Successful Juniors

To be selected for the 2018 F3K national team, Swiss F3K pilots had to prove themselves in various competitions in 2017. They competed in three F3K events in Switzerland and two events abroad. The three best results were tallied, and based on the rankings, the top three seniors and three juniors were nominated for the 2018 F3K national team. The team consisted of Cederic Duss, Markus Minger, and Christoph Ogi as seniors, and Loris Blickensdörfer and Moriz Urwyler as juniors. To prepare for the 2018 European Championships, the national team participated in two international and one national competition.

Well-prepared, the national team—along with helpers Eveline Blickensdörfer and Stephan Urwyler, and me as team manager—traveled to Slovakia. After 1,200 km, we arrived on Thursday at the glider airfield on the outskirts of Martin. We immediately selected a suitable spot so that the team tents and RVs could be set up close to the airfield, providing the best view of the competition. The first gliders were assembled and test-flown.

The two-day F3K Eurocontest Martin Cup kicked off on Friday. This preliminary competition was important for the national team to familiarize themselves with the site and the wind conditions. During the tasks in the preliminary competition, efforts were made to minimize the risk of a collision so as not to lose a European Championship aircraft. Starting at 10:30 a.m., the wind picked up and conditions became much more challenging. Flight strategy decisions were mostly a matter of chance. With Moriz taking first place and Loris second in the Junior category, we concluded the Eurocontest successfully from a Swiss perspective. Sunday was a rest day.

The day’s agenda included registering the national team and the F3K models. The gliders are allowed a maximum wingspan of 1.5 m. In the evening, the opening ceremony of the F3K European Championship took place at the airfield. The organizer, Miroslav Majercík, “Miro,” delivered the opening speech to participants from 18 different European nations, comprising a total of 67 pilots (52 seniors and 15 juniors).

The European Championship began on Monday at 9:00 a.m. under clear skies. The plan was to fly four senior rounds and four junior rounds per day. A round consists of different groups. Each group has about ten pilots who line up on the field at the same time to complete a defined task. There are ten different F3K tasks, each with a flight window of ten minutes or less. Within this flight window, all pilots in the group must complete the assigned task simultaneously. For example, within the 10-minute flight window, pilots must complete three flights, each lasting a maximum of three minutes. This means that after the starting signal for the flight window, the pilots toss their gliders into the air using a discus-style throw and attempt to achieve a 3-minute flight time with the help of thermal updrafts. As soon as the three minutes are up, the pilot lands and launches the model again to complete the second flight, and so on. At the end of the flight window, the pilot with the longest cumulative flight time (maximum $3 \times 180$ seconds) wins and receives 1,000 points.

Thunderstorms were forecast for Tuesday throughout the day. The wind picked up as early as the morning, and the pilots engaged in lively discussions before each round: Which model—the lighter one or the wind model—and how much ballast should be added? Several different types of ballast were brought to the airfield so that the aircraft could be ballasted accordingly during the task, depending on the wind. We were spared the thunderstorm, but much to the pilots’ surprise, the wind—blowing at 20 km/h—shifted 180° from southwest to northeast within ten minutes.

The weather forecast for Wednesday wasn’t promising. At 11:00 a.m., steady rain set in and the gliders remained on the ground. Fortunately, we were able to resume the contest at 5:00 p.m., but the conditions were no longer as spectacular. Those who launch high can reach the target time in glide flight. With unremarkable conditions and only five completed laps, the third day of the European Championships came to a close.

Thursday began with pleasant weather, but by noon, winds were expected to pick up to 25 km/h. The weather conditions in Martin aren’t easy to read, which was reflected in the points scored by all competitors. Christoph and Coach Cederic were on the field with a solid plan. But a big question mark remained: where is the thermal tube now? According to the weather report, rain was forecast for Friday afternoon. The organizer wanted to definitely hold the fly-off on Friday with a total of six rounds. He decided that the preliminary round would end with the fourth day of the European Championships. At the end of the day, the overall results of the preliminary round showed that we had qualified for the fly-off with three pilots: Cederic in 6th place in the senior category, Moriz in 2nd place, and Loris in 6th place in the junior category. This meant that the 2018 F3K European Championships were over for the other Swiss pilots. Christoph finished in 13th place and Markus in 28th.

On Friday, the juniors kicked off the fly-off with the “Poker” task. Two juniors went “all in,” meaning a flight lasting ten minutes. If this isn’t achieved, no points are awarded. They caught a good thermal and were able to successfully complete the task with 1,000 points. Moriz and Loris preferred to play it safe. Moriz flew five two-minute flights, Loris flew for 1:30, then “end of working time.” Both scored well. During the second flight of the fifth task, “3 times 320,” Moriz collided with another aircraft. Nevertheless, he was able to complete that part of the task. After landing, he noticed that the collision had left a 1.5-cm-long notch in the leading edge of the wing. He decided to use the spare model to complete the final flight of this task. The juniors completed all six rounds with flying colors, securing spots on the podium at the end of the fly-off. Loris took first place as the 2018 Junior F3K European Champion, and Moriz took second place as the 2018 Junior F3K European Vice-Champion.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained”—that’s what eight senior pilots thought during the first round of the “Poker” task, and they went “all in.” After takeoff, the planes quickly began circling northward, and the pilots left the airfield to follow them. Several pilots returned early, perhaps hoping to catch an updraft near the airfield.

However, five pilots landed outside the airfield or too early, before their individually scheduled flight times. Cederic was among them. A spot on the podium had become a distant prospect for Cederic. Only a miracle—or a major mistake by the other pilots—could still make a podium finish possible. The top three pilots continued to fly consistently, and in the end, Cederic finished in 7th place.

Like the opening ceremony, the awards ceremony also took place at the airfield. The first award recipients were the three national teams—the juniors and seniors—with the highest combined total scores from the preliminary round. With our solid fourth-place finish, we unfortunately missed the podium in both categories. Next, the juniors were honored, and Loris and Moriz took the podium together to receive the F3K European Championship trophy. After the seniors’ awards ceremony, the president of the jury, Mr. Tomas Bartovsky, officially declared the F3K European Championship closed. In the evening, the banquet took place at a nearby restaurant. “Miro” opened the banquet with a short speech, and we all thanked him with thunderous applause for his tireless efforts throughout the entire European Championship. The buffet was immediately swarmed, and amid a festive atmosphere among the 18 nations, the 2018 F3K European Championship came to a friendly close.

*Hans-Ruedi Ogi*