2020 – 50th Anniversary of the Büren Model Aircraft Club

On November 27, 1970, the “Modellfliegergruppe Büren” club was founded by a handful of young people from Büren in the Sali of the Traube Restaurant; as a result, our club will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020.

What began as a small endeavor has grown over the years into a thriving club. Members participate in regional and national competitions and consistently achieve great success. Over time, the club has organized air shows, competitions, and exhibitions.

In the first few years after the Modellfliegergruppe Büren was founded, building model airplanes was still a risky endeavor with an uncertain outcome. There were hardly any plans or documentation. Only a few usable kits were available for purchase, and even those were usually too expensive for a child’s allowance.

So members ventured into building their own models, which was no easy task without a solid understanding of aerodynamics, materials, and manual dexterity. Technical literature from libraries or the trade journal *Modell*—sometimes even including a construction plan as a supplement—were the only resources available to model builders for creating a functional model airplane. (Google searches, smartphones, etc., had not yet been invented.)

And when you finally managed to successfully launch your model—built with great effort and love—into the sky, the remote control system (often the batteries) would play a trick on the builder. This usually led to a crash and subsequent extended time in the workshop; some models buried themselves deep in the field and were totaled before the first successes began to show.

The young club’s first air show took place in March 1971 on a meadow near the “Hägenkreuz” in Büren and was a resounding success!

Jonny’s legendary Mirage was also present on that same flight day. The launch took place on the main—

At an air show in 1972, a group of members led by Josef Peter (Stumpäsepp) unveiled the world’s largest four-engine model of a DC-6 Monarch—an absolute sensation: Wingspan 565 cm, weight 42 kg, four Webra engines, each with a displacement of 10 cm^³ (methanol).

Photos: L.C. – 1971

He drove along the road to Liestal and then, in an open-top car, to the airshow venue (Leimen) to perform a fly-by of the Mirage for the audience. This was met with thunderous applause.

Of course, a lot has changed in the meantime: Combustion engines have become more efficient and quieter thanks to sophisticated muffler systems. The development of better batteries and more efficient electric motors has revolutionized the field in recent years and has become “standard” among us model builders.

A virtually endless market offers the most sophisticated and ingeniously designed models, while high-tech, computer-based remote-control systems provide pilots with absolute safety and unadulterated flying pleasure. With a manageable financial investment, you can very quickly become the proud owner of a fully functional

Model airplanes with all the necessary accessories. With the friendly help of experienced model pilots, the first successes and high-altitude flights soon follow.

Our flying field, “Hagmatten,” plays a significant role. It’s always a place where good friends and “flying enthusiasts” meet, sit together, discuss, talk shop, and fly.

Many members are now of retirement age. The board of the Büren Model Flying Club would therefore be delighted to welcome young people as aspiring RC pilots. Long-time members are happy to assist beginners in getting started in the interesting and educational sport of model flying.

We had planned to celebrate our club’s 50th anniversary with various events throughout 2020. However, the coronavirus crisis has the world in a tight stranglehold. As a result, we had to cancel all of our anniversary plans for this year. While we intend to make up for some of these events in 2021, planning anything for the future right now is completely unrealistic and uncertain given the current COVID-19 situation.

There is no risk of COVID-19 infection from our anniversary pin.

It can still be purchased from the Büren Model Flying Club.

On behalf of the Büren Model Flying Club (www.mfgbueren.ch)

René Matzler,
Paul Stürchler