RCS Slope on Installments

Organizer: Region 5

Due to a series of unfortunate circumstances (bad weather, misunderstandings, etc.), the holding of this year’s Swiss Hang Gliding Championship seemed to be in jeopardy. It seems no one is seriously advocating for postponing the Swiss Championships until next year; otherwise, we might end up having to hold two hundred Swiss Championships from previous years in 1990.

The people from Ticino had been accused of not having set aside an alternate date (after all, the weather is always nice in Ticino!) and, accordingly, there was no information hotline either—though even such a phone number can’t be a panacea, and a long drive for nothing is a normal risk in RC hang gliding. Well, in the second edition of the competition, which was scheduled to take place in Central Switzerland (Stans) and should have been organized by fellow pilots from Region 3, the aforementioned phone number wasn’t missing—but the backup date was. At least this time, the beleaguered slope gliders were spared long, fruitless car trips, since severe autumn storms swept across our country that Sunday; but otherwise, we were just as clueless as before, and several Indian-summer-like autumn Sundays passed by unused. In the end, however, we did manage to recruit a few steadfast volunteers to save the Swiss Championship. The working group for F3B competitions in Region 5, led by Hans Dangelmeier of RCSG-Mörsburg, quickly rounded up enough volunteers so that the competition could be announced again at the last minute. The competition site at the Raten Pass summit certainly cannot be described as ideal without reservation

However, there were three factors that led the organizer to choose this site:

1. Winter-safe access and sufficient parking spaces
2. Flying possible
under both main weather conditions 3. Restaurant (food and drink options, place to warm up, restrooms)

Points one and three, of course, can play a particularly crucial role at this time of year (mid-November), depending on the weather. To my (inexperienced) taste, a slightly higher launch site—which would have allowed for bolder searching for thermals—would have been nice. As it was, there was little room for experimentation, since even minor losses in altitude by the model ultimately took their toll on points and rankings. But you can’t always have it all, and there are certainly still plenty of opportunities and competitions where other groups can demonstrate their superb hang gliding sites more impressively than with the—in practical terms—meaningless phrases: “one should, one ought to, one could…”

As already mentioned, neither the elevation of the launch site nor the strength of the updraft allowed the pilot to make even minor mistakes. The goal was to glide as efficiently as possible at moderate airspeeds.

While the wind was clearly from the west early in the morning, it had already begun to shift slowly toward the north by the start of the competition. As a result, one corner of the triangle was increasingly falling into the lee. Anyone who flew too far toward the southwest was almost hopelessly lost. Toward the end of the first round, the wind blew more and more strongly around the hill, causing the launch site to occasionally be swept into the downdraft zone. Taking off became problematic. During this time, a snow shower also set in, and the area became so fogged in that a break in the competition had to be accepted. Even at that point, moving the course to the Bisse side—which had been planned from the start—was being considered. However, an on-site inspection made it clear that at that time the wind was pushing the fog against the slope, so that the poor visibility made it impossible to relocate the course prematurely, even during the first run. The group-based scoring system would have had the great advantage of allowing competitors to switch slopes or courses during a run.

Shortly before noon, the weather improved almost suddenly. Bright sunshine broke through the parting snow clouds. This weather pattern became increasingly established, and within 30 minutes, the flying field was bathed in bright blue skies with fantastic visibility across the Altmatt and far into the Ybrig region. The rapid improvement in the weather seemed to serve as a signal to the organizers: in high spirits, with plenty of humor and laughter, the two tents (transmitter depot and flight control) as well as all the equipment were moved around the

Carried around the hill and rebuilt. The telephone line to the launch site, the landing area, the public address system, and so on were spontaneously reinstalled in a spirit of camaraderie and with great enthusiasm. After a little more than half an hour, the “old” airfield was completely cleared, as if there were nothing easier to do. The organization wasn’t worked out down to the last detail. Aside from the fact that there was little time available, this form of on-the-fly planning proved quite effective—provided that everyone pitches in and doesn’t stubbornly stick to their assigned posts. This change was certainly worth it. Without it, a fourth round might have been possible—but what good are four rounds of frustrating start-to-finish flying? As it was, we were still able to complete two rounds and a tiebreaker in beautiful sunshine and ideal conditions. The gloriously radiant winter landscape certainly did its part to contribute to the good mood.