The Jet World Masters 2013 competition was recently held in Switzerland and Festo provided assistance to the South African team. The competition brings together the world’s best scale jet aircraft model builders and pilots, who compete for the international title. The South African teams placed 22nd and 31st respectively in their category (F4J – 20 kg), coming 12th overall amongst the competing countries.
Quite a stir was created among Festo staff when team members Oloff Schoeman and Boet Deneyschen took their L39 Albatros jet replica to Festo’s Isando offices before leaving for the competition. “It was really interesting to see how Festo components are incorporated as part of the fuel system,” says Jaco van Sittert, a member of the national contact centre team who promoted the team sponsorship. “Traditionally, the competing teams present each other with a gift at the competition. Festo provided the South African team with connectors which they used to build a device for refuelling the aircraft. This was also their gift to the other countries’ teams.”
The model jets reach an impressive speed of 300 km/h and are judged not only on their speed and manoeuvrability but also the resemblance to the original big brother jet. Powered by a model turbine engine, they can travel a maximum distance of 40 km in a 500 metre radius of the pilot and they do this in an amazing eight minutes. “As an innovator company we are proud to have had the opportunity to support the teams flying the South African flag,” concludes van Stittert.
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