2006 Swiss Championship

As we got out of the car at about 1,400 meters above sea level, we were greeted by the loud roar of a strong, gusty wind: blowing straight down from above—it couldn’t have been any straighter—the wind swept from the Möntschelenspitz into the Stockental.

Wrinkles of worry spread across the forehead of Toni Humbel from MG Westamt-Uetendorf, a natural-born optimist: Could it really be that the 25th edition of the traditional slope-flying competition on the Möntschelenalp, of all things, would fall victim to this extremely strong downdraft...?!?

The worries were unfounded: Shortly after the briefing, flying could begin. The highly changeable conditions didn’t faze the seasoned Möntschelen pros: In recent years, it hasn’t been uncommon to have to contend with changeable flying conditions at this airfield. On the one hand, this isn’t exactly pleasant when you have to fly in difficult conditions. On the other hand, perhaps this is precisely what makes up a large part of the appeal of this flying discipline; success cannot be bought. In addition to a good glider, tactics, flying skill, and—every now and then—a dash of luck are necessary to achieve a good result in a field of competitors with such a high level of performance

. Throughout the competition, numerous very exciting flights were observed; in any case, I have fond memories of the head-to-head race between Sacha Däppen, last year’s Swiss champion, and Res Böhlen, the reigning F3B world champion! Paul Böhlen deservedly became Swiss Champion—he participated in 23 out of a total of 25 competitions held and consistently stood out with excellent results! The MG-WU surprised the pilots with the most entries in the Möntschelen competition with a flight voucher! A very nice gesture! “Merci viu Mau!”

Despite yet another beautiful, unforgettable day on the Möntschelenalp, there remains a “dark side” for me that gives me pause: I find it truly astonishing that this exciting discipline, RCS-Hang, has to fight so hard just to survive; the number of participants is shrinking—slowly, yes—but it’s shrinking steadily...!!! Even with simple glider models, one could take part in a friendly flying competition characterized by excitement for both pilots and spectators alike, as well as by fair rules. Ultimately, it’s pointless if the MG West-

Uetendorf, one of the smallest model flying clubs, organizes this labor-intensive competition year after year and offers us model pilots excellent facilities, if we don’t take advantage of this opportunity! With that in mind, I wish the MG Westamt-Uetendorf and all interested pilots a larger field of participants, which would ensure the survival of this exciting discipline in a beautiful setting among valued fellow modelers...! In any case, I’m looking forward to the next exciting showdown at the “Möntschelenalp”...!