Sportflyers and Relay Competition in Riggisberg

Thanks to perfect weather, the relay competition—combined with the Sportflyers competition—was held in Riggisberg on September 25. The event alternated between a round of relay races and a round of Sportflyer flights. This worked surprisingly well, allowing most of the judges to remain seated.

At 9:15 a.m., the five relay teams were judged on the ground, with the evaluation focusing on the size and appearance of the gliders and pilots.

The teams included Worber, MFG Zugerland, MSV Stetten, and two teams from Riggisberg; last year’s winners from Kulm were absent this time.

The Sportflyer event consists of several competitions and is actually intended for beginners, although the flight program does require a certain level of skill. Nine pilots were registered here; one had to cancel, and two were juniors. Daniela Schmitter did a great job promoting the event in Riggisberg, so five local pilots decided at the last minute to participate. It was amazing how the guys got caught up in the excitement of the competition. Suddenly, they were training every evening as hard as they could—it almost reminded me of the glorious Heli days...

The level of the sport flyers was quite high, so there was no room for major mistakes—otherwise, you’d immediately fall behind. Walter Hirsig had some bad luck here—he’d completed countless training flights without a hitch, but in the second round of all rounds, the speed controller likely gave out; the motor was just sputtering, but he managed an emergency landing, and from the

Competition. The two juniors did very well, especially Rodito, who won two medals.

The relay flying was a real spectacle—at least whenever the Zugerland team was in action; they had the most Trojans in the air—Godi really pulled it off. Pilot Lars Antonsen, who uses a wheelchair, was truly remarkable—thanks to the tremendous support of his mother and the entire club, he flew very well. Seeing that made our own “problems” seem so small and ridiculous. There was so much passion, joy, and hard work that it truly left you in awe.

His RC system had to be extensively modified so that Lars could operate it—what was going on there and his mother’s deeply emotional words to

The announcement of the rankings... it left everyone speechless.

Scoring in formation flying isn’t easy—and it wasn’t easy for the pilots either—since there are so many factors at play: the size of the formation—the more pilots, the harder it gets.

The speed of the models, the willingness to take risks—that’s also tied to the price of the models. Three formations were flying Trojans—large and small—and the planes were very popular! Despite the competition, the

Fun and enjoyment were the main focus. This really became apparent during the traditional “monster relay” at the end, but we didn’t quite make it to twenty. ■

*Ueli von Niederhäusern*