RC Helicopters (Category F3C) Swiss Championships

This first Swiss Championship held under the new National Regulations (published in Issue 3 of “Modellflugsport”) was organized in an exemplary manner by the Bern Model Aircraft Group of the AeCS and carried out with equal skill. A key prerequisite was that Alpar, as the owner of the Belpmoos airfield, restricted flight operations during the competition. We owe them our heartfelt thanks for this. The Bern Gliding Club was attending its annual Saanen camp that weekend and made its barracks available to the organizers as a transmitter storage area. The glider runway served as the competition site. We are also grateful to the glider pilots for this assistance. The weather cooperated—postponing the event would not have been possible due to scheduling constraints. As a result, all three rounds, as well as the aerobatic display on Sunday afternoon, were able to proceed without a hitch.

Sponsoring companies made a significant contribution to the success of the entire event. For example, Schwenk AG, Industrial Supplies, 3601 Thun, provided all the barriers, supplied the megaphone, radio equipment, and a two-person on-call crew for repairs free of charge, and handled the setup and takedown of the barriers. Radio-Steiner installed the sound system—including speakers distributed throughout the grounds, microphones, and tape recording equipment for music playback—at no cost. Finally, the NCR computer provided by Rivella Rothrist enabled the immediate printing of the results for each round. The organizers and participants express their gratitude and hope that such generous assistance will not only remain in the memory of all participants but will also lead to these companies being called upon to help solve problems outside the scope of our hobby. It would be wonderful if this acknowledgment of our sponsors could inspire other companies to step forward and offer us their support as well.

It is worth considering how to boost the motivation of new prospective customers. This also includes exploring the use of electronic aids in the form of stabilization gyroscopes. Such valuable aids (both in terms of price and functionality) make it possible to compensate for disturbances with very short time constants. The pilot needs to contribute nothing other than the money to purchase the equipment. It is entirely conceivable to electronically control not only rotation around the vertical axis but also pitch and roll movements. This would allow all hovering maneuvers to be flown with a precision that is unattainable for a pilot relying solely on feel. This raises the question of what competition rules are intended to achieve. Should they reward financial resources and specialized electronic knowledge, thereby promoting the trend toward microprocessor-controlled helicopters? Or should they emphasize the pilot’s skill in flying a “natural” helicopter? Perhaps the rules should specify not only the model’s weight and the engine’s displacement but also the permitted electronic and mechanical aids.

This model is equipped with a 21 cm³ gasoline engine and magneto ignition. It is started using a pull starter.

At the air show, in addition to the high-speed flights that are always a crowd-pleaser, some beautiful flights were also demonstrated. Hersperger demonstrated an electric motor glider with a 7 m (!) wingspan. Kindler Niederbipp wowed the crowd with a vintage model, which offered a realistic flight experience thanks to its low airspeed and quiet four-stroke engine.

Overall, the event was a complete success for the organizers, participants, and spectators alike. It is to be hoped that future championships will follow the example set by this event and that the quality will thus remain at the same high level. Sincere thanks to Peter Oberli and his team, as well as to all the dedicated volunteers, for these wonderful days.

Ernst Bernet