NUMEROUS ATHLETES HONORED

Swiss Championships: in free flight, the Andrist brothers and Andreas Tschanz; in F3K, Oliver Jakob; in GPS Scale, Cederic Duss; and the jet pilots Andreas Schär and Reto Senn—they were also among the top competitors at the World Championships. The event took place at the historic Bleienbach Airfield, followed by a visit to the museum. What was on display at the museum was indescribable—covering Swiss aviation history, Swissair from A to Z, military history, and aircraft construction; after all, the Swiss Trainer was developed and built right here. Many maintenance and repair operations took place there and continue to this day. A visit to this museum is highly recommended.

Daniela was subsequently named an honorary member in our region.

Dear Daniela, you stepped down from your positions as an FAI points judge and head points judge at the end of the year. I think—no, I know—that the organizations are losing an incredibly important and competent official. Those in charge need to take a good, hard look at themselves—things went very wrong there!

You worked your way up from the bottom through all the divisions—regional, national. You were always there with your parents from a very young age, found joy in it, and it became your passion. You put your heart and soul into it, doing your “work” outdoors in all kinds of weather; work in a leadership role—it was, after all, your hobby too.

As a judge, you don’t get applause—that’s reserved for the pilots at most. But genuine appreciation for this work would often be rewarding; I think that’s something that’s often overlooked. Dear Daniela, you’ve traveled far and wide, whether to European Championships or World Championships.

World Championships in South Africa and Argentina, various European Championships in France and Spain, countless international F3A competitions throughout Europe, and an enormous number of Swiss Championships. Listing them all separately would take far too long. Time and time again, you’ve been on the road as a judge, jury member, or even competition director—I wonder why? You’re one of the leading figures in international judging and an important ambassador for Switzerland.

Your strong relationships with the FAI, CIAM, and especially the F3A Subcommittee meant that you were always the first to receive the latest information on rule changes and new figure programs. The SMV frequently drew on your extensive knowledge for courses, seminars, and presentations. You were also always willing to help out with the national team’s training sessions or even with individual pilots’ training.

You have a wealth of experience in competitive flying, and you inspire young, up-and-coming pilots to take up the wonderful hobby of aerobatics. I still remember well how often you were there for our young pilots, evaluating and helping them improve their still somewhat rough maneuvers. Thanks to you, participation in the Sportflyer competition has also increased among us. You were even able to persuade some of the older pilots to join in. Suddenly, pilots I never would have thought capable of it were practicing maneuvers, and F3A aircraft were being purchased or built. It just didn’t work out for me 😊 (I’m biased from my past experience with helicopters).

People often saw you scoring flights, bundled up in winter gear, or on hot days with plenty of sunscreen. Being a judge is tougher than many people think—staying highly focused for days on end, judging hundreds of maneuvers to the best of your knowledge and belief. It’s not uncommon for pilots to feel underrated, even when they believe they’re really good. I’ve experienced that myself in the past, and now I wonder whether we were always completely honest with ourselves back then, or if there was a bit of whitewashing involved—after all, we were training every day...

You experienced a highlight in 2021: You were honored by the FAI with the prestigious Paul Tissandier Diploma. Daniela, we’re all so glad that you’re staying with us in the region, remaining part of our model aircraft club, and continuing to show our not-so-young-anymore wild ones where the boundaries lie as a figure of authority!

Ueli von Niederhäusern (Huck)