Camaraderie is (almost) everything!

Cirié in northern Italy is one of the most popular European competitions in stunt gliding. Nowhere else are competitors treated to such attention and culinary delights. Consequently, the biennial competition is always very well attended—and the field of participants is top-notch. But one experience from this year’s competition will remain a particularly fond memory.

Swiss tethered-flight pilots also travel to Cirié regularly. On June 15–16, it was time once again

time. Peter Germann, Hugo Borer, Lauri Malila, and Claude Russbach set out with their

partners. It was well worth the trip. Two events brought particular joy: first, Lauri Malila’s excellent fourth-place finish. Ahead of him were only world-class pilots from Italy and Ukraine.

Second, another story brought special joy: Claude Russbach, a “tethered flight novice” from

from Valais, took to the skies for the first time at an international competition. He had been systematically practicing the individual maneuvers over the past few months. He had actually intended to fly only the beginner’s program at the competition. But his colleagues encouraged him to try the FAI aerobatics program right away. That turned out to be a bit too much, however—and his very first flight ended with his model crashing. For Claude, that meant the competition was over. But then something completely unexpected happened: Two Italian competitors and a Ukrainian pilot gathered the remains of Claude’s model, set to work for a few hours, and brought the repaired model back to him. Everyone—but especially Claude—could hardly believe their eyes!

And so, in the end, the model crash turned into a positive experience that will be fondly remembered for a long time to come. Claude has now firmly resolved to train the FAI aerobatics program from scratch again before the next competition—this time with a slightly simpler model.

Ursula Borer