A Successful Premiere in Büren

In June, the Büren Model Aircraft Club hosted the first Hagmatten Cup for electric gliders. Seventeen pilots responded to the call for entries from this active club. They were rewarded with a wonderful day of flying at the fantastic site run by their colleagues in Büren. To cut to the chase: The team led by President Paul Stürchler—as hardworking as they were competent—did a great job. The entire day ran like clockwork from an organizational standpoint, and the small but excellent refreshment stand was a big hit. The atmosphere was just right. Many participants lingered on the festival benches at the airfield long after the competition ended, some staying well into the evening.

The flights followed the popular format, which is essentially always the same. The pilot can choose the duration and altitude of the ascent using electric power. Once the motor is turned off, it cannot be turned back on, and the goal is to land as close to the center of the landing field as possible exactly 180 seconds later.

Penalty points are assessed for flights that are shorter or longer than the specified time, as well as for deviations from the center of the landing field.

The good weather conditions allowed for five runs, with each pilot’s worst run being discarded. This worked in the favor of many participants, as the conditions were anything but easy at the start. For example, Büren President Stürchler started off with an off-field landing. However, he managed to redeem himself as the competition progressed and ultimately finished in third place. The only ones to do even better were Eugen Baumann from MFV Brislach, who took second place, and Nico Sauter from MFG Büren, who goes down in model aviation history as the first Hagmatten Cup winner (complete results: ). The wide range of models the pilots used to try their luck was particularly interesting. Everything was represented—F5J, F3J, F3B, utility models without a competition format, CFRP slope gliders, and foam models. The large number of Funrays was particularly striking.

In addition to the Schwarzbuben Cup in Brislach and the Erlen Cup in Breitenbach, the Hagmatten Cup is now the third such competition in the Northwest Regional Model Aviation Association. RMV President Romeo Spaar had proposed the idea at the last presidents’ conference to create an RMV tour featuring several similar competitions, the results of which would then be tallied at the end of the season. But with only two competitions—Brislach and Breitenbach—that didn’t make much sense. With the addition of the Hagmatten Cup, there are now three—so the season’s trophy can be awarded. The goal, however, would be four or five competitions—with one result dropped. That would be fair for pilots who, despite their interest and good intentions, simply cannot participate in every cup. So we’re looking for additional clubs to host such a competition. Romeo is confident and didn’t miss the chance to compete in the Hagmatten Cup himself.