Scale helicopter meetups are the latest trend

In recent years, many clubs and institutions have also tried to enter this “business”—partly out of a need to gain acceptance and provide information to the public, and partly simply for potential commercial gain.

As a result, there have been several instances in the second half of the year where multiple air shows took place on the same weekend, sometimes even in the same region.

Sometimes less really would be more. For some organizers, it doesn’t seem worth the trouble to first check for other dates before setting their own. For years, the Swiss Model Aviation Association has provided a website where members can enter their event dates. But what good is such a site if there are many member clubs that can’t even manage to enter a meeting or air show there?

Perhaps it would also be worth considering in the future whether, in certain regions, one or two clubs might join forces with another. The work involved for the respective organizer is roughly the same, whether 100 or 1,000 spectators show up.

Scale helicopter meets are all the rage. This year, three new scale helicopter meets took place: in May in Landquart, in August in Bndern, Liechtenstein, and in September in Loorholz near Leuggern, Aargau. All three new events were a huge success in terms of both participating pilots and interested spectators.

Over the past 15 years, the A.L.K. Corporate Air Show in the lower Aare Valley near Leuggern has evolved into one of Switzerland’s most diverse international air shows. Starting this year, the event is now called the “Loorholz Air Show.” Together with MG Swipair, Anton Laube—the former organizer of the A.L.K. Air Show—is continuing the event under its new name as head of the organizing committee. Apart from the name, however, nothing else about the concept has changed. What began as a model helicopter air show has now become an event unique in Europe (spanning two days); nowhere else is a program offered that alternates between model helicopters and model airplanes. At the 16th edition on August 3 and 4, everything came together perfectly: spectacular weather, interested and knowledgeable visitors, and entire families could be found at the temporary model airfield. The approximately 100 registered model pilots from all over Europe, with their high-caliber flight demonstrations, contributed to this fantastic event. The range of models spanned high-tech electric airplanes, conventional single- and twin-engine models, biplanes, vintage aircraft, gliders, and helicopters of various sizes with electric or turbine propulsion—hardly any category of model aviation was left unrepresented.

Special models, such as the “Hiller Rotorcycle” by Hermann Rainer from Germany, were also on display. The Lama SA315 flown by Robert Illmaier, who had traveled from Styria, Austria, attracted a great deal of attention. Robert demonstrated flawless flying with his self-built model—one of the world’s largest model helicopters, built to a scale of 1:2.5 and featuring a rotor diameter of 4.5 meters!

A training flight was followed by the official demonstration at 3:30 p.m. During the eight-minute display, twelve different maneuvers were performed. In layman’s terms, this meant that the dynamics and some of the capabilities of the “Super Puma” were demonstrated. Between the two demonstrations, visitors were able to talk with the pilots, view the helicopter up close, sit in the cockpit, and take photos for the family album. The two display pilots received support for these public outreach activities from the display team commander, Jan Schweizer, and Loud Master Claudio Hobi. A special focus at the Loorholz Air Show was on promoting youth participation in model aviation. Under the slogan “We.fly”—model flying for the whole family—initiator Jörg Wille is working to reach young people. Numerous exhibitors, from the model-making sector as well as other fields, invited spectators to shop and learn more. Free parking right next to the airfield, free admission, a large food and beverage area, a big bounce house for the little ones, a sophisticated safety plan, and a varied, interesting flight program were likely the key factors that helped Organizing Committee President Anton Laube and MG Swipair achieve this success. Over 4,000 visitors came to Loorholz this year, with just over 3,000 on Sunday alone. The appearance of the “Super Puma” certainly contributed to this turnout. The 2020 Loorholz Air Show will take place on August 1 and 2.

On August 3 and 4, 2019, the Swiss Heli-Scale and Semiscale Championships took place at the St. Stephan airfield in the Simmental. The event was organized by FAKO Scale in collaboration with MG Obersimmental. Shortly before the registration deadline, a few more scale helicopter pilots were persuaded to participate, ensuring that the championships could proceed in accordance with the rules.

Following the build evaluation on Saturday morning, the first two competition flights took place as early as Saturday afternoon. The third competition flight then followed on Sunday morning, again under ideal flying conditions. The competition flights consist of four mandatory maneuvers and five optional maneuvers. The participating pilots can select the optional maneuvers from a catalog of five possibilities. The difference between Scale and Semi-Scale lies, on the one hand, in the build evaluation and, on the other hand, in the scoring of the build versus the flight. Semi-Scale participants need only present a picture of the prototype to the judges, while Scale participants must provide detailed documentation. In Semi-Scale, the ratio of build to flight is $rac{1}{5}$ to $ rac{4}{5}$ , while for Scale it is $ rac{1}{2}$ to $ rac{1}{2}$ . Rankings at www.modellflug.ch

The 2020 Swiss Scale Championships will take place on August 29 and 30 at MG Interlaken.

Most people know the Liechtenstein Model Flying Club from the F3A scene—after all, this club is home to some of the biggest names in that scene. But the fact that one of these big names in the F3A scene is responsible for the 1st Scale Helicopter Meet in Bendorf, Liechtenstein, may come as a bit of a surprise to some.

Wolfgang Matt owned and successfully flew models such as the Heli Baby, Bell 47G, and similar helicopters back in the early days of model helicopter flying. But his successful aerobatics career in the F3A scene pushed this interest into the background for several years. After his retirement, however, the time was right to rekindle his passion for helicopter flying. He now flies large and extraordinary turbine helicopters—such as an Apache AH-64 or a Blue Thunder—with great success. Meanwhile, the MFGL has just over ten model helicopter pilots who are deeply committed to the hobby. This was also the catalyst for a scale helicopter meet in the Principality. With fantastic weather, a touch of late-summer haze over the cornfield, and many happy model pilots, the 1st Scale Helicopter Meet took place on August 25. Just over 20 pilots traveled with their beautiful models not only from Switzerland and Liechtenstein, but also from Austria, Germany, and Italy. A truly international turnout—and this was already the first time the event was held. On the flight line, everything was on display—from small beginner models to huge, full-scale models replicated down to the smallest detail.

With the MG Swipair and loorholz-flugtagen.ch, a scale helicopter meet was also held for the first time in northern Switzerland on September 28. With around 30 pilots and numerous spectators, event organizer Toni Laube is more than satisfied with the turnout for this inaugural event. Pilots from all regions of Switzerland, as well as from France and southern Germany, made the trip to Leuggern.

According to the weather forecast, it was supposed to be a mixed day with occasional strong gusts of wind. But the weather gods were kind: the Föhn brought out the sun, and there were hardly any gusts of wind to speak of in Loorholz throughout the day.

The range of models displayed by the model pilots extended from a Bell 206 Jet Ranger with a 1.5-meter rotor diameter to an AS 351 Ecureuil with an electric motor and a 2-meter rotor diameter, and even included a Lama SA-315B with a turbine engine and a rotor diameter of over 3 meters. Spectators and pilots alike were able to admire just over 50 scale models. The organizer placed great emphasis not only on showcasing the models but also on fostering conversations among the pilots and with the spectators. It was an all-around successful and enjoyable gathering, which has inspired the organizers to hold it again next year in Loorholz.

The 2nd Scale Helicopter Meet in Loorholz will take place on September 28, 2020.

For many years, the Heli-Day at MG Langenthal was very popular among helicopter pilots. After a hiatus, it took place again this year under the new organizing committee led by Markus Wagner. Markus has been in charge of the model helicopter division at MG Langenthal since this year.

On October 20, 2019—unfortunately one of the first days with high fog—Heli-Day took place at the Schützenhaus in Langenthal on the beautiful model airfield of the MG Langenthal. Around 30 pilots from nearly all sectors of model helicopter flying were in attendance.

Pilots from the Soxos 3D demo teams were on site, showcasing flights that pushed the boundaries of what is almost impossible to the large crowd in attendance. Their performances were met with spontaneous and prolonged applause.

The scale demonstration by Roland Kaufmann from Volketswil, flying his Agusta A109 K2 in Rega colors, also drew great interest. This model has an impressive rotor diameter of 3 meters and may only fly with the appropriate authorization from the FOCA, as it weighs more than 30 kilograms. The various winch-launch demonstrations never fail to captivate the spectators.

The Bell 429, featuring Air Zermatt livery, flown by Helmut Langel from Derendingen, also impressed the crowd. The Roban model is powered by a 12S electric motor and has a rotor diameter of 1.8 meters. What makes it special: Helmut has spent countless hours fine-tuning the model to resemble the full-scale version—including the access hatches, the 4-blade tail rotor, the window frames, the load harness, and the advertising decals. However, the model owner says the project is far from complete.

The revival of a long-standing event once again captivated pilots and spectators alike. Let’s hope this fantastic event and its organizers continue in 2020. It is precisely these kinds of events that contribute to acceptance among the local population in the areas surrounding the venues.

*Photos: Erich Sardella, Hansueli Tschiemer, Anton Laube*