Toys for Boys or a Serious Hobby?

Dear Readers

It’s been a few years now since the Aero-Club of Switzerland last operated its central secretariat with a full-fledged director at Hirschengraben in Zurich. Dark blue blazers with some kind of golden aviator badge—and, of course, ties even back then—were the unmistakable trademark of the gentlemen of the skies. We model aviators could count on the outstanding services of Senior Expert Arnold Degen, whose position within the AeCS we clearly owed to the Swiss Pro Aero Foundation. For many years, our Senior Expert supported the founding of numerous groups, the establishment of many clubhouses, and numerous competitions—right up to the dispatch of national teams—with both advice and practical assistance. That was surely one reason we were so proud of our Aero Club. But in the midst of this idyll, a major catastrophe struck one day: Apparently, the director had referred to the model flying department—today we’d call it a division—as the “toy department.” This degradation of

us active members to an aviation class struggle, had it not been for a few brave souls who nipped the looming crisis in the bud... “Toy Department” was a very nasty insult back then. We model aviators wanted to be taken just as seriously as the “big guys.” And it certainly wasn’t just about the dark blue blazers and ties. With love and great dedication, we built up our sport and hobby into what we knew model aviation to be just a few years ago. Challenging workshop and flight sessions, competitions and recreational flying, attractive events for the public, well-designed youth development programs, and tireless public outreach were the recipe for success. All of this was achieved with a certain degree of seriousness—which has nothing to do with stubbornness—because it’s about flying (not just “flying around”). The public has gratefully acknowledged our commitment to meaningful recreational activities for young and old, and policymakers recognize that

our efforts as having a preventive effect. Unfortunately, the takeover of the model-flying skies by the cheap toy industry will not leave our hobby as unscathed as some of us believe. Society tends to take the path of least resistance: Why struggle in the hobby room when I can buy a “model” complete with a controller for just a few francs? Why go to the trouble of learning to fly a helicopter when there are helicopters that stay airborne effortlessly on their own? Are we active hobbyists losing some of our credibility? Now that we’ve got the noise problem under control, are we facing a new image problem? There’s less to fear in terms of direct impacts on our clubs, since the toy trend doesn’t affect them—or does anyone here know of a toy club?

Best regards, Emil Ch. Giezendanner