Central Switzerland Region - Stoos Model Aircraft Ski Cup

Former members of the Stetten Model Aircraft Club felt that the Ski Cup competition had been so much fun back then that it deserved a revival. After a brief discussion, they got to work quickly and with great enthusiasm. A suitable location was quickly found in Stoos, above Schwyz. After some planning, the 1st Stoos Model Aircraft Ski Cup took place on March 26, 2006, with 13 participants from five clubs.

At the end of the competition, all that could be seen were satisfied faces, slightly flushed from the March sun. Everyone agreed that it was a great event, full of fun and excitement, and that they hoped there would be a next time.

Some of you may be wondering what exactly the Stoos Model Aircraft Ski Cup is all about. Well, first of all, here’s the recipe for success: Take:

• 1 model airplane pilot with average skiing or snowboarding experience
• 1 aircraft that flies as stably as possible—anything from a glider to a delta wing
• 1 helper, who is always available from among the participants anyway
• 2 rounds, as well as
• a pinch of humor and optimism

With that, all the ingredients are ready, and the real fun can begin. The pilot takes his place below the starting point on the starting line. At the start, the helper launches the model onto the snow with plenty of momentum. The pilot then sets off on the course—about 1.5 km as the crow flies—while simultaneously steering the model. To break things up a bit, there are a few giant slalom gates to navigate along the way. Armed with plenty of confidence, the next challenge is to cross three camel humps—neither of which is a problem, by the way, if you first reduce your speed nicely, for example, by using a stem turn.

With great momentum, the pilot then heads toward the landing site, where—overcome with joy—he first performs a loop before finally, exactly four minutes later, pulling off a masterful landing in the snow.

Don’t worry—all 13 pilots in the first Stoos Model Aircraft Ski Cup brought their models home in one piece. After all, the focus is on fun and camaraderie, and the relatively simple course can truly be completed by anyone. If anyone does have personal concerns about a particular task, they can simply skip it—with only a minor deduction in points. By the way, there was also a winner: Andreas Fumagalli from MG Rapperswil/Jona, ahead of Moritz Hänsli from MG Furttal, and our SMV President Yves Burkhardt from the host club, MSV Stetten.

By the way, the event is also a lot of fun for the whole family and their friends—after all, they can ski to their heart’s content while also watching a fascinating competition.

All participants agreed that we would be happy to compete again in the 2nd Stoos Model Aircraft Ski Cup in 2007. The date has already been set with Sportbahnen Schwyz-Stoos-Fronalpstock AG for Sunday, March 25, 2007. It’s best to mark this date in your calendar right away. Now the organizing club, MSV Stetten, hopes that even more pilots will be inspired to join this event, since the considerable organizational effort involved can only be justified with more than 20 participants. Therefore, we ask all interested parties—and we hope there are many of you—to let us know of your general interest by emailing sms2007@modellflug.ch by December 31, 2006, at the latest. We will then send you the official announcement directly in early 2007.

We are already looking forward to the 2nd edition of the Stoos Model Aircraft Ski Cup with even more participants.

Michael Orschel on behalf of
the Organizing Committee of MSV Stetten