Antique Bikes 2006

On neither the first nor the second scheduled date was it even remotely possible to hold the vintage airshow. The organizers therefore decided to postpone the event once again. Finally, on August 19, the weather was on our side again, and the ground wasn’t too wet anymore, so we could leave our boots at home.

The first pilots arrived as early as 8:00 a.m. and rushed to the coffee buffet, where the volunteers—Roger, Heinz, and Susanne—had their hands full. The Krauers, who lease the model airfield, had once again set up a spacious parking area that provided plenty of room for the countless models. It was a feast for the eyes to marvel at the models—some truly antique, but also those built more recently, dating from 1970 and earlier (and most of the participants were definitely from 1970 and earlier as well...).

As they are every year, the rubber-powered airplanes flown by Fredi Genther and Hanno Pfeiffer were the silent stars of the day. Despite

Thanks to the wind and the nearby cornfield, all of these free-flying light models were recovered. Once learned, never forgotten! Two of these models (the 1951 “Erfolgsmodell” by Traugott Haslach of MG Zurich and the “Wakefield” by Dick Korda of the U.S.) were slightly larger and equipped with RC systems. Due to their slow flight speed, they cast impressive, majestic silhouettes against the slightly cloudy sky.

Ruedi Schenker was both the unlucky one and the winner of the day. Like so many others before him, he misjudged the distance to the nearby forest, which is why his “Jumbo Riedstern” chose—of all things—the tallest tree to take a break on as it approached the landing curve. Since Ueli Krauer happened to be there with his children, he grabbed his cell phone and called his forester friend, who showed up shortly afterward, climbed the fir tree, and—after half an hour of scrambling through dense branches—brought the glider down almost unscathed. Ruedi, however, had already been declared the winner of the

challenge cup, as it was to be awarded to the oldest participant. Every year, a new criterion is considered—after all, the event isn’t meant to be a flying competition. Tethered gliders could be admired for almost the entire afternoon as they tirelessly circled the sky. Even the diesel engines started up more easily than most people from that era remember...

Among many other impressive displays, one highlight was certainly the aerobatic demonstrations by Ernst Dällenbach with his Marabu, the 1969 and 1971 world champion aircraft built by Bruno Giezendanner. Powered by a 15-cc 4-stroke engine, the “smoother” maneuvers naturally stood out, thanks to the much better power-to-weight ratio. Back then, the pilot couldn’t simply compensate by adjusting the throttle stick at will.

Aschi Madertanner’s “Funkboy” model was also flown with masterful skill. Equipped with a Variophon/Varioton tip system, there was hardly any difference in flight performance compared to

to inspect a modern propane system. Apparently because of the rainy August, Bruno showed up

Ferrari in a seaplane. That way, he would have been perfectly prepared for any weather surprises. Luckily, he didn’t need the floats for any water landings!

The traditional finale took place with an open-air dinner. A good 20 participants enjoyed hot ham and potato salad and wrapped up the eventful day by talking shop and reminiscing about days gone by. The few raindrops at the start of dinner didn’t really bother anyone, and everyone knew without a doubt: We’ll be back for the next gathering on August 4, 2007.

Peter Müller