The First Step Toward Becoming a Pilot

From the *Schaffhauser Nachrichten*
of November 1, 1943

It’s probably clear to every young person who sets this lofty goal for themselves that becoming a pilot requires a long and difficult journey. For some, the first tentative step toward a career in aviation may come as early as choosing a career path upon graduating from high school. Until now, however, here in Switzerland only a vanishingly small percentage of applicants have been selected for further training to become pilots or pursue one of the related professions. Young men studying technical fields are also offered the opportunity during conscription to be assigned to the most noble and responsible unit in our army. But here, too, they must demonstrate their physical and mental abilities.

Another way to work one’s way up into military or civil aviation is through model aircraft flying. Young men, most of whom do not yet harbor any “aviation aspirations,” begin to seriously consider how to make the best use of their free time during or after their school years. It is then that some of them come up with the idea of building a model airplane, for which the materials can be obtained with minimal expense. It may be true that now and then someone dismisses this wonderful sport as a

“boring pastime.” The serious model aviator, however, becomes completely captivated by his chosen field, and eventually the decision matures within him to join a model flying club. Today in Switzerland, there are about 120 such clubs, all of which are affiliated with the Swiss Aero Club. The young model aviator has thus joined a wholesome and politically neutral youth group and, after proving himself receptive during two trial months, has joined the ranks of future aviators. Flying, in the truest sense, means camaraderie. This also applies to us model aviators. In accordance with this principle, the “novice” is welcomed into the fold by older and more experienced colleagues, and the realization of having taken the first step on the path to aviation makes the young Swiss person’s heart beat faster.

During model-building sessions, the young aviation pioneer, under expert guidance, becomes accustomed to precise, neat, and reliable work—an important aspect of character development, by the way. Alternately, informative theory sessions are offered, during which qualified instructors give lectures on aerodynamics and the related laws of physics

. The young body’s need for physical activity is fully met during summer flight operations, as the young aviators often have to cover distances of several kilometers uphill and downhill, over hill and dale, to retrieve their property—if possible—from a tall tree.

But as the young “explorer of the skies” slowly outgrows his childhood, the desire to fly on his own grows stronger and stronger within him. To learn to fly under relatively favorable conditions, they join the gliding club after turning 17. However, the current membership of the gliding clubs does not allow them to admit everyone who knocks on their door. Priority is given to applicants who have already demonstrated their flying skills and

teamwork skills in the model aircraft club. This by no means guarantees that every model aircraft pilot is automatically suited to and will prove himself as a pilot. He must first demonstrate this to the glider pilots. But once they have proven themselves there as a pilot and a team member, and if their physical condition meets the requirements, then the path to military aviation—and thus, under certain circumstances, to civil aviation, the ultimate dream of any aviation-enthusiast boy—will be virtually open to them.

We young Swiss, however—who are the future of our fatherland—wish to adopt as the motto for our leisure activities the slogan coined at the 1939 National Exhibition in Zurich: “A nation that does not fly will be outflown.”

Rev.