Comp League

Leider sehen wir (Jérôme, Jörg und ich) keine Möglichkeit, "im Zentrum der Schweiz" einen, oder am Rand der Schweiz "wahrscheinlich zwei Tasks" zu fliegen. Der Entscheid ist uns schwer gefallen, wir haben lange recherchiert, aber obwohl es an beiden Tagen da oder dort fliegbar ist, finden wir keinen Ort, wo wir für 60 oder 80 Pilot:innen ansagen würden. Deshalb ist der Swiss Cup abgesagt. Wir werden Regios organisieren, Regio Ost wahrscheinlich am Sonntag auf der Alp Scheidegg (oder Disentis-Schiers). ************************ Malheureusement, nous (Jérôme, Jörg et moi-même) ne voyons aucune possibilité de voler « au centre de la Suisse » ou « probablement deux tasks » à la périphérie de la Suisse. La décision a été difficile à prendre, nous avons longuement cherché, mais même s'il est possible de voler ici ou là pendant ces deux jours, nous ne trouvons aucun endroit où nous pourrions annoncer 60 ou 80 pilotes. C'est pourquoi la Swiss Cup est annulée. Nous organiserons des événements régionaux, celui de Regio East ayant lieu probablement dimanche à Alp Scheidegg (ou Disentis-Schiers). Weather forecast After a brief lull in the weather, widespread precipitation will return on Friday night, particularly in the BEO and on the northern slopes of the Alps in the east, as well as in Ticino. On Saturday: precipitation will ease off from the west (and inner Alps), with only the far east seeing rain in the afternoon; elsewhere it will be dry. Windy in the west and north of the Alps. North-south gradient increasing to 5hp (but this is not a typical north foehn situation, as the wind is generally coming from the west). Sunday: Medium-level cloud fields in the north, increasing cloudiness in the afternoon and precipitation coming in from the west in the evening. Slight south overpressure, wind from the south-west. Jura, Gruyere: Too much wind on both days Solo flights one way are possible – but on the ground, winds of 20–30 km/h from the south-west are to be expected... Verbier On both days, the south-westerly wind is likely to be disruptive (2000 m on Saturday 15-20 km/h, Sunday 10-15 km/h), with clouds and little thermals. Zinal Saturday Base 3400: Wind? Sunday morning thermals, but increasing cloud cover from midday onwards (still possible to complete a short task?) Grindelwald-Interlaken Saturday morning still wet, lots of residual clouds, no thermals, disruptive south-westerly wind Sunday south-westerly wind, cloud fields from early afternoon, hardly any thermals (warm air advection) Surselva Rain on Friday night. Saturday: lots of clouds, decreasing, thermals reaching 2400 metres from midday onwards, short showers possible, north-westerly wind, precipitation still possible in the Glarus region... Start in Disentis uncertain. Sunday would be a typical day for flying to Schiers with a south-westerly wind (slightly delayed thermal build-up, base only 3000 metres). Oberengadin Start/landing Muottas Muragl/Punt Muragl Zernez return should be fine Saturday with north wind on the right, Sunday with south-westerly wind on the left side of the valley But: travel time from French-speaking Switzerland is over 6 hours. So the two days aren't quite as good as they should be for such a journey ... Ticino Rain on Friday night. On Saturday, north wind (2000 m, 10-15 km/h), but not reaching the valleys. Sunday partly cloudy, hardly any thermals, low base Monte Lema With a bit of luck, we can fly two tasks. Base on Sunday, but only after 2 p.m. or even after 3 p.m. above the take-off site... (so rather difficult...) Cornizzolo This would be the place we could confidently recommend. Unfortunately, other events are being held there, so we cannot go there. Monte Generoso Difficult infrastructure, difficult for task setting

Freitag Nacht noch verbreitet Niederschläge, insbesondere BEO und Alpennordhang des Ostens und auch im Tessin. Am Samstag von Westen her nachlassende Niederschläge, am Nachmittag nur noch ganz im Osten, sonst trocken. Im Westen und nördlich der Alpen windig. Nord-Süd-Gradient auf 5hp steigend (es ist aber keine typische Nordföhnlage) Sonntag: Im Norden verbreitet mittelhohe Wolkenfelder, am Nachmittag Bewölkungszunahme und am Abend aus Westen aufkommende Niederschläge. Etwas Südüberdruck, Wind aus SW. Grundsätzlich ist es sehr schwierig und aktuell noch mit grosser Unsicherheit behaftet für 80 Pilot:innen einen Ort zu definieren, wo ein Task geflogen werden kann. Am ehesten noch in der Surselva, im Tessin, Cornizzolo oder Engadin. ENTSCHEID MORGEN, DONNERSTAG ABEND, 20 UHR. PS: Feedback ist willkommen. ************************** Friday night: widespread precipitation, especially in the eastern part of the country and in the northern Alps, as well as in Ticino. Saturday: precipitation easing from the west, with only the easternmost parts of the country seeing precipitation in the afternoon; otherwise dry. Windy in the west and north of the Alps. North-south gradient increasing to 5 hp (but this is not a typical north foehn situation). Sunday:Widespread medium-high cloud fields in the north, increasing cloudiness in the afternoon and precipitation coming in from the west in the evening. Slight south overpressure, wind from the SW. It is very difficult and currently still very uncertain to define a location where a task can be flown for 80 pilots. The most likely locations are Surselva, Ticino, Cornizzolo, or Engadin. DECISION TOMORROW, THURSDAY EVENING, 8 P.M. PS: Feedback is welcome. Notizen zum Meteo: Verbier An beiden Tagen dürfte der SW-Wind störend sein (2000m Samstag 15-20kmh, Sonntag 10-15kmh), zudem viele Wolken. Jura, Gruyere: An beiden Tagen zu viel Wind Gibt es eine Möglichkeit, One-Way zu machen? Am Boden müsste aber auch mit 30 kmh gerechnet werden... Grindelwald-Interlaken Samstag morgen noch Niederschlag, keine Thermik, bzw zu spät, zudem oberhalb 1500m viel Wind (W, 20kmh) Sonntag SW-Wind, aber viele mittelhohe Wolken, kaum Thermik Surselva Samstag Aufhellungen Sonntag viele mittelhohe Wolken, Südwind, kaum Streckenflugpotential Tessin Am Samstag Nordwind (2000m 10-15kmh), der aber nicht in die Täler durchgreift. Sonntag teilweise bewölkt, kaum Thermik

Text by Alfredo. Lower cloud base, blue thermals and 20+ km/h from the North West, the task was challenging. Still the group managed to fly fast. The leading gaggle arrived 1h and 37m after the start, flying at around 41 km/h and only 66 pilots made it to goal. Dynamic wind offered good lines close to the ground and +4 m/s thermals were found on the peak of the mountains. But close to the ground was sometimes a little bit flat, with trees and little places to land, so it was necessary to trust that it would work. ;-) We flew mostly to the south, allowing us to discover new terrains. Final Rankings: Alfredo Zingg - 10. Benjamin Fankhauser - 43. Soner Yorgun - 60. Joel Fuchs - 63. Gernot Seitz - 93.

Text by Alfredo. A good day for xc is announced, light west winds and good thermals, the task commitie decides for a clasic aller-retour Saint-andré to le Lac de Serre-ponçon 100km classic of the region. From Le Cheval Blanc the locals decide to take the straight line, and we jump over the ridge Le Carton wich this time was not working very well early afternoon, so we end up low at the pied de Tromas finding good soaring down in the valley. At la Tête de Beloupet we start flying the ridge and we return to St. Andre in 3 hours. Unfortunately, Joel's wing had a colapse very close to the ground. He managed to make a good manouver but landed hard. German Pilot Tim Ungewitter landed next to him to assist. We wish Joel the best for his full recovery. Today, Task 5 was stopped before the start.

The pilots are still tired from yesterday, so the task is set shorter and simpler: 100 km, but with only one crux in the north and one in the south. This means we will fly fast, and getting a good start is key. Again, Benjamin and Alfredo get a good start and are in the leading gaggle to the north. But on arrival at the turnpoint, the thermal is small, and too many pilots are creating chaos. The trick is to find your own small bubble and leave early. Alfredo and I do not get out of the gaggle, and we push low into headwind, hoping that the next ridge will work better. After some stretches with a glide ratio of 3, we finally arrive in lift again. The day is even stronger than yesterday, and 5 m/s thermals are considered normal. So we go full bar on the blue line. We had a blast with climb rates up to 9 m/s! Before the final glide, Benjamin, Alfredo, and Joel are chasing the leading gaggle. But by pure luck, the leading gaggle misses the thermal cycle and loses valuable time — giving us the opportunity to close the gap! Ranking: Joel Fuchs - 15. Alfredo Zingg - 23. Benjamin Fankhauser - 26. Gernot Seitz - 88.

Big task today. Due to the better XC conditions, an FAI of over 130 km is set. First, we head north, then straight to the flatlands in the southwest, and finally back to Saint-André. Benjamin and Alfredo stay with the leading gaggle up north. But there’s the first crux: wind and a narrow valley with little lift make it difficult to fly fast. Joel sees the opportunity, flies high, and overtakes the leading group. Heading southwest again, the alpine pumping creates a 20 km/h headwind, which is usual for nil-wind conditions. Arriving in the flatlands, the day is fully on and it’s lifty everywhere. After a fast 100 km in the task, the pilots start to make small mistakes while Joel pushes hard and low. It pays off, as he arrives in goal first! Overall, a spicy and scenic flight, demonstrating the potential of Saint-André! Ranking: Joel Fuchs - 2. Alfredo Zingg - 3. Benjamin Fankhauser - 41. Gernot Seitz - 73.