FAI European Championships

On March 3, 2011, the national team’s kickoff meeting took place at the Hotel Egerkingen. Responsibilities, training sessions, accommodations, and goals were established. The team then arrived on August 17 and 18. We had the entire hotel at our disposal, including a wonderful garden house where the daily team meetings were held. Renate and Daniela provided culinary delights worthy of a 4-star hotel! We found the grounds to be wonderful, and the organizer had prepared everything imaginable for the pilots. As for the weather, it stayed between 35° and 38° degrees all week long under a cloudless sky.

It was already clear during the preliminary competition (Alpen Cup) that the bar for competing at the top was set very high. There was also a wide variety of models in use. Among them were the Xplorer, Supra, Prestige, and Satori, as well as the Supreme and Tanga-J flown by the Swiss pilots. The weights of these models ranged

1,800 and 2,300 g. During the flights, however, the focus was not on weight but on the pilots’ skill. Conditions ranged from superb thermals to a tough search for updrafts in order to achieve the required times. Whereas 3 to 4 years ago we were still satisfied with landings around 95 points and times of 9:53:00, today this is

definitely a thing of the past. Today, landings around 99–100 points and flight times around 9:56:00–9:58:00 are no longer a rarity—they’re a must! It’s worth noting that the longest flight was 9:59.30—meaning a takeoff time of 0.3–0.5 seconds and a landing at the very last moment! It must be noted, however, that a landing even 0.2 seconds after the horn sounds practically means slipping to the bottom of the rankings due to the

draconian penalty points stipulated by the regulations (the takeoff method used by the Croatian European champion with his Xplorer can be admired on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5YsjEyO7-U). Given these conditions, we can be satisfied with our performance. Stefan Böhlen missed the flyoffs by just 3 points out of a possible 11,000. In the nations’ standings, we achieved

9th place overall, which is a remarkable improvement compared to previous years. This achievement can be attributed, in part, to the strong team spirit we maintained throughout the European Championship. We also received very helpful support from Jojo Weber from Germany (starter and announcer).

In the team competition, Turkey has now won the European Championship as well as the World Championship. Slovenia and Italy followed in second and third place, respectively. The Germans, who are usually among the top finishers, came in 10th. However, the German junior team won the team competition.

To make even more progress, an enormous amount of training is absolutely essential. Feedback from our international colleagues has shown that they train practically every day (!). As team manager, I would like to thank the SMV for its support and the entire team for their disciplined cooperation. It was an educational and wonderful time in Bovec. I hope that in two years, at the European Championships in Istanbul, we can once again demonstrate our progress.

Ernesto Weber