Round 1 of the Swiss F3A Championship

The Swiss Championship got underway under ideal conditions. Friday was already put to good use for practice flights. Competition Director Regina Schmitter was able to hold her briefing right on time Saturday morning.

Fifteen pilots were on the field, 13 of whom were flying electric models; Marc Rubin and Pascal Mast were flying models with combustion engines. The windsock on the mast had a rather calm day, with just a light breeze; as a result, spectators were treated to many beautiful flights. As usual, all pilots completed their runs without any problems, and a truly peaceful atmosphere prevailed—perhaps due in part to the high temperatures. Also worth mentioning is the flight preparation of the “flying bishop” from Ticino, Francesco Mordasini. Much like Beat Feuz before a downhill race, he went over the maneuvers in his head over and over again. Werner Schweiker from MG Wangen brought along an interesting glider. No decals yet, no paint, nothing—more like a blank canvas. He designed and built the model entirely on his own, from the first pencil stroke all the way to flight-ready. After the event, he’ll finish it off—something like this wouldn’t have worked with a combustion engine...

On Saturday, three rounds were flown. On Sunday morning, another round followed, then it was on to the finals with the top six pilots. The difficulty of the maneuvers increased. The three national team pilots came out on top. Sandro Matti won by a considerable margin ahead of Reto Schumacher and Marc Rubin. Then, a bit further back but all close together, came Philipp Schürmann and the recently retired Matthias Bosshard and Alois Schürmann.

A well-organized competition—featuring, by the way, excellent cuisine—came to a close under bright sunshine. ■

*Ueli von Niederhäusern*