26th Hahnenmoos Alpine Model Aircraft Camp

Micha:

The “Alpine Camp” for children ages 11 to 15 is a gliding camp located on the Hahnenmoos Pass near Adelboden; it takes place during the summer vacation.

This year, the camp took place from July 21 to 28, 2018. We really enjoyed the meals at the restaurant. If something needed fixing, the counselors were there to help. We had a wonderful time together. The highlight was definitely the great weather. We were able to fly a lot. Every morning there was a “quote of the day” that reflected the previous day’s events. One has stuck with me: “Yesterday we flew a lot, and quite a few foam parts got bent. Sometimes there were some real crashes—that’s when Beat wasn’t laughing anymore.” The accident happened at ‘Schaumi,’ and he sent Florian’s Ka-8 flying. So agree on your flight path beforehand, or it’ll end in a crash. And don’t forget to use sunscreen today, too—unless you want to end up looking like red traffic lights.”

On Thursday, after lunch, the leaders and participants of the Hahnenmoos Alpine Model Aircraft Camp set off for Luegli in high spirits. Every camp includes an outing to a flying site a little further away, about an hour’s drive away. The hike was a bit more strenuous for some than for others, which is why the group arrived at Luegli in scattered groups.

Once at Luegli, everyone unpacked their gliders, assessed the conditions and checked their equipment, then let their gliders glide into the gentle thermal currents. After an hour, a small snack was served to recharge their energy, which everyone greatly appreciated. While Bossi and Beat (two instructors) flew close to the limit, the participants soared more leisurely through the area. Bossi really went all out and even pulled off a few “Bangladeshs,” which left the participants speechless.

Unfortunately, after a few hours, we had to head back, since no one wanted to miss dinner. In the end, everyone arrived back at the hotel cheerful, healthy, and inspired.

Bottom line: It was a really cool afternoon! One of the camp’s highlights—it has to happen every year! ☺

An exciting glider competition took place once again at this year’s “Alpine Model Aircraft Camp” in Hahnenmoos.

The goal was to build the most beautiful glider possible—one that, ideally, would not only be beautifully decorated and constructed but would also fly as long as possible. The “Alpinetta,” a model that had been used as a “competition glider” many years earlier, served as the template for the hand-launched glider.

On the second day of the camp, the participants eagerly began building their balsa gliders. Just a few days later, they were able to paint the gliders and then decorate them with adhesive film. As always, there were also some very unique models, such as a Ka-8, a biplane, and even a kite...

And then came the day of the competition: Excited, participants and leaders launched their gliders into the air at the “Strässli,” hoping to win one of the many great prizes up for grabs. Unfortunately, the wings of a few gliders broke after their first scoring flight.

In the afternoon, the construction evaluation took place, which once again contributed crucial points toward the final standings.

In the evening, the moment of truth arrived: If you’d decorated your glider well and beautifully, you had a good chance at one of the top spots—and thus at the widest selection of many great models and kits.

Once the awards ceremony was over, there wasn’t much time left to admire the models, because the once-in-a-century event wasn’t long in coming—and soon the reddish-gold moon rose behind the mountain range, leaving the crowd at Hahnenmoos in awe.

The atmosphere during camp week at Hahnenmoos is always fantastic; there’s no other way to explain why a total of 15 young model airplane enthusiasts—who have come to know and appreciate one another from previous youth camps—were staying at the hotel. They keep coming back and look forward to seeing each other once a year or running into the camp leaders to reminisce about “the old days”—this fact speaks volumes about the motivated and dedicated team of leaders at the youth camp...!

It also seems important to me that gliding takes center stage each day this week: “crash landing drills” add excitement and create “stories” that you can later recount time and again with a sense of pride; Fortunately, “Lipo thermals” tend to be more of a side issue during this week—other model pilots could take a cue from that...!

The large number of “repeat visitors” also speaks volumes about the accommodations: Model aviators are definitely in good hands at the Hahnenmoos Pass!

In any case, I’m already looking forward to the next Hahnenmoos Week in July 2019, with its many wonderful encounters and relaxing glider flights against a stunning backdrop...!

Anyone interested in participating in the 27th Youth Camp on the Hahnenmoos Pass can now find the necessary information and registration forms at www.alpines.ch. The camp will take place from July 20 to 27, 2019.

Text: Mark Schlaubitz,
Micha Wüthrich,
Nils de Courten,
Res Dauwalder
Photos: Beat Hofmann