Glider Acro – the premier class of model aviation

On Saturday, September 8, the elite of Swiss aerobatic sailors got to enjoy all these sights. At stake was the official title of 2012 Swiss Champion in the Glider Acro class, which was being awarded for the ninth time. Swiss pilots are also among the absolute best internationally. The Swiss stars have racked up numerous competition wins as well as victories in the annual contest standings in both the International and Sport classes. Accordingly, a high-level competition was expected.

And the spectators in attendance were not disappointed: As expected, the four favorites—Tobias Kunz, Tim and Andi Schaerer, and local hero Silvio Meier—began to pull ahead of the rest of the field right from the first rounds. But it was just as quickly clear that Tim Schaerer would be unbeatable again this year. He handled the initially very challenging wind conditions with ease and racked up one thousand-point score after another. Although the author was able to stay somewhat close on his heels, he ultimately had no chance of winning. The battle for third place was between Tobias Kunz and

Silvio Meier fought long and hard—until the announcer made a major mistake and announced the wrong sequence of moves. Full of confidence, Silvio followed the commands and suddenly found himself with no chance of making it onto the podium. Incidentally, the announcer was the author himself—who would like to take this opportunity to once again officially apologize for this lapse in concentration!

As always, the grand finale was the freestyle routine. Wind conditions were nearly ideal at times, allowing the pilots to present beautiful freestyle flights. Tim Schaerer’s flight, in particular, was among the best ever seen at competitions. It was harmonious, featuring some spectacular maneuver combinations, and flown with consistent power and dynamism. This is how beautiful glider aerobatics can be!

In the end, after five scored rounds, the well-deserved winner was—once again—Tim Schaerer, ahead of Andi Schaerer and Tobias Kunz.

We’d like to thank the MG Falknis team, led by President Joe Manner, for this fantastic day—they did a truly great job—as well as the expert judges and, of course, the team of tow pilots, who were put to the test, especially at the start of the day due to the wind conditions.

Andi Schaerer

Learn all about Glider-Acro at:
www.swissakro.ch or on
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