Something's going on at the IGG

Right on time at 6:00 a.m., we boarded our bus from Gössi Carreisen at the terminal in Horw to pick up the rest of the group at three more stops along the way.

Of course, we couldn’t skip a coffee-and-croissant stop. Many of the nearly 50 members, like the author of this report, were traveling to Schwabmünchen for the first time and were eager to see what awaited them. To give you a preview: it was simply incredible. Every conceivable company involved in gliding was there, showcasing its latest products. At the Choco-Fly booth, for example, prototypes were on display that had likely just come off the production line a few days earlier. Here, you could immediately tell that we were right at the “heart” of the gliding scene.

Of course, the air show was running alongside it—every 7 minutes, different models and manufacturers were in the air; it was one thing after another. Another major highlight in the late afternoon was definitely the cocktail reception organized by ChocoFly especially for us IGG members. A huge thank you to company owner Dani Äberli and his crew. In the evening, a twilight air show was presented that truly lived up to its name. Among other things, aerobatic pilots were equipped with pyrotechnics on their outer wings. During a low flyover, sparks rained down onto the straw field below, which fortunately led only to a brief—yet entertaining—pause. First responders with fire extinguishers were quickly on the scene and were able to prevent anything worse from happening until the airfield fire department arrived with the TLW to extinguish the fire.

As the grand finale, there was a night flight show that was truly spectacular—understandably without pyrotechnics, but with LED lighting on the wings. This time, it was mostly the motorized aircraft that took to the skies—and how! The experts there performed breathtaking 3D maneuvers in complete darkness—maneuvers that most of the pilots among us wouldn’t even attempt during the day.

After an extremely successful day, we were able to take our seats on the bus at 11:00 p.m., satisfied and exhausted, and begin our journey home.

After a somewhat long day, we arrived back at the terminal in Horw at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

IGG Switzerland, the Board of Directors

On Saturday, 18 members gathered at Hahnenmoos. Hahnenmoos welcomed us with blue skies, sunshine, and a light breeze. These conditions made it possible to fly from various launch sites, so some headed off with their models toward Luegli, Schalmi, the ski lift, or Lavey. The hoped-for thermals did materialize, but there were also some downdrafts. One of the Hahnenmoos rookies was caught in one—his ASW 20 suddenly found itself far below. But with stoic calm and the help of experienced Hahnenmoos pilots, he managed to

the saving thermal far out in the valley. The landing on Lavey was then perfect—it doesn’t get any better than that. At half past three, one of the forecast rain cells reached Hahnenmoos, and we had to head back to the hotel.

At 6:00 a.m., I had the pleasure of officially welcoming all participants at a cocktail reception; among them were old acquaintances as well as new members, which made me very happy. Dinner was, as always, a delight, and we talked shop long into the night.

On Sunday, more IGG members joined us, and with

with great weather and light winds, the pilots spread out again to various launch sites. Things went well at Luegli and Schalmi, and happy pilots also returned from Lavey toward evening—in fact, you could hear expressions like: “It was a blast...” :-)

Everyone who wasn’t there missed out on a great weekend, and I hope that next year we’ll be able to welcome even more members to the aperitif—we can definitely make it to 20+, right?

Michael Oraschnigg