Zäziwiler Friendship Flight 2009

On March 22, 2009, the Grosshöchstetten Model Aircraft Club held its traditional RCS Hang Friendship Competition. Despite somewhat chilly temperatures, 53 participants made their way to the tranquil town of Zäziwil this year.

For many gliding enthusiasts from all over Switzerland, the Zäziwil event has been a fixture in their annual calendar—and has been for four decades now. What makes this classic event still so popular even today? The competition format—which involves a launch from an elevation of about 60 meters for a 3-minute timed flight followed by a precision landing—actually sounds quite simple and straightforward. But it is precisely these simple rules that allow glider pilots of all levels to participate without high-tech models and specialized equipment giving anyone an advantage. Every participant—whether flying a beginner’s model, a scale glider, or a modern competition glider—has a fair chance of succeeding at the Zäziwiler. And aside from the competition itself, the chance to reconnect with good friends, enjoy each other’s company, and talk shop after a long winter season is, of course, another important reason to make the trip to Zäziwil.

Winter is a good keyword here, because on the day of the competition, it didn’t seem quite ready to give way to spring yet, and the briefing took place in rather chilly temperatures. But the weather cooperated—a sunny day awaited us, and even the Bise, which had been blowing strongly the day before, had largely died down. The start of the first group was awaited with some trepidation, as some had doubts about whether it would be possible to fly for three minutes so early in the morning in the cold. But Paul Böhlen, last year’s winner, immediately demonstrated that it was indeed possible. As the competition progressed, the updraft conditions proved challenging, and the frequently shifting winds made the final landing difficult. However, wind speeds remained fairly light throughout the day, allowing three rounds to be flown without much trouble. Unfortunately, a mix-up occurred during the first round: Pilots who made an out-of-bounds landing or had exactly 180 seconds of flight time were recorded as having 0 seconds of flight time, and the pilots then signed the score sheet with those incorrect times. In previous years, such discrepancies were simply left as is; however, since there were now several incorrect scores that also affected the top of the standings, it was decided that the pilots in question could repeat the corresponding round.

The good weather allowed for this without any time constraints, and we were then able to proceed with the awards ceremony at the usual time. This year’s winner was Daniel Bögli from Zäziwil, ahead of Reto Fiolka and Markus Minger. A quick look at the statistics reveals just how precisely the top pilots flew. Daniel Bögli, who took first place, achieved an average time of $176 \pm 1.5$ s1 and a deviation from the landing line of $3.3 \pm 3.2$ cm!

It should be noted that first and third place—as well as several other strong finishes—were achieved with models built using traditional wood construction methods. These models are by no means at a disadvantage at Zäziwiler; during landing, they may even have slight advantages over the “flying broomsticks” of the F3B and F3J classes. Thus, it is clear that

¹ The mean and the corresponding standard deviation are given.

In Zäziwiler, flying talent—and a little luck—are more important than the latest equipment, which certainly contributes to the Zäzipfupf’s widespread popularity.

On behalf of the participating pilots, I would like to thank the organizers and the numerous volunteers for their work; it was once again a wonderful competition and a great start to the 2009 gliding season.

Text: Reto Fiolka,
Photos: Salomo Lehmann