Eichsfeld Open 2026 – F3B comes to Heilbad Heiligenstadt

On the first weekend of October, the Eichsfeld F3B Open took place for the first time at the airfield of the Luftsportverein Eichsfeld-Göttingen e.V., near Heilbad Heiligenstadt in central Germany.

From October 3rd to 4th, 44 pilots came together for an F3B competition which was also part of the FAI F3B World Cup. The event was organized by Contest Director Martin Weberschock, with plenty of support from his team. In particular, Uwe Schlaffke-Mowinkel and Sebastian Peters brought many years of competition experience to the organization.

The members of Luftsportverein Eichsfeld-Göttingen provided not only the airfield and infrastructure, but also took excellent care of the food and hospitality for all pilots, helpers and guests throughout the weekend.

For me, it was the final competition of the 2026 F3B season – and at the same time a weekend that once again showed why F3B is such a great competition class.

An international F3B field

With a total of 44 pilots, including five rookies, the event was well attended for its first edition. Alongside a large number of German pilots, competitors from Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic also made the trip to Heilbad Heiligenstadt.

That immediately gave the competition an international atmosphere.

The sporting level was equally strong. The top positions were separated by only a small number of points. Andreas Herrig took the overall win with 9748.12 points, ahead of Søren Krogh from Denmark and Thomas Kübler from Switzerland. Jürgen Pölzl from Austria and Andreas Böhlen from Switzerland completed the top five.

That international mix is one of the things I enjoy most about F3B. At the airfield, you meet pilots you already know from other competitions, but there are always new faces as well.

And once the models are on the start line, it doesn’t really matter where someone comes from. We are all there for the same reason.

A competition that was about more than flying

What made the Eichsfeld Open particularly enjoyable was not just what happened in the air.

On Friday evening, the organizers invited everyone to a barbecue followed by a campfire. It was a great opportunity to arrive, catch up with old friends and meet some of the other pilots before the actual competition started.

Saturday’s catering was another highlight. Instead of the usual club-style barbecue or sandwiches, a professional pizza baker provided fresh Mediterranean food straight from the oven.

For me, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes a competition weekend special: good food, a relaxed atmosphere and enough time to talk to people away from the flight line.

Because that’s an important part of F3B for me. The sporting level is high and everyone wants to perform, but at the same time you spend an entire weekend together at the airfield.

The balance between competition and community is what makes these weekends so enjoyable.

A particularly encouraging sign: young pilots and rookies

Even more interesting than the overall number of competitors was the composition of the field.

Several young pilots took part in the Eichsfeld Open again. Theo Weberschock won the youth classification ahead of Jona Bühre and Hannes Weberschock.

There was also a separate Rookie classification, with five newcomers competing for the win. Robert Karow took first place ahead of Carsten Garth and Hannes Paus, followed by Wolfgang Stracke and Emily Nitschmann.

For me, this is one of the strongest signals from the weekend.

F3B is a technically demanding class. Getting started is not necessarily easy, which makes it particularly encouraging to see new pilots taking that step.

Young pilots and rookies bring fresh energy into the scene. At the same time, they create an opportunity for experienced pilots to pass on their knowledge and experience.

The Rookie Program also made my own entry into competition flying much easier back in 2017. You can think of it as a kind of mentoring program.

If you’re interested in getting started, simply get in touch with me by email or message. We can then see whether there is someone in your region who could help you get started and guide you through those first steps.

And one thing right from the start: you don’t need your own winch or a current top-of-the-line model to get into F3B.

What matters is that you are motivated to improve – both as a pilot and as a person. The rest comes with time.

F3B seems to be gaining momentum again

After a few years in which it was fair to wonder where F3B was heading, the development currently feels much more positive.

The Eichsfeld Open was a good example of that. An international field, young pilots and five rookies competing in their own classification – these are all encouraging signs.

For me, it feels like F3B is starting to attract more people again.

Maybe it is still too early to talk about a major turnaround. But the direction certainly feels right.

And what about the actual competition?

Of course, there was plenty of serious F3B flying going on as well.

Three complete multi-task rounds consisting of Duration, Distance and Speed, followed by an additional Speed task, meant that pilots had to demonstrate a broad range of skills. Strategy, precision, consistency and speed all played their part.

The results showed just how close the performance level has become.

Andreas Herrig won the competition ahead of Søren Krogh by only around 65 points. But when looking further down the results, there were even tighter battles.

Between Erik Heijne from the Netherlands and Markus Wanner from Germany, for example, there were just 0.19 points.

Numbers like that give you a pretty good idea of how competitive F3B has become.

A second here, one distance lap there, or a slightly worse landing can make a surprisingly big difference to the final ranking.

A landing within one metre of the designated landing point is worth 100 landing points, while a landing within two metres is worth 95 points. After a ten-minute duration flight, the difference can easily feel like a simple “Well… not that bad.”

But at the end of the competition, those few points can potentially mean two or more positions in the final ranking.

My own competition

I finished the weekend in 28th place.

The Distance task was where I lost most of my points. In one flight, I managed only 11 laps, while the best pilot in my group completed 15. The best pilot in each Distance group receives 1000 points, which left me with 733.33 points for my 11 laps.

But when I think back to the competition, that’s not really what I remember.

I remember that all my models came home in one piece. I remember a great weekend with good friends and people I have met through F3B over the years – all of them sharing the same passion for this sport.

And maybe I made one or two mistakes for the last time.

Because that’s exactly what competitions are for.

A successful first edition

For me, the first Eichsfeld Open was therefore much more than just another competition on the calendar.

The combination of an attractive airfield, a strong international field, dedicated organization and a genuinely welcoming atmosphere made it a great F3B weekend.

What I take away most positively are the young pilots and rookies. If this development continues and new pilots stay with the class, F3B should remain an exciting sport for many years to come.

After two days in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, I came home with one thought in particular:

F3B is alive – and maybe the class is starting to gain a little momentum again.