The F3J Winter League Is Experiencing a Renaissance

People had already started talking about limiting the number of participants! Fortunately, though, it didn’t come to that—even with fields of up to 30 pilots. But you do need a pretty big field to space out up to eight launch sites far enough apart so there aren’t any collisions during takeoff.

The first round of the competition took place on November 11 in Aadorf and wasn’t exactly blessed with good weather. The strong wind really scattered the field. Broken lines were the order of the day, and we were already worried that this would deter many “newcomers” from coming back a second time. On top of that, we had to call it off after only three runs because of rain.

But far from it! About a month later, everyone was back at the starting line in Ricketwil near Winterthur. Once again, there wasn’t a trace of snow to be seen, but the frozen ground added a touch of winter. Under difficult conditions—

Heinz Bischofberger won for the second time.

The highlight of the “Winter” League came with the January competition in Regensburg. With nearly spring-like temperatures, thermals developed right from the start, almost always allowing for 10-minute flights. Suddenly, the pilots flying F3J gliders took the lead, as launch altitude alone was no longer the decisive factor. Thomas Kübler won by the narrowest of margins.

The February round then took place again in Ricketwil. Unfortunately, we had to call it off early this time as well, as a rain front caught us by surprise. This time, the winner was Gusti Bieli.

The final round took place on March 17 at Anglikerfeld near Wohlen. Some pilots were likely already feeling the springtime fatigue, so only 19 pilots competed for the overall victory under difficult conditions. Four of the pilots present still had a chance to win! So the tension was immense. After seven (!) rounds, the author secured the day’s victory and, at the same time, the overall victory by a razor-thin margin over Christian Müller, our Winter League sponsor.

And right on schedule, as the Winter League wrapped up, the snow arrived!!

Almost every aircraft the F3B and F3J scenes have to offer was in action. Among the newer F3J models, the Espada RL and the Vision performed well, and in light winds, the Shadow also impressed. The new Supra also held its own. But it still comes down more to flying in the right spot than to having a top-notch aircraft.

On behalf of the organizers, led by Reto Schmid, I’d like to thank all the pilots for turning out in such large numbers, and I hope we can hold five great competitions again next year. By the way, it’s possible even in the snow!

You can find the individual and overall rankings at www.thermik-freak.ch under “Winter League.”

Text: Koni Oetiker
Photos: Reto Schmid