SOIM 2025 Eschenbach SG Village Gathering

However, it quickly became clear that the four categories—Klik-Cup, AA, AP/AF, and AFM—could not all be accommodated in a single day. When drawing up the schedule, it quickly became clear that all members of MG-Bussard would have to pitch in, and we were also grateful for the support of the neighboring clubs MG-Rapperswil-Jona and MG-Reichenburg. Philipp from the FA-KO-F3 Aerobatics team organizes the judges, the jury, and the scoring. He also promotes the event among Swiss junior pilots and international pilots. At first, registrations for the beginner classes were a bit slow to come in. It wasn’t until I sat down in the hangar with my tablet during our Sunday morning flying session and helped the members with registration—malicious tongues claim they were forced to do it—that things really got moving, and we ended up with an impressive total of 15 Klik-Cup entries, 3 AA, 10 AP/AF, and 8 pilots in the Aeromusical class.

We advertised in the community newsletter beforehand, and through our connections, we were also able to get the Obersee-Nachrichten to cover the event. The hangar was set up late on Friday evening, since the sports clubs were still in full swing until 10:00 p.m. On Saturday morning, we started training as early as 7:30 a.m. At 10:00 a.m., there was a brief briefing with the pilots—they know, after all, “how things work.”

During Klik Cup training, it becomes clear time and again that it’s not quite as easy as it seems to correctly execute a straight line in the hall, make the loop look smooth, avoid sinking during the roll, and not pull back during the inverted flight. My opinion on this is clear: The simpler it looks, the more skill and talent are behind it. And when judges, colleagues, and spectators are watching your flight from behind, the tension rises to unprecedented heights—even though there isn’t much at stake. Still, quite a few pilots managed to step it up a notch and earn high scores from the judges.

In the F3P-AP/AF class, Sylvain Passini has ushered in a new era with his Model Ruby biplane. The advantages of the biplane lie mainly in the knife-edge maneuvers, of which there are several in the current AP-25 and AF-25 programs. The propellers on Glavak’s counter-rotating, so-called coaxial drives are getting larger every year and have already reached 20 inches (or even 21"). To everyone’s surprise—even Sergej’s—they’re becoming increasingly robust and can even withstand the occasional collision with objects that “suddenly” obstruct their flight path. To make room for the 50-cm-wide propellers during transport, more than a few crates have had to be dented. With a 1s 150mAh LiPo battery, flight times of up to 8 minutes are achieved. Sergej Glavak also had the prize table ready with three high-quality propeller sets for the beginner class. These were raffled off among the Klik pilots during the awards ceremony.

Aeromusicals are constantly experimenting with new special effects: backward takeoffs, parachute drops, smoke clouds created with smoke powder, LEDs synchronized to the music, and much more—not to mention the aerial acrobatics. Some people hold their breath when the model, just before hitting the wall, suddenly veers off in some direction. This also thrills the audience.

In the craft corner, we introduced the young people to our hobby using Depron gliders called “Mücken,” which, after being glued together and colorfully painted, were immediately launched into the air right in the adjacent hall. This allowed many young people and parents to gain early experience with how the center of gravity affects the glide angle. During the breaks, the event was livened up with fun model flights. The event also received culinary support in the form of a delicious banquet and lunch provided by the local catering service Pius Rüegg. We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all the pilots, judges, and volunteers for their sportsmanship and dedication to our wonderful hobby; the municipality for the excellent facilities; and, last but not least, the spectators for their interest.