2006 FAI World Championships

From the perspective of the Swiss circuit pilots, this World Championship was a special event in many ways. On the one hand, for the first time in many years, we were able to include a new pilot on our racing team; furthermore, the 2006 World Championship was the first major event at which the FAI regulations for the F2B category (tethered aerobatics)—which had been completely revised under Swiss leadership—were applied. Particularly noteworthy in this context is the fact that electrically powered F2B models were permitted for the first time in Valladolid and that they proved to be quite competitive.

The electric aerobatic models for tethered flight were equipped with commercially available motors and lithium-polymer batteries with a capacity of approximately 4,000 mA/h, providing a flight time of 6 minutes. The high power requirements for the complex maneuvers and the fact that external control of motor power is not permitted under the regulations also made the use of modified controllers necessary. The modifications to the control functions ranged from simple timers to power output that could be freely programmed over the flight duration. Consequently, especially with a slightly more refined definition and automatic adjustment of the parameters, systems that are on par with internal combustion engine propulsion—and perhaps even superior in the medium term—will be available in the foreseeable future. Then one of the goals of the F2B rule revision would be achieved: namely, to bring circle-flying planes back to where they came from—school playgrounds, right in the heart of the city.

Eighty-four aerobatic pilots flew twice each at two venues under normal, if somewhat hot, conditions, and the top 15 determined the winners with three additional flights. The six judges selected a very talented young pilot from France as the well-deserved world champion. With his victory over two legendary top pilots from the U.S., Remi Beringer thus marked a preliminary highlight in his still-young career.

1. Remi Beringer, France
2. David Fitzgerald, USA
3. Paul Walker, USA
46. Peter Germann, Switzerland
65. Peter Däppen, Switzerland

When it comes to “young talent,” our Italian friends have set an example through an exemplary initiative. They did so not only by providing intensive support to a particularly talented young man, but also by enabling him to purchase a top-of-the-line model. Maurizio Milani repaid this investment by his supporters by winning the Junior World Championship title in the F2B category.

Today, the “Team Racing” class is clearly not just a technical competition at the absolute cutting edge of technology. While engines built by hand as one-off pieces—some equipped with sophisticated ceramic ball bearings—carbon-fiber models manufactured in milled negative molds, and rather exotic fuels have almost become the standard, but beyond that, these racing machines are so demanding to handle that a great deal of knowledge and experience is required to operate them successfully. When, as in Valladolid, two or even three of these projectiles—which now reach speeds of over 220 km/h—must be flown in the same circle, landed, and relaunched within 5 seconds, the whole endeavor becomes a physically demanding competitive sport, especially at 38 °C in the shade—though there wasn’t a speck of shade to be seen anywhere on the concrete runway in Spain... The Swiss team pilots are therefore very pleased to have Zane Stanojevic, a new and very promising race pilot, on their roster.

1. Surugue/Surugue, France
2. Bondarenko/Lerner, Ukraine
3. Kramarenko/Chayka, Ukraine
18. Müller/Saccavino, Switzerland
29. Borer/Studer, Switzerland
40. Stanejovic/Saccavino, Switzerland

With 357 participants and nearly as many supporters, the F2 World Championship was a spectacular event. It demonstrated once again what it truly means to fly a model aircraft by hand and to really feel it. The Swiss national team would like to thank the SMV for its support—not only for enabling our participation in this major event, but also for the assistance it has consistently provided us at every stage and at all times in furthering the common cause of model aviation.

Peter Germann