We already published the report on this world championship some time ago. In the meantime, we have received many more photos. Thanks to the latest AI technology, we have also improved our old, existing photos. The result is some fantastic photos that we don’t want to withhold from you.
The article was written at the time by the very well-known German RC model aircraft specialist Erich Rabe.
Bright sunshine in a clear blue sky welcomes the competition participants and the many supporters who have come with them on September 11 in Gorizia in north-eastern Italy.
Over the next few days, the flights that will determine the new world champion will take place here.
Tense anticipation among all participants and spectators. Who will do it this time?
The favorites are the experienced pilots Giezendanner, Matt and Prettner. But the Americans, especially the new faces among them, are also expected to do well, so everything is still wide open.
Many of the participants in the competitions are familiar faces who have already taken part in previous world championships.
So there is a joyful reunion with many old acquaintances. The participants have come from 28 countries. Many are taking part for the first time, including competitors from Spain, Portugal, Israel, Greece and Yugoslavia.
There are also participants from the Eastern Bloc countries this time, from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
The competition flights take place at two locations at the same time, on large, round, asphalted landing areas, about 1000 meters apart and, in relation to the layout of the airfield, slightly offset from each other.
It is an advantage for model airplanes that the take-off and landing route is circular, so they can adapt to the changing wind conditions.
The spectator situation is less convenient. For Pitch 1, the spectators sit on a grandstand that is almost 500 m away from the take-off and landing area and, given the prevailing wind direction, exactly in the extension of the flight path.
The grandstand is far enough away from the action and at a safe distance, but the spectators cannot see the flying figures at all from this vantage point. No wonder this leads to disagreements with the supervisory staff
The grandstand is far enough away from the action and at a safe distance, but the spectators cannot see the flying figures at all from this vantage point. No wonder this leads to disagreements with the supervisory staff.
The spectators crowd onto the airfield to be there too, and as there are no barriers at this point, the stewards constantly have their hands full keeping the spectators behind the models.
The spectator stand is located to the north of the landing circle, so that the competitors constantly have the sun in their faces if they don’t want to fly behind the judges’ backs and above the spectators.
On Wednesday morning, the model pilots arrive for training with beaming faces and relaxed attitudes. The first thing they want to do is familiarize themselves with the field conditions and, above all, observe their competitors a little. There are quite a few new people who have never been seen flying before.
What has happened outside the domestic sphere? What is the flying style of these new people? Do we have to reckon with them as tough competitors or are they only boiling with water in other places too?
The great unknowns for the model pilots from the old Europe are the participants from the USA, who are expected to deliver absolutely top performances and are always good for a surprise.
Another unknown are the Japanese from the Far East, who are competing with their beautiful models and of whom very little is known. (3)
They are always good for a surprise. They were considered to have a good place in the leading group when they were seen flying during training.
The official training starts early in the morning. It’s amazing what there is to see here. A large group of model pilots from all over the world put on first-class flying displays.
Whereas at previous world championships only individual model pilots stood out far above the average, this time it is clear that the top group is very broad.
The judges who have to decide here are in no way to be envied. There are only tiny differences in flight performance and flying style. But don’t forget, these are training flights.
The atmosphere is still relaxed, and many of the model pilots show that they can control their model from the wrist and steer it through the figures with almost dreamlike confidence.
But what will it be like when the nervous strain is added to the competition tomorrow?
The models
The models have changed very little since the last World Cup.
You can see a good dozen Super-Star, some Marabu, two or three Fire-Fli, which are modeled after Phil Kraft’s model, several Flipper and other models that all fit into the same category: long, narrow fuselage with high fuselage sides, slightly trapezoidal wing and large vertical stabilizer.
So virtually nothing has changed in terms of models since the last World Championships. A standard type has emerged and this is used to the last consequence.
The shape is there, the size is there, retractable landing gear is almost obligatory. In other words, the models do not provide any new impetus.
Wait, I almost forgot: there was something new, something sensationally new in fact, and that is the model from Bruno Giezendanner, the two-time world champion.
This model is so innovative that the jury immediately had a tough discussion about whether it could even be admitted to the competition.
Giezendanner’s “Salamandre” has swivel wings with variable sweep. Thanks to an ingenious mechanism, the sweep of the wing can be greatly increased for the rolling figures.
The two wing halves are pivoted approximately at the center of gravity and can be more or less swept by the mechanics. The jury is about to reject the model.
There is a lengthy dispute. The dispute with the jury is about whether these are fixed wings (fixed-wing aircraft) or no longer fixed wings.
It should be made clear that the competition rules are intended to define the framework, but they should not impose restrictions or hinder the development of new technologies.
Even with variable wing geometry, an RC-I model is still a fixed-wing aircraft and by no means a helicopter with rotary wings. The model was approved, but as it turned out later during the competition flights, it did not bring the builder the success he had hoped for.
Prettner’s Super-Sicroly has undergone some minor changes. Two narrow landing flaps were installed, which can be extended up to 45 degrees.
It is not necessary to change the trim. This is of course very favorable. Basically, it can be said that the vast majority of models have a fairly uniform line.
Even the beautiful Japanese models do not differ too much in their basic design from the European or American line – whatever you want to say.
In addition to Giezendanner’s model with its variable arrow shape, Elizondo’s model, the Mexi-Cobra with its almost elliptical surfaces and elegant lines, shows considerable deviations from the general line.
The shape of Jim Martin’s Banshee is also very unique, with its steeply rising triangular fin, the narrow cabin structure on the back of the fuselage and the fish-like appearance.
In addition, the Scandinavian line with the unusually high, almost semi-circular hull back can be seen again, like the model by the Norwegian Stephansen Maximum 11.
Very conservative and airplane-like, particularly suitable for slow, large-scale flying, the model by Austrian Ferdinand Schaden. Two other models show remarkable deviations from the usual norm: the Mephisto by Harald Neckar and the Capricorn by Mike Birch.
eBide models appear elongated due to their extra-long fuselage nose, and both models have exceptionally stable flight behavior. Both models have slender lines with well-developed transitions.
The attractive models by Dutch manufacturers Tromp, Vliet and Bruls look almost squat with their short fuselages. The Norwegian Foien is also launching a model with a short fuselage, a mid-wing monoplane with the wing and canopy inserted from above.
The competition begins
As a welcome, three Cessnas fly low over the field. Then a Zlin performs perfect aerobatics, flying all the figures that the models are to show afterwards.
They are still training, trying to familiarize themselves with the different field and weather conditions and trying to adjust the engine to the hot climate. Harald Neckar flies smoothly and skillfully. If he maintains this style in the competition, he will certainly have a good chance.
Kurt Matke has a bit of bad luck. His engine stalls after a spin and he has to land without having flown the entire program.
But the Japanese pilot Okumura’s engine also goes bad and he has to abort his flight. However, he still fared better than Menari from Ireland, whose nose landing gear collapsed during take-off, damaging the bar.
He starts with the replacement model he has on standby. The Americans come up trumps. They show skillful flights, casual and enthusiastic. They are a force to be reckoned with.
The first round begins early Thursday morning. It is cool despite the bright sun and a moderate wind is blowing from the east.
Now the big competition begins with all the tension and concentration that such a competition always entails.
Gone is the relaxed atmosphere, gone too is the unbiased attitude of the competition participants. They are tense and nervous.
78 participants from 28 countries will face the jury. They want to give their best and show that they have learned to master their models even better through hard, rigorous training.
The line-up of judges is international. No one is disadvantaged, no one is favored. Maynard Hill (USA), A. L. Aarts (Holland), Heinz Freundt (Austria), Loris Kanneworff (Italy), Werner Groth (Germany), J. L. Hartley (England), Artur Hofer (Switzerland), Pierre Pignot (France), Acke Johannson (Sweden) and Juhani Sederholm (Finland) have taken on the certainly not easy task of judging more than 300 flights.
The international FAI program is flown: take-off, figure M, double Immelmann, outside loop, cube eight, slow roll, inside loop, 4-time roll, inverted flight, three fast rolls, horizontal eight, high hat, spin, approach, landing.
Four rounds are flown and each round is judged by five judges. The highest and lowest scores are deducted from the judges’ scores, and the worst score is deducted from the four rounds.
This undoubtedly provides a correct picture of the participants’ performance at the end of the competition. However, the result of these four rounds only determines the team ranking, the ranking from 6th place and the selection for the subsequent competition, in which the five best participants have to fly two more rounds.
These two rounds are then scored by all ten judges, and the scores of all the judges are added together and count without any deductions. This is where the world champion title and the top five places are decided.
The course of the competition has shown that this procedure is too much for participants, judges and spectators.
Four runs are enough, anything more is bad. The nerves of the participants and their mechanics were so frayed during the final jump-off that no real scoring was possible.
Eyelids fluttered, facial muscles twitched, hands trembled. A grueling competition that tugged at the nerves of the participants. The performances of all five first-placed model pilots were lower in the jump-off than in the main competition. That was no gain for the event. Elimination to the point of attrition – that cannot be the point of such a competition.
1st pass
So the competition can begin and the very first run provides considerable surprises. Hanno Prettner is in good form, the flight is excellent. The figures are precise. Prettner skilfully steers his model through the entire program.
This magnificent flight earned him over 4000 points, giving him a good lead over his two closest rivals, the Canadian Soden and the Japanese Yoshioka, who both finished in joint second place with a smoothly flown pass and well-placed figures. Both Soden and Yoshioka are new to international competition.
Never before heard of in Europe and then two top places. The real surprise of the day, however, came from Bruno Giezendanner with his unusual model. It is very unsteady in the air and is difficult to keep on the exact course.
As a result, the figures do not sit as precisely as usual and especially with the roll figures, where the wings are moved backwards and the sweep is increased, the model behaves completely unstable.
Giezendanner only flies two quick rolls, then the model has veered so far off course that he has to intercept it and end the figure. Now we know that Giezendanner can fly, so it’s a shame that he loses all his chances due to the trickiness of his flying model.
He has to settle for 24th place after the first run. His brother Emil had bad luck with the landing gear. The model cannot be kept on a straight course at the start, spins on the spot several times and then ends the take-off in the grass next to the runway as the pilot has become unsure. This run does not earn him any points.
Norm Page, who is considered to have a good chance in the competition, flies very smoothly, he has a spacious style and his model is exceptionally fast. The slow roll from one end of the course to the other is clean, but on the 4-time roll he deviates slightly from the straight line and has to correct.
Then it’s Wolfgang Kosche’s turn. The wind picks up sharply during the round and Kosche struggles a little with the changed conditions. Nevertheless, he has a pretty good flight and scores 3155 points.
However, given the numerous good flights of the other participants, this was only good enough for 27th place, while Kurt Matke was able to take 13th place with an almost perfect flight and 3525 points, closely followed by Harald Neckar in 17th place.
Jim Whitley copes quite well with his Daddy Rabbit model and with the wind. He flies smoothly, places his maneuvers well, but his spin is not quite perfect, 3550 points. Takahashi has an excellent flight.
The figures are very precise, well placed and the 4-time roll also comes without any offset. Both the slow roll and the three fast rolls come off like clockwork. A magnificent flight.
He puts Takahashi in 6th place, closely followed by his compatriot Okumura, who also scores 3650 points with a skillful flight. Wolf-gang Matt, the Italians Bertolani, Pasqualini and Pagni show quite good flights. Pagni’s engine does not want to start.
Great excitement. I quickly get an electric starter and then it’s just enough to take off in the allotted time. Pasqualini also flies smoothly and skillfully. The use of the rudder can be clearly seen during the 4-times roll, and the first turn during the spin is very delayed.
Mike Birch from England surprises with an excellently flown first run. His model lies as steady as a board and is controlled precisely through the flight figures.
When the results are announced late in the afternoon, the faces of the bystanders are filled with astonishment. Hanno Prettner leads the field, closely followed by Philip Soden from Canada and Yoshioka from Japan.
This is followed by another surprise, Ivan Kristensen as the second Canadian and Wolfgang Matt, just under 400 points behind the leader. Takahashi and Okumura from Japan take 6th and 7th place, and Mike Birch from England is in 8th place. They are followed by Benito Bertolani (Italy) and Gustav Cappuyns (Belgium).
Jim Whitley and Jim Martin from the USA follow in 11th and 12th place with a gap of 500 points to the top, immediately followed by Kurt Matke, Ruggero Pasqualini and Konrad Weixelbaumer.
Gerard Werion from Belgium follows in 16th place and Harald Neckar in 17th, meaning that in addition to Matt and Prettner, there are two Canadians and three Japanese in the top group. That’s a real surprise. But it’s only the beginning of the competition and a lot can still change between now and Sunday.
2nd pass
The sun is still burning hot from the sky and a moderate breeze is blowing from varying directions. Over the course of the day, the wind shifts from east to south to west. This has been the case for the whole of the previous days, promising consistently beautiful weather.
Jean Mersch from Luxembourg, who had already placed in the midfield in the first round, flies a good round, but has bad luck on landing. The nose wheel buckles and the model lands on its nose.
Mersch already had problems with the chassis during training, but thought he had fixed the problem. Takäcs from Hungary missed the spin, the model just wouldn’t go in. Skill and flying style show that the people from the Eastern Bloc have certainly caught up with the Western countries. They can be seen here.
Hardaker (England) places his figures well and flies a very skillful pass, as does Cousson from France. Only his 4-time roll is not quite stretched and the spin seems a little shaky at the end.
He starves his model into landing. Ferdinand Schaden flies his figures over a very large area. He works diligently with the engine throttle. The model is slow, the figures are fluid, only his slow roll falls through a little.
Birch flies very precisely, very routinely. The model goes smoothly through the figures. A magnificent flight that earns him 3760 points and keeps him in 8th place in the ranking. He fared better than Takahashi and Bertolani, who both slipped back a few places.
Now it’s Jim Martin’s turn. He stands there nonchalantly and flies a magnificent pass. Despite the exertion of the competition, you can see that he enjoys flying. As an interlude, he performs a knife-edge flight over the entire length of the airfield, straight as a die and wiggling the model up and down.
It flies very large figures, very round. The model has an enormous surplus of power. Martin flies with ease. The figures are precise, like clockwork. You can see that he controls his model almost in his sleep. But Matt is also flying excellently.
The figures are exact, absolutely perfect and well placed. The flight scores over 4000 points. Neckar has returned to his top form. The flight is calm and skillful, the figures are precise and well placed. Matke is a little unlucky in this round.
The engine starts, but stops again before the start. Excitement, run there and start the engine again, followed by a perfect start. But now the landing gear cannot be fully retracted. This is naturally a strain for the pilot. Matke seems tense, he flies hastily.
On the slow roll, the model turns out a little and sags slightly. The 4-time roll is also a little off. But despite the difficulties, Matke flies the round to the end and receives 3785 points for the flight. This is enough to move him up two places to 11th place.
The flights of the Japanese are eagerly awaited. Yoshioka takes off, everything is fine. He has to correct the model slightly for figure M. The figures come quickly, they are quite tight, but precise in execution and well placed.
The model appears somewhat unsteady in inverted flight, and the fast rolls also seem almost agitated. Before landing, Yoshioka switches off the engine and the model lands with the bar upright. Okumura is next. The figure M is not quite perfect, followed by fast, small loops, but elongated rolls.
A fast, swift flight and a good landing, also with the engine switched off. Now Prettner has to show what he can do. A perfect take-off, wide take-off to figure M, where the model lets the wing hang slightly, followed by a perfect double Immelmann, three large outside loops, a perfectly flown Cuban eight, then the model takes a wide take-off to a slow roll, followed by three perfect inside loops and a long, magnificent 4-time roll.
Inverted flight and the three fast rolls are also simply perfect, as are the horizontal figure of eight and the high hat. Now the spin and the landing approach. Constantly falling to the touchdown point. A perfect flight that will certainly earn him many points. The scoreboard shows 4080 in the evening, which is enough to defend first place.
After the end of the second round, the scene has changed somewhat. Wolfgang Matt has worked his way up to second place with his masterful flight. He is close behind Prettner, with Philip Soden from Canada in third place.
The two Japanese drivers Yoshioka and Okumura follow in 4th and 5th place, while Takahashi has dropped back to 12th place. Kristensen had to drop back to 6th place and is closely followed by Jim Martin and Mike Birch.
Pasqualini had a good run and is now in 9th place, while Cappuyns was able to maintain his position. The three German participants have each moved up a few places. Kurt Matke is in 11th place, followed closely by Harald Neckar in 13th place and Wolfgang Kosche has moved up to 22nd place.
The Japanese are still doing surprisingly well, as are the participants from Canada, while the Americans have been torn apart and will have to do a lot if they want to get back into the top group.
3rd and 4th pass
Now comes the decision. Who will win the team competition? Who will finish in the top five places and take part in the final? Kosche flies a good third round and improves considerably on his next flight.
This performance on all four flights would have earned him a much better place. As it is, he has to settle for 18th place. Bruno Giezendanner flies his third flight far more smoothly than his previous flights.
You can tell that he has become more familiar with the model and the weather and has adapted better to their peculiarities. Nevertheless, he only managed 28th place in the final ranking, which is certainly not satisfactory for the former world champion.
Jim Martin has an excellent third pass, the figures are precisely placed, fluid, spacious and flawless. Then, shortly before landing, the spinner jumps off and the propeller is damaged. Too bad for him, because now the flight doesn’t count.
This undoubtedly weighs him down a little on the next flight, as the figures seem a little nervous and not quite as fluid as usual. Wolfgang Matt’s two flights are simply perfect, absolutely superb. Every figure is precisely placed, round and flown smoothly.
Pratt from Mexico, whose model crashed immediately after take-off in the third round, and Konrad Weixelbaumer from Austria, whose wing came off in the air in the fourth round, caused some unpleasant interludes. Bad luck for the participants.
Markun from Yugoslavia has to land his model on its belly after a good flight because the landing gear can no longer be extended. He chooses to land on the grass and so loses the points for the landing.
Matke doesn’t seem to be in the best of form. His figures are not quite as precise as usual in both rounds. Is it the tension of the competition or is he unable to cope with the hot climate? He is in 22nd place in the overall ranking, which means he has dropped a few places.
Yoshioka has a mediocre third pass and a magnificent fourth flight. The flight is flawless, undoubtedly top performance, but in the end one still wonders whether the 4470 points, by far the highest score awarded in this competition, are justified.
This fourth flight didn’t seem to me to be that much better than the flights of the competitors.
Prettner flies very evenly, both his third and his fourth flight perfectly, the figures are smooth and fluid, and as a special interlude he shows a knife-edge flight from one end of the course to the other. Prettner’s performance is very consistent.
The difference between the “worst” and best of the four flights is only 140 points. The big surprise in these two rounds was provided by Harald Neckar.
He outdid himself, improving from flight to flight with skillful placement and masterful flights. When the scores are added up in the evening, he is in second place overall behind Hanno Prettner, who retains his unchallenged first place across all four rounds.
In third place is Tsugutaka Yoshioka, who had dropped back to 12th place after the third round and was able to move up to third place thanks to his highly rated fourth flight. As a result, Wolfgang Matt drops back to fourth place and Norm Page can take fifth place.
These five then have to fight again on Sunday morning for the top five places. When the results are announced in the evening, there are few who are unhappy with the jury’s decision. The result corresponds to the performances.
At the end of the four runs, the team ranking has been decided. The Japanese were able to win this. The Austrian team followed in second place and Germany came third.
As recommended at the CIAM conference, the top five finishers will have to fight for their places again on Sunday morning.
This regulation was proposed at the time in response to the considerable differences in the scoring of the individual judges in Doylestown and was applied in practice for the first time in Gorizia.
If you ask me: this regulation is bad. It unnecessarily prolongs the competition, puts a strain on the schedule, causes a lot of extra work and headaches for the organizer and the judges, is a real pain in the neck for the participants and doesn’t solve any of the problems it was intended to solve.
Please spare me the trouble of commenting on the final flights in detail. Harald Neckar takes starting number 1, which means he has a magnificent flight to start with and a good chance of one of the top places.
Undoubtedly also under the impression of this outstanding flight, the other participants become nervous and no longer show the performances that were seen in their best flights in the overall competition.
Figures are totally messed up, announced incorrectly by the mechanic, and you can simply see the nervousness of the pilots in their flying style.
What is shown here is only upper middle class.
The competition has passed its peak and what follows is a grueling test of nerves.
The final result of the decision is undoubtedly just as surprising as some of the interim results beforehand. Yoshioka wins first place and is therefore world champion.
Japan can be satisfied. It is the world champion and the most successful team. Wolfgang Matt follows in second place in the final ranking, with Hanno Prettner in third place. He is followed by Harald Neckar and Norm Page.
The competition is decided When the jump-off was over, Werner Käseberg opened the competition for the Graupner Novelty Trophy with his speed model. Numerous helicopters, several giant-scale models, deltas and electric aircraft were on display.
Concomitant symptoms
The competition ran like clockwork.
Here, the organization was perfect and the schedule was strictly adhered to, even at the risk of participants and team captains not being able to take part in the planned program because, for example, they could not pick up their transmitters in the tent and attend the mayor’s reception or order their breakfast for the next morning at the same time.
At future events of this kind, the audience should also be given a little more consideration. The competition will then run more smoothly and, if the spectators and barriers are positioned correctly, there will be no need for numerous stewards.
Images: Thanks to Giuseppe Ghisleri, Guenter Hoppe, Graziano Pagni, Erich Däubler, Erich Gillik
Text: Erich Rabe
Result List
