True-to-life F4 Heli-Scale helicopter in Lodrino

This competition was held in conjunction with the F4C-Jet and F4C-Scale categories by the Gruppo Aeromodellisti Molinazzo-Belinzona at the Lodrino airfield. In addition to the F4 Heli-Scale class, the Heli-Semi-Scale class was also introduced this year.

This time, four out of five pilots competing in the F4 Heli-Scale category had previously won the Swiss championship title in this class. This set the stage for a very exciting Swiss Championship. Unfortunately—as has been the case in recent years—only a few pilots competed, since building scale models requires an enormous amount of effort.

The organizers did an excellent job and set up a tight schedule to allow all pilots in the four categories to complete two flight rounds,

as well as the build evaluation. For the first time this year, the new Semi-Scale class for helicopters was held. Unfortunately, only four pilots competed in this category as well. On Saturday morning, the first flight round in both classes was scheduled, which took place under very good

Flying conditions were smooth. In the afternoon, the model evaluation was on the agenda. Each participant had to submit their model to the critical scrutiny of the three judges.

At the end of the day, the participants were shown the interim rankings. Some of the pilots seemed rather surprised by the order. A second round of flights was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the organizer had to announce strong winds around noon, which could have led to unpredictable conditions. As a result, a majority of the helicopter pilots decided not to fly a second round.

Nevertheless, the SM Scale in Lodrino was a wonderful event that I can highly recommend to everyone. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out on both days.