7th Cup Flying Competition in Winterthur

The first three rounds were held as a standard competition with groups of five and four competitors. For those unfamiliar with the format, here’s a brief explanation: After three flights, the top finishers from the first half qualify for the Cup, while the rest compete in a consolation tournament. In this tournament, five flights are scored. From each of the four groups of four, the pilot with the slowest time is eliminated. That resulted in 12 pilots. In the 6th round, 8 remained; in the 7th round, 4. The final four competed for places one through four. The sixth round was particularly thrilling, as after flight times of 65 seconds, 60 seconds, and 60 seconds, one more competitor still had to be eliminated. It took two re-runs.

This time, Haller (Dintikon) and Brennwald (Männedorf) made it to the finals. In this final flight of the competition, Haller amazed everyone with an incredible “Schletzflug.” After releasing the line, his model climbed at least another five meters and transitioned into a clean glide without any pumping. He achieved the maximum time of two minutes, as the launch was performed using a 30-meter string.

You can never compare theory with practice. For example, no one would have believed that two Kö C models (called “Schindel”) would advance to 2nd and 4th place. Those who flew wide circles were best able to take advantage of the weak thermals. The most impressive comparison flight was probably the one by last year’s winner, Viktor Burtscher. He had an A2 model built according to the latest findings—a double-trapezoidal wing. The wing profile was sanded out of solid balsa wood. The wings had “built-in warping” to take advantage of thermal conditions. After release, his model flew straight ahead until, after about 100 meters, it began circling in a tube. While the other three models in this series were already on the ground after 60–70 seconds, the model in question was still at an altitude of 40 meters after two minutes.

Thanks to the smooth proceedings, the competition was already concluded by 2:00 p.m. The four finalists each received a beautiful silver plate as a prize. A heartfelt thank you to the Winterthur group for the excellent organization and to the disciplined participants.

W. Heise