2007 Swiss Helicopter (F3C) Championship in Balm near Messen, Bern

After our 2006 trip to western Switzerland, this year it was, as usual, the Bern region’s turn, with the MG-Burgdorf hosting the event. We were guests at the field in Balm near Messen, where we had already held an NMA training session in 2005.

On Saturday, things got underway early with the start of the first heat according to the FAI-A program. This year, the Swiss Cup F3C classes were not included, as the competitions are held separately. Opinions on this may vary. I welcomed a joint event, as the young pilots were able to learn from the pros. The organizing team consisted entirely of familiar faces. The judging panel consisted of Ruedi Linder (multiple Swiss champion), Peter Reusser (former F3C pilot), and Daniela Schmitter. Heinz Gasser (former F3C pilot, NM) handled the computer-based scoring, assisted by Ms. Reusser. Six FAI judges were called upon for the first time in a long while. They were Jürg and Regina Schmitter, Sepp Emmenegger, Rolf Hug, Fritz Röthlisberger, and yours truly. After a pre-flight to “get the judges in the right frame of mind,” the first round got underway.

Eight participants took on the challenge this time to compete for the title and a spot on the national team. That’s more than at the championship in the U.S., as Jörg Schmitter reported! By lunchtime, we had completed one run and had even started the second one before the mandatory lunch break had to be observed even at this wonderful venue. The weather was on our side, which spared us further delays and allowed us to resume the competition immediately afterward. We completed runs 2 and 3 on Saturday. On Sunday, we resumed at 10:00 a.m. with the fourth run, followed by the three final runs for the top six from the valid provisional standings. The second day was again interrupted by the lunch break. Enio Graber took a break from time to time to fly kites as the wind picked up. During the competition over these two days, there was one pilot in particular against whom the participating pilots could measure themselves: Enio Graber. As the standings show, he consistently led the pack with a score of 1,000! It seems we may already have a successor to Patrick Kessler in our own ranks? Around 3:00 p.m., Peter Oberli announced the results, bringing this championship to a close. This time, Enio Graber finished ahead of Patrick Kessler, with Hans Emmenegger once again taking third place. This trio has already been nominated for the 2007 World Championships. The honorable fourth, fifth, and sixth places went to Remo Hürlimann, Markus Rohrer, and Heinz Gerber. Roland Schriber from Valais and Urs Herzog round out this year’s top model helicopter pilots in Switzerland.

In the future, we hope that model flying clubs will volunteer to host events and be able to provide the national team with a good environment without the national team coach having to worry about too many details! So a heartfelt thank you to “Pesche” and the Burgdorf Model Flying Club, especially Heinz Gerber and his team. We were able to enjoy a wonderful and relaxed event that will remain in our memories for a long time. *Walter Heller*