Build, Fly, and Be Amazed

As part of the Bödeli Vacation Pass program, the Interlaken Model Aircraft Club invited twelve students to teach them about building model airplanes. To start, project leader Markus Günther explained to the interested children what the Interlaken Model Aircraft Club is all about. Afterward, Adrian Seitz gave the participants a brief theoretical introduction to aerodynamics and explained why an airplane is able to take off and fly in the first place. Model helicopter pilot Michael Tschiemer and junior member Alex Thöni—who had once participated in the Bödeli Vacation Pass program himself—used a model to demonstrate to the attendees that a helicopter is also an aircraft and why it flies. The theoretical portion concluded with a Q&A session. Then it was time to build a throw glider. This allowed the young participants to get a feel for working with balsa wood. With the active support of three experienced model builders, who assisted project leader Markus Günther, the participants sanded and glued with great enthusiasm. After about two hours, the glider was ready for a test flight. Before setting off for the airfield, the participants were treated to a serving of spaghetti.

With beautiful weather at the airfield, the participants were divided into two groups. One group was busy testing the flight characteristics of the homemade gliders and was quite amazed that some of them could actually fly quite far.

The other group was introduced to the dual-control system by flight instructors Michael Tschiemer and Hari Bernhard. A competition was then held using the homemade gliders. The person whose glider flew the longest or farthest was declared the winner. In the end, however, all participants received a prize in the form of a kit. An unforgettable day packed with action came to a close for the participants.