RC Aerobatics (F3A)

The first round of the F3A Swiss Championship was held at the MG Oberönz airfield. On Saturday, flight operations had to be suspended for several hours due to strong gusts of wind. All 18 Swiss League pilots were able to fly one round of the P11 program on the first day of competition. On Sunday, under ideal weather conditions, the two remaining rounds of the preliminary round program were flown. Pirmin Jund, Reto Schumacher, and Marc Rubin each won one round with 1,000 points. The top six finishers from the preliminary round completed the two challenging final programs in the afternoon. The judges were put to the test and did an excellent job. All six finalists performed flights at a very high level. Reto Schumacher and Jean-Claude Spillmann each achieved the maximum score of 1,000 points. The final results show that there is a fierce battle at the top for the title of 2011 Swiss F3A Champion.

The weather was ideal for flying at the second round of the F3A Swiss Championship in Riggisberg, allowing for two P11 rounds to be flown on Saturday. Sixteen Swiss League pilots took to the air. It never ceases to amaze me just how well all the pilots have mastered this aerobatic program. Marc Rubin and Pirmin Jund took the lead by a narrow margin, followed by Reto Schumacher. On Sunday, after the third flight of the P11 program, the six finalists were determined for the two flights in the F11 final program. Marc Rubin won the competition; Pirmin Jund took second place, just 2.4 points behind the winner. Reto Schumacher placed third.

The results of these two heats were tallied on-site to determine the final standings for the 2011 Swiss F3A Championship. At 5:00 p.m., Willi Spillmann, president of the F3 Aerobatics Technical Commission, congratulated the new Swiss F3A champion, Pirmin Jund. Marc Rubin took second place and Reto Schumacher took third. This also finalizes the national team for powered aerobatics for the next two years. The team will represent Switzerland at the 2012 F3A European Championship in France and at the 2013 F3A World Championship in South Africa.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the judges for their excellent work at these two competitions. Over the next two years, the FAI will introduce new and more challenging aerobatic programs. It is hoped that, due to their higher level of difficulty, these new programs will result in greater point differences among the top finishers, thereby allowing for a more accurate ranking of the pilots. RS (Rankings at www.modellflug.ch)