2019 Annual Report from the SMV President

Model aviation is well integrated into the aeroclub. The staff at the Central Secretariat reliably and independently handle a significant portion of the daily work. However, we are also very grateful for the support our own departments receive from the AeCS’s specialized departments. Thanks to this support, we have been able to make significant progress in the areas of legislation, airspace, international affairs, and the environment and nature. We must not forget the financial support provided by the AeCS Aviation Fund for many major projects undertaken by our clubs and regional associations.

Teamwork on the SMV Board is excellent. The Executive Board’s committees are familiar with the needs and concerns of the clubs and model aviators and allocate their resources in a targeted manner. Cooperation with the regional model aviation associations has been further intensified. SMV Executive Board members have attended many regional presidents’ conferences and board meetings and have been actively addressing various issues. Joint meetings were also held with clubs interested in joining. Fortunately, this has already resulted in several new club memberships. This issue is personally very important to me. With more members and clubs, we’ll have a stronger foundation across Switzerland, our voice will be heard more clearly, and we’ll simply make progress faster together.

Financially, the SMV is in good shape. Our new treasurer, Nicolas Spaar, hit the ground running after the 2019 General Assembly and is already fully integrated into the board. With his help, we have further optimized our processes. For example, we have intensified the involvement of the departments in budget monitoring during the current year and introduced a semi-annual review for each department. In addition, we have expanded our existing insurance package in collaboration with Allianz. New features include the extension of transportation insurance to cover rental equipment at major events and a more detailed description of the services available at www.modellflug.ch.

Since spring 2019, the EU’s requirements for our future model aircraft legislation have been clear. It took an enormous effort on the part of all our colleagues to bring these requirements to an acceptable level (authorization of associations and the Open Category). As part of the implementation efforts in Switzerland, the Model Aviation Association is participating in the relevant working group of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). The key points regarding authorization and registration are roughly clear, but it is also important to continue ensuring that model aviation can take place outside of club grounds—on slopes, for training, and at events. Although the new law has not yet been drafted, we are on the right track. The motion on this matter by Matthias Jauslin remains active and provides us with some backing. To provide better information on this topic—which is essential for every model aviator—several informational evenings were held at the regional associations in addition to our ongoing publications. During these events, many questions were answered and misinformation was corrected.

Our model airfield sites are under increasing pressure from urban development. It is challenging to secure existing model airfield sites, and even more difficult to find new ones and obtain approval for them. To assist clubs in this regard, experts are available through the regional associations, the SMV, and the AeCS. With the guide “Spatial Planning Requirements for Model Airfield Sites,” the NOS region, in collaboration with the Institute for Spatial Planning at the University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil, has laid a very solid foundation in this area. While this does not reduce the workload for the clubs, it does allow them to work more efficiently. At the end of the year, Rolf Zimmermann handed over leadership of the Safety Working Group to Daniel Dietziker. Many thanks to Rolf for his dedication as chair; he will continue to contribute to the important topic of safety as a member of the working group.

We are proud of our athletes’ achievements across various sports. Heartfelt congratulations and many thanks to the athletes and everyone who made this possible behind the scenes! These achievements demonstrate that sports within the association are on the right track, and their success is also making a positive impression on the outside world. Nevertheless, there is still considerable potential in the area of sports, which we hope to tap into together in the future.

In the area of youth development—an effort that takes place primarily at the grassroots level, within the clubs—there was a welcome increase last year in visible activities, such as construction courses, summer camp programs, and other offerings. The association (regional associations and SMV) provides information, training, and materials for this purpose. The meetings and workshops in this area generated a great deal of interest and brought together youth development coaches from various clubs.

“Doing good and talking about it”—that is the purpose of communication. For our association, this is a central task. On the one hand, model aviators in Switzerland should receive reliable information on topics that are important to them; on the other hand, model aviation should also have a public presence. The Communications Department has done excellent work in this area through our online and print media. We mustn’t forget the online event calendar and the SMV Competition results system. These tools take some of the burden off organizers, and—most importantly—they’ve made it possible for visitors and those at home to experience the competitions firsthand. Adi Bruni is stepping down as head of the Communications Department effective the 2020 General Assembly. He will remain with the department to oversee the operation and further development of our website. We would like to thank Adi very much for his tremendous dedication. We have been searching for a successor for Adi for quite some time, but unfortunately without success so far. So we’re continuing our search. In addition to a new department head, we would also welcome additional staff to strengthen the department.

To conclude this annual report, I would like to thank everyone for their dedication to model aviation in Switzerland. I look forward to an eventful and successful 2020 with all of you.