There's no way around it

Who isn’t familiar with them? I’m talking about those often tedious and annoying discussions surrounding membership in our national aviation sports association, the Aero-Club of Switzerland—AeCS for short. These discussions should only be taken seriously when they’re not just about a few dozen francs—the equivalent of three cheap servos, one mid-range servo, and half the cost of a more expensive one—but rather about the positioning of aviation—or, if you prefer: “flying hobbies”—in our political landscape. Anyone who, after the ridiculous EU model aircraft regulations, believes that we model aviators have gotten off scot-free yet again is pretty clueless or naive. While politically left-leaning and green executive boards tolerate public demonstrations relatively generously, at the same

our community is increasingly having to submit to a growing flood of regulations. Even after the pandemic, there’s no sign of a shift away from the pathological obsession with government interference in personal freedoms—to the extent that they still exist. This applies not only to what we’re not allowed to do, but increasingly to what we’re required to do—for example, not eating meat. Yuck!

As in all areas of life, we model aircraft enthusiasts will also have to reckon with massive restrictions—simply because we aren’t a mass phenomenon like soccer, biking, or a (mass) parade. In those areas, the zealous lawmakers reach their limits—or rather, their police forces do. They don’t need us. We’re just a nuisance: for example, to air traffic, birdlife, or the “booming drone industry with its over

3,000 jobs”... The arguments consist of half-truths, lies, and often fairy tales. Now that we’ve had to—or must—really fight on the political stage for the first time due to the rejection of EU regulations, the truth is obvious not just to insiders: Without our umbrella organization, the AeCS, we will have no chance of survival—unless we become “model-aircraft Indians” who don’t care about anything. Thanks to the AeCS’s smart policies, a number of adversities have recently been averted or mitigated for Swiss aviation sports. This clearly demonstrates to us the political significance of a national umbrella organization. The three pillars—“Policy,” “Law,” and “Communication”—are being continuously strengthened.

Our model aviation organization alone would be politically harmless and would have long since been swallowed up in the maelstrom

of regulatory overkill. Nor will childish dreams of carefree flying with foam planes on some small patch of land approved by the municipality ever allow us to escape the harsh reality. The more time passes, the more convinced I am that we need a strong federation. All aviation groups must jointly support and finance it. Of course, the AeCS also needs the support of the specialized associations and—at least as important—the regional associations. The regions are the ambassadors of our hobby in the cantons and municipalities. The desires for standardization—occasionally dredged up by ossified old men from the museum of centralist administration—belong in the trash. After all, digitalization now allows for more intelligent models.

Sincerely,
Emil Ch. Giezendanner