4-S Flying 2010

On a Saturday in October, the now-almost-traditional 4-S Fly-In (Glider Towing Season Finale) was held at the beautiful, private model airfield in Oberbüren.

First and foremost, a huge thank you to the organizers for the nearly flawless execution, and of course, thanks also to the catering crew. Despite the very foggy fall weather, about 35 glider pilots

pilots and 17 tow planes (along with their pilots, of course!) gathered for a leisurely day of flying. At no point throughout the entire day did things get hectic, and all the pilots got to enjoy plenty of flights. This is certainly also due to the fact that the lower boundary of the fog remained consistently at just 300 to 350 m above ground level, making long thermal flights virtually impossible. Exceptions, however, prove the rule, as

some “vintage” pilots (meaning the models, of course, not the pilots!)—as well as Markus Rohr with his “Archaeopteryx”—were still able to log extended flights. Frequency control is becoming increasingly straightforward, as most pilots have switched to 2.4 GHz. The few “long-antenna” pilots present organized themselves perfectly using the tried-and-true “Klüppli system.” On display

In addition to some very beautiful modern gliders such as the DG 1000, ASW 28, etc., there were also a few vintage models like the Moswey III, Blanik, Ka6, Reiher, etc. Aerobatic gliders were quite rare; aside from a few B4s, Foxes, and Lunaks, there was just one Swift on the field.

Fortunately, with the exception of a minor brush with the treetops of the nearby grove, the successful event went off without a hitch. →

The fact that two of the 17 tow planes couldn’t be used was no problem, given the sufficient number of tow planes available. The most unique tow plane on the scene—namely, the “Schwebebalken”—was “decorated” with more signatures on its wings, so that soon there won’t be any free space left.

Finally, many thanks once again to the organizers and volunteers. We all hope that such a great gathering can take place again in 2011. (See photos of the event at www.powerschlepp.ch or www.rcmovie.de/video).

*Walti Wuhrmann, MG Zurich*