout the day, the MFV Brislach treated us to food and drinks and made sure we wanted for nothing—many thanks. We also took the opportunity to try on the new uniforms for our national team for the 2008 World Championships. Hans Emmenegger of Hope-Modellbau was primarily responsible for this, with able assistance from several women who helped sew on the patches, etc.

After lunch, the race that had already begun was completed, along with two more races, before we moved on to the awards ceremony around 4:30 p.m. This concluded the official part of the day; the MFV Brislach was left with the cleanup and other tasks. The results confirmed the performances and form of the individual

Pilots. It’s an open secret that the current FAI programs demand the highest level of skill and a great deal of training from every participant. In my opinion, the clear standout of the day was Marc Emmenegger, who delivered impressive performances in all his flights and in both FAI programs. In the second round following the FAI-C program, he was already able to outperform his mentor, his father Hans—albeit by a narrow margin. What a rise to the highest class of model helicopter flying! Urs Herzog was clearly impressed by these performances and found himself getting a bit nervous; even small mistakes soon became noticeable. Urs once again delivered consistent flights—that is, consistent performances—finishing in 4th place once more. Bravo! This brought to a close a successful event at a new F3C venue; we’d like to thank the MFV Brislach for their hospitality and seamless organization. We’d certainly love to be guests at this venue again.

*Walter Heller*