YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN: THE CLUB IS DEAD—LONG LIVE THE CLUB!

Model airfields where I can fly without joining a club. I’ve had to hear this and similar statements often enough. While these colleagues’ perspective is understandable and has been realized on a very small scale, clubs are often perceived as too much of a hassle—involving hierarchy, long-winded meetings, and “pointless work assignments that don’t benefit me.”

While traveling abroad, I’ve come across various large private flying fields. Most of them were large private properties located somewhere off the beaten path—in a legal gray area, one might assume. Some of them were neglected—others were in top condition. This brings us right to the point: Even the simplest model airfield requires a certain amount of maintenance as well as credible representation in the public eye. Today, most municipalities want to know what’s happening within their boundaries. This is because every municipality must comply with an increasing number of regulations, such as water protection, land-use planning, building codes, and zoning ordinances, among others. A private airfield operator must therefore—in addition to maintaining the infrastructure—also handle all the political responsibilities. This is a task that has grown in importance in recent years. If the operator fails to do so, the days of a model airfield are numbered, sooner or
later. Even the smallest problems can spoil our enjoyment of model flying in just a few days. When model aviators join forces to operate an airfield, they cannot avoid establishing a certain structure and distributing responsibilities and tasks. In this respect, there is little difference from a club. The Civil Code defines a club as follows:

An association is a group of individuals with its own legal personality (Art. 60–79 of the Swiss Civil Code) that pursues a non-profit, non-commercial purpose. As a legal entity, an association can have rights and obligations, enter into contracts, and own property.

That is why I am convinced that an association is the ideal organizational form for our hobby. It offers a high degree of flexibility. Anyone who observes how individual associations are able to adapt to the constantly changing environment cannot appreciate this enough. Long live the association!

Emil Ch. Giezendanner