FAI World Championships 2007: F3C Helicopters in Wloclawek, Poland

Patrick Kessler said his goodbyes. It would have been his last international F3C championship anyway. In the future, he plans to focus more on his favorite category, 3D. We’ll see if he competes in championships there as well. Over the course of ten years of international competition, Patrick has steadily worked his way up the ranks. As early as 1997, at his first World Championship in Turkey, he finished seventh—the top European—and in 2006, he became European Champion in England. We at Heliszene Schweiz naturally regret Patrick’s departure—he has had a major impact over the past few years. We would like to take this opportunity to thank him sincerely for his dedication and achievements. For the time being, this leaves only Ennio Graber as a contender for a spot among the world’s best. We certainly hope that other pilots will not shy away from the effort required to work their way to the top.

After this brief digression, back to the World Championships. The organization was excellent. We hadn’t expected everything to go so smoothly. Markus Rohrer decided at the last minute—without any preparation time—to participate in the World Championships and has not regretted the whole experience. The situation has shown that it will likely make sense in the future to have a genuine substitute on hand.

A head-to-head battle between Hiroki Ito of Japan and Scott Gray of Canada became apparent early on. Youngblood struggled considerably at first but gradually adapted better and better to F3C flying. Just a week earlier, he had taken second place at the 3D Masters in England. The other Japanese pilots performed somewhat below their usual level. Ennio managed to place in the top 10 again, and Hans secured a spot in the top 30. Markus finished around 50th place. With the exception of a few pilots, the level of competition is very high. A small mistake can easily cost you up to 10 places.

Ennio was the best pilot flying an unfaired model. To everyone’s surprise, Curtis flew an electrically powered fuselage from NEU—and did so very successfully. So, unlike in the past, it was a pleasure to watch and quiet. Ahead of him, as in Spain, were Ito as world champion and Gray as runner-up. All three were already flying with 2.4 GHz systems from JR/Spectrum.

The big question upon arrival was which “electric colleagues” Hans would have at this World Championship. In Spain, he was still the only “electric rider.” The Swiss team already had two electric riders with him and Markus. They were joined by none other than Curtis Youngblood, and K.H. Nielsen and Cees Verplanke also raced on electric bikes. – So, five participants. After Hans had already shown back in 2005 that electric helicopters could compete, Curtis’s third-place finish has likely finally shaken up the world’s elite. At the very least, the Japanese members of the JR Team competed in the Japanese Championship in October with several Swiss-designed electric helicopters, and World Championship runner-up Scott Gray will be testing one soon. World champion Ito initially flew with a combustion engine, but after an engine problem, he switched to his backup electric model to play it safe and secured the victory. The president of the manufacturer JR was so impressed by the whole thing that the company will release an electric competition helicopter at the start of the new year. This means anyone can fly electric helicopters with minimal effort. With temperatures reaching up to 40 °C and several hundred flights under their belts, the models have proven their suitability for everyday use, and even the biggest skeptics have been won over. I won’t repeat the comment made by the development engineer from Japan’s best-known engine manufacturer after a test flight, but it speaks for itself. Let’s wait and see how things look in the U.S. in 2009. At least in Switzerland, a significant portion of the market will be electric next year.

Of course, a big thank you goes to the organizing committee for such a well-organized World Championship.