THREE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS SUCCESSFULLY HELD

As is well known, electric flight first made its debut in the NOS: it was the Militky Cup in Pfäffikon in 1973. Last year, two international electric flight championships were held—one of which was combined with a Swiss championship—as well as a Swiss championship.

- Militky Cup, MV Pfäffikon, F5J thermal gliders with altitude loggers: FAI World Cup and Eurotour.
- F5J thermal gliders: Swiss Championship at the MG Winterthur.
- F5B multi-task gliders: Eurotour and Swiss Championship at the MG Buttikon.

Two international electric flight championships are already scheduled for this year as part of the FAI sports calendar: F5J at the MG Pfäffikon and F5B at the MG Gossau ZH.

But that’s not all: Once again, the F3A Coupe des Alpes was held at MG Reichenburg, one week after the World Cup in Liechtenstein. We mustn’t forget the Sportflyers competition at MG Uster, which is an important contribution to youth aviation.

The international Coupe des Alpes will once again be organized as part of the 2026 F3A FAI World Cup. This time, it will take place at the MG Flaachthal.

The various competition categories are organized differently within the SMV. Where the specialized committees remain largely inactive, enthusiastic colleagues from a particular discipline often step in to help. Some time ago, the “MG Impuls Sport” was founded within the NOS, and its top athletes, led by Emil Giezendanner, have been actively involved in all the events described above. From his perspective, such initiatives often prove to be the ideal solution for keeping endangered disciplines alive. As the past has shown, such systems—which are, in fact, not really systems at all—have not only saved entire competition classes but also developed new ones, such as Sportflyers. However, with such new initiatives, care must be taken to ensure they are not forced into any association structures too soon, thereby promoting bureaucratic hierarchies rather than appeal and initiative. And finally, even for such independent organizers, the legwork must not be overlooked. First, a clear agreement must be reached with the organizing club (who does what?): A scoring system must be established, or certificates must be printed, etc. ■

GZ

We must make it a point to extend our heartfelt thanks to the organizing clubs, also on behalf of the participants. They all make a tremendous contribution to promoting our fascinating sport of aviation.