Swiss One-Two Finish at the 2026 FAI Helicopter World Cup in Poland
The Swiss team of Ruedi Boser and Stefan Meier achieved a one-two finish at the 2026 FAI Helicopter World Cup in Poland.
The two pilots won both the «Slalom» and «Fender» events and successfully represented the Swiss Helicopter Association (SHeV) on the international stage.
The group arrived in Babimost, Zielona Góra’s regional airport, on Thursday evening. Since this was the first time the competition was held at a commercial airport, the organization faced a few additional challenges. For this reason, no training flights could be conducted on Friday, so the training sessions had to be rescheduled for Saturday morning.
The weather was also quite changeable: rain and sunshine alternated every hour.
On Saturday afternoon, the two disciplines—slalom and fender—were held as planned. Both disciplines require the highest level of precision: While the slalom focuses on precise flight control, the fender discipline involves the precise placement of a load. In front of approximately 20,000 spectators and a large delegation from the Polish military, two slalom runs were held first. The Swiss team delivered a consistently strong performance.
After a brief weather-related interruption, three fender rounds followed. Two of them counted toward the 2026 FAI Helicopter World Cup standings, while the third round counted toward the «Polish Airports President’s Cup.» Here, too, Boser and Meier confirmed their strong form and engaged in a thrilling neck-and-neck race with the top Polish team in the third round.
The awards ceremony that evening finally brought the well-deserved reward: gold in slalom and gold in the Fender!
As a result, Switzerland claimed both discipline victories at the 2026 FAI Helicopter World Cup.
The «Polish Airports President’s Cup,» however, remained with the Polish hosts.
The Swiss Helicopter Association extends its warmest congratulations to Ruedi Boser and Stefan Meier on this outstanding international achievement.
The Swiss team would also like to thank the Polish organizers for their excellent management of the competition and their warm hospitality, as well as the DHC and all the referees for their valuable support.