'A passion for flying' is the motto for aeromodellers at INTERMODELLBAU from 20 to 23 April at Messe Dortmund, with spectacular live flight demonstrations by seasoned professionals and young model pilots awaiting visitors in Hall 3 every hour on each day of the show. Trends and innovations will also be on display, and the latest model kits, accessories and tools will be on sale at the venue.

Dortmund, 11 April 2023 – This year, the world's largest model making and model sports show will be focusing on flying drones and advancing young talent. As ever, the show will also feature exceptional model aircraft, demonstrations and a whole range of hands-on activities including everything associated with aeromodelling.

Models weighing up to 17 kilos:

vintage aircraft, state-of-the-art helicopters and electrically-powered gliders

Once again this year, INTERMODELLBAU will include an impressive exhibition of superb model aircraft of various vintages, inviting visitors to inspect the high-quality craftsmanship and technical sophistication of these items. Among them will be the competition winner from last autumn/fall when Messe Dortmund was looking for the 'faces' of the new INTERMODELLBAU advertising campaign in the categories 'On the water', 'On the tracks', 'On the road' and 'In the air'. The prize in the aircraft category was won by Christoph Wegerl with an EC 145 model helicopter whose prototype is at the very forefront of modern technology. It was Christoph's attention to detail that secured this well-deserved victory. As he says himself, “The hull was more or less ready, with some parts still to be glued together, and still missing some details which were added later. As well as some visual adjustments to make it even truer to the original, I used over 4,000 rivets held by PVA glue applied using a syringe. I also built the scale details myself as well as doing all the paintwork and stickers. All in all, one and a half years of work went into building it”.

The exhibition also has a lot of other things on offer, such as the electric glider Pace V4 by Lesky Composite made entirely of carbon fibre and with a three-metre wingspan, and a fully own-built Beechcraft C 45 by Stefan Tabery – a twin-engined, all-metal aircraft with a low-wing design by US manufacturer Beech Aircraft which was in service in various guises between 1946 and 1976. The full-size original was able to carry two pilots and up to eight passengers. The model has a wingspan of 2.90 metres and weighs an impressive 17.5 kilos. The Samson SA 2 Duocopter tilting-rotor aircraft will be transporting visitors literally to another world, modelled – as it is – on the craft featured in the science fiction film Avatar.

Pilots – old hands and up-and-coming pilots

presenting daring manoeuvres and breathtaking air displays

Visitors can expect a host of spectacular air displays again this year. Members of JUMP ! Junge Modellpiloten, the freshly founded junior wing of the German Model Aviation Association (DMFV), will be a major part of the association's presence at the show, also providing one of the special highlights in the aircraft hall with a flight simulator used to fly model aircraft. A number of talented young model pilots will also join seasoned professionals in demonstrating their skills in a series of spectacular daily live air displays, performing demanding feats and demonstrating their technical skill in a spacious flight zone to musical accompaniment and using flags and streamers.

Drones, too, will be flying high in more ways than one, with young tech enthusiasts cordially invited to have a go at the new sports craze of drone soccer as presented by the German Model Leisure Aircraft Association (MFSD). This is an exciting team sport for children and young people that opens doors to high-paying careers in aviation such as drone operations, engineering, aircraft repair, air traffic control and traditional pilot training. The game is played with drone balls – quadcopters surrounded by a protective grid. There are two opposing goals within a cage-like playing field, and the game is played by two 5-strong teams, each controlling five drone balls, one of which – the 'striker' – is special because it's the only one that can score (by flying through the goal), with the other four balls defending their own team's goal and working to create a clear path for their 'striker'. Tello drones will also be making their début – these will be used across Germany from next year to introduce schoolchildren to the world of drone programming through the medium of fun and games, giving them their first experience of aviation (organised by the German Model Aviation Association and the German Model Leisure Aircraft Association).

Aircrasher, one of Europe's largest organisers of FPV (first-person view) racing, will be there for the first time with a race set-up where each participant has a 'drone's-eye view' for navigating the race and amazing their audience. The 35-or-so competitors will accelerate their drones – some made specially for this purpose – from 0 to 100 km/h in under 2 seconds, reaching top speeds of up to 140 km/h in the Drone Race complete with LED track and light shows in the INTERMODELLBAU halls. A spectacle that visitors are sure to remember for a long time to come.

Exceptional, sought-after and well-known

Things are set to get exciting at the Raketenmodellbau Klima stand as company founder Robert Klima – an INTERMODELLBAU regular for 35 years – presents rockets able to fly several hundred metres high as well as several controllable rocket-powered aircraft. More models, accessories and electronics will be available from manufacturers and dealers at the venue, including aero-naut Modellbau, freakware, MODELLBAU-CAMP, Modellbau Berlinski, s-idee RC, Klaus Krick Modelltechnik, Revell, Muldental Elektronik and SOL-EXPERT.

EXHIBITION AT A GLANCE 

INTERMODELLBAU – WORLD’S LARGEST EXHIBITION FOR MODEL MAKING AND MODEL SPORTS Once a year, the world’s largest exhibition for model making and model sports opens its doors to everyone interested in experiencing the world scaled down to miniature proportions. Here, a huge range of exhibitors, models, layouts and products from all over the world delight experienced model builders, new enthusiasts as well as the entire families. Whether it is aircraft, railways, boats, ships or cars – either working models or cardboard modelling – there is something for everyone. Visitors can also experience model making – literally – at first hand at Dortmund Exhibition Centre, as numerous hands-on activities, demonstrations and feature shows await them at INTERMODELLBAU.

DATE: 

20 - 23 April 2023

EVENT ORGANISER:

Messe Dortmund GmbH 

TARGET GROUPS: 

Experienced model builders, newcomers and families 

CONCEPTUAL SPONSORS: 

• Deutscher Minicar-Club e.V. (DMC)
• Deutscher Modellflieger Verband e.V. (DMFV)
• Interessengemeinschaft Modelleisenbahnausstellungen (IGEMA)
• Modellbahnverband in Deutschland e.V. (MOBA)
• nauticus e.V. – Deutscher Dachverband für Schiffsmodellbau und Schiffsmodellsport e. V.

Further infos  The show in pictures  Model aircraft  Press registration  Tickets