Success for the 2010 F3F Competition – Slope Gliders

The F3F event scheduled for June 13 took place as planned despite the capricious weather. Eleven competitors took part in the race, and this year we were pleased to have four friends from central Switzerland join us; they stood out for their skill and friendliness. The weather forecast had called for showers (as it had the previous week) and afternoon thunderstorms, but our team wasn’t discouraged, and everything was ready for the start at 1:00 p.m. as scheduled. As the competitors’ times show, conditions steadily improved, and we were able to take advantage of very good dynamic conditions on the Ronco slope for the last two

runs. The competition consisted of 4 runs with no worst-run discard, and results were calculated to the hundredth to avoid tiebreakers.

It was a perfectly executed F3F event, thanks in part to the precise work of the assistants (Mauro Andreotti, Mauro Balestra, and Steven Cavalli) and the chief judge (Nicola Del Biaggio), who led the competition with his usual steady hand and authority. Thanks are also due to the organizing groups (GALVM and GAMB) for their efforts.

With a very strong start, Andreas Trombik took advantage of the minimal conditions on the slope and managed to secure first place in the first section, closely followed by Stefan Bärtschi and Kico Cavalli. In the second section, Philip Hubert managed to take first place—partly due to his opponents’ mistakes—bringing him back among the leaders. In the final two sections, however, the efforts of his pursuers came to nothing

as Stefan Bärtschi, with superior piloting and model performance, managed to pull away from the pack with no chance of a comeback, setting the day’s best time of 49.24 seconds—a time that would hold up well in any F3F event, even at the international level. Thanks to his more consistent flights, Philip Hubert finished right behind the winner, Stefan Bärtschi, with Andreas Trombik in third place, due to a mistake in the final leg.

The other pilots also performed very well, including some who were competing in this type of event for the first time and who truly put on an excellent race, especially considering the equipment at their disposal. We hope this event will continue to grow here as well, and we will certainly be sure to hold it again next season. ■

*PU, galvm*