Swiss Aerobatic Championships in Ticino

The Swiss National Aerobatic Championships (SNAC) and the Swiss National Freestyle Championship (SNFC) produced new and old winners. For the first time in seven years, the competition took place in Ticino again, from September 14 to 21 at Riviera Airport.

Rocco Bustelli, airfield manager of Riviera Airport in Lodrino, hosted a powered aerobatics championship for the first time. He was satisfied with the professional and serious organization of the event. The motorized aerobatics community spent a wonderful week in Ticino, both in terms of the weather and the competition with exciting flights without incident. The participants were given a great welcome. In addition, the infrastructure at Riviera Airport was particularly well suited to the needs of such a competition, praised SAA President Jérôme Cusin.

New generation reaches the top

The 2025 edition presented itself with numerous participants in all four categories of the competition: Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced and Unlimited. The Swiss Aerobatic Association (SAA) is very pleased that a new generation of pilots has reached the pinnacle of powered aerobatics. Exciting competitions were to be expected in each category, as there were numerous contenders for the respective titles this year. In the Advanced and Intermediate categories in particular, the final rankings were still completely open. The Advanced category was dominated by Maxime Petitpierre, who had to change gliders in the middle of the competition for technical reasons. The Unlimited category was won by Manuel Blatter after numerous ranking changes, with only the last flight determining the winner.

First participation, first victory

Jérôme Cusin regained the title in the freestyle competition. Last year, he had to give it up to Hanspeter Rohner, who came second this year. Patrick Eichenberger celebrated a major success, winning the Sportsman category on his very first participation in the championships. In the Intermediate category, Frédéric Schulz took the title after a tough competition.

Outlook 2026

Next year, the SNAC will take place in Bressaucourt. The exact dates will only be determined after the CIVA has set the dates for the international Advanced and Intermediate competitions in November in order to avoid overlaps.

Pictures: Mara Pixels