Infrastructure Provided for a National Event

At the well-established beginner’s event in Eschlikon in 2024—which I attended as a spectator to learn more about the F3K category—I met the competition director, Hans Duss. It turned out that we had a lot in common, and he hadn’t yet found an organizer for the 2025 Swiss Championships. I was intrigued by the idea of providing the infrastructure for a national event—especially since our model airfield, operated by the Altstätten Model Flying Club, seemed well-suited for a Swiss F3K Championship.

So Hans outlined the general conditions for me so that I could discuss them with my board members. We unanimously decided to host the F3K Swiss Championships and reserved the model airfield for this competition on Sunday, June 15, and the alternate date, June 22.

During my annual visit to our neighbors at the airfield in January, I discussed our potential project with the landowner and have already received permission to use his adjacent meadow for additional parking spaces. Without this consent, we would not have been able to approve the event. Thanks to the encouraging turnout of 19 pilots, up to 15 cars—including several RVs—were parked on the adjacent meadow, which the landowner had mowed shortly before the competition day.

On Saturday at 5 p.m., we met with Hans at the model airfield to finalize the last details and lay out the marking tape for the takeoff and landing zones, the ready box, and the pilot areas. I gave Hans the welcome speech I’d prepared, which included references to our airfield regulations, so that we could brief everyone as efficiently as possible on Sunday before the competition began. Unfortunately, the weather forecast had predicted thunderstorms starting at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Starting at 8:00 a.m., registration with the competition organizers and payment of the entry fee, which was given to us in full to cover our expenses (e.g., free food and drinks). At exactly 8:30 a.m., welcome and orientation for the pilots. Shortly before 9:00 a.m., start of the first round of the SM F3K. (Details about the competition from the competition director’s perspective and the results can be found at www.modellflug.ch SM 2025 F3K). After serving morning coffee with fresh croissants, we volunteers had a brief opportunity to watch the competition action following the impressive launch runs and to engage in informative conversations with the world-class pilots in attendance. Fortunately, throughout the day, individual club members kept showing up to watch the national competition at their model airfield. 11:00 a.m.: Hans asked Heinz to fire up the grill and get ready to serve food to the first of three groups. A last-minute decision by the competition organizers—prompted by the weather—to start another round contrary to the original announcement briefly threw the kitchen crew, Heinz and Tom, into a tizzy. Now they had to decide where the awards ceremony should take place. In good weather, it would be at our model airfield; if it rained, it would be under the canopy of the 300-meter shooting range. Given how quickly the competition was progressing, Hans opted for the “on-site” option.

Our team had the opportunity to watch the exciting fly-off before cleanup began. After the awards ceremony, which was conducted by the competition director, we received nothing but praise for the successful event. For the four of us volunteers—who had the chance to participate in competitions ourselves in previous years (F3B, F3J, RCS slope flying, etc.)—it was a pleasure to be able to provide today’s competition pilots with the best possible facilities. ■

Renato Facchinetti

Photos: Heinz and Renato