The 2026 Norwegian Nationals ran across a week at Elverum Starmoen in the Innlandet region, drawing competitors in two classes — Open and Club. Eleven pilots lined up in each class, and while the contest window ran from 7 to 13 June, the Norwegian early-summer weather made its presence felt: of seven possible flying days, only three produced scoreable tasks. Two days were cancelled outright, one Open task was abandoned without counting, and the final day was a no-task rest day. That left three valid tasks per class — a lean championship, but a decided one.
7 June — Task 1 (Opening Day)
Both classes got airborne on the opening day in what proved to be the most straightforward conditions of the week.
Open Class flew an Assigned Area Task set around Stai, Gjesåsen and Messnali with a three-hour window and a nominal distance of just over 319 km. Christer Mjøs in his ASW 20 (Os Aero Klubb) came out on top, covering 278 km at 92.36 kph to take maximum points of 653. Jo Inge Bjørø and Mari Anne Aanes in the Arcus M from Os Aero Klubb took second at 90.00 kph, with Arne Martin Güettler (JS3 RES 18m, Notodden og Sandefjord SFK) third at 90.63 kph. Romain Billy and Eirik Brenner Marthins were among those who did not complete the course — Billy covered 247 km without reaching goal, while Marthins landed out having covered only 165 km after a late start.
Club Class flew a two-hour task via Steinvik and Gjesåsen, nominally 215 km. Ingar Pedersen (DG 400 17m, Drammen FK) set the pace with 104.22 kph over 210 km for the maximum 604 points. The NTNU pair of Krzysztof Cisek and Kamil Winczek in the DG 1000S were a solid second, and the Gardermoen Duo Discus T of Gunnar Antonsen and Øyvind Ellefsen third. Frida Bjøro (Os Aero Klubb, LS 4) did not make a valid start and scored nothing, while Ole Petter Nyland and Roar Johansen in the Pipistrel Taurus from Fornebu FK managed only 11 km before their day ended.
No Tasks
Neither of the next two days produced flyable conditions, and both were called off without tasks being set.
10 June — Task Cancelled (Open Only)
A task was set for Open Class on 10 June — a short one-hour AAT around Gjesåsen, Storberget and Øksna at just over 150 km nominal — but it was cancelled before anyone flew. All eleven competitors were marked as did-not-fly. The Club Class had no task either day.
11 June — Task 5 The Decisive Day
With the weather finally relenting, 11 June produced the highest-scoring day of the contest in both classes and went a long way to settling the overall results.
Open Class was set a demanding two-hour and 45-minute AAT of nearly 330 km nominal, routing through Jømna, Nor station, Hovinberget, Brummunddal, back to Starmoen, and out to Nor again before returning. The task carried maximum points of 827 — the biggest day of the competition — and the conditions clearly allowed fast flying.
Güettler put in the performance of the week, averaging 127.91 kph over 359 km in the JS3 to claim all 827 points and move from third overall to the lead. Jo Inge Bjørø and Aanes flew strongly in third place on the day at 120.70 kph, close to 355 km, collecting 760 points. Eirik Brenner Marthins had his best result of the week in second place, averaging 109.89 kph in his Discus 2b for 778 points — a result that would prove important to the final standings. Christer Mjøs, who had led after day one, could manage only sixth on the day at 104.88 kph, a significant drop that cost him the overall lead. John Aske Ole and Romain Billy tied for fourth on 683 points each.
Club Class flew a 2h15 AAT via Storberget, Øksna and Namnsjøen, nominally around 250 km. Nikolai Pontoppidan (LS 4, Os Aero Klubb) took the day win at 98.69 kph over 234 km for 749 points, moving into second overall. Matteo Winther (Discus b WL, Drammen FK) was second on the day at 96.13 kph for 702 points, and the NTNU DG 1000S of Cisek and Winczek third. Ingar Pedersen, having led after day one, finished fourth on the day but retained the overall lead. Robert Haugen (Sandane FK, ASW 15 B) did not fly, and Frida Bjøro again did not start.
12 June — Task 6 (Final Scoring Day)
The last valid day of the contest ran a shorter AAT for both classes, routing via Storberget and Øksna for Open and Namnsjøen and Øksna for Club, with a nominal Open distance of around 258 km over 2h15, and Club at 228 km over two hours.
Open Class saw Güettler confirm his lead with another day win, averaging 111.84 kph over 259 km for 560 points. John Aske Ole was close behind in third at 110.96 kph, while Eirik Marthins took second on the day at 98.57 kph — consistent enough to finish fifth overall. Christer Mjøs was fourth on the day at 98.26 kph. Jo Inge Bjørø and Aanes did not start, receiving a DNS after it emerged their start height had been invalid the previous day — a costly outcome given they had been lying third overall. The Arcus M crew finished the competition in eleventh with zero points for the final task.
Club Class saw Matteo Winther take his only day win of the week, averaging 106.98 kph over 222 km for 629 points. Ingar Pedersen was second on the day at 104.51 kph, which was enough to protect the overall lead he had held since day one. Nikolai Pontoppidan finished third on the day. Final Standings
Open Class
Arne Martin Güettler (JS3 RES 18m, Notodden og Sandefjord SFK) took the national title with 1,917 points across three tasks. His combination of a consistent day one, then the fastest time on task five followed by another day win on task six gave him a margin of 49 points over second place. Christer Mjøs (ASW 20, Os Aero Klubb) finished second on 1,868 points — his day one victory gave him an early advantage, but a difficult task five cost him the lead. John Aske Ole (JS3 RES 18m, NTNU) was third overall on 1,738 points, steady across all three tasks. Erlend Sørbye (Nimbus 4DM, Elverum FK) finished fourth, the home club pilot making good use of the local terrain knowledge. Eirik Brenner Marthins, who improved markedly after a poor day one, finished fifth.
Club Class
Ingar Pedersen (DG 400 17m, Drammen FK) won the Club title convincingly with 1,848 points. He led from day one and was never headed, finishing second or better in every valid task. Matteo Winther (Discus b WL, Drammen FK) came through strongly on the final two tasks to claim second overall on 1,692 points, a result that also gave Drammen FK a one-two in the class. Nikolai Pontoppidan (LS 4, Os Aero Klubb) was third on 1,654 points, his task five win not quite enough to overhaul Winther. Gunnar Antonsen and Øyvind Ellefsen (Duo Discus T, Gardermoen SFK) were fourth, the NTNU crew of Cisek and Winczek fifth.
The contest produced three valid tasks — the minimum required in most national championships — after a difficult week of weather. With the scoring entirely decided over those three days, the results reward consistency above all: in Open Class, Güettler never dropped out of the top three on any task, while in Club, Pedersen's day one maximum and subsequent solid performances were enough to hold off a strong closing run from Winther.
