You know what I mean?

Dear fellow model aircraft enthusiasts. Let’s finally admit that the increasing “official” paternalism toward our citizens could turn into anger and violence. So I’d rather resort to the rhetorical device of cynicism and claim that model flying is one of the most dangerous recreational activities in the world. That is likely why the European Union (EU), through its aviation safety agency EASA, had to urgently impose safety regulations on model aviation.¹⁾ After all, it is the state’s duty to

protect its citizens. When I claim that new laws often stem from personal frustrations, I imagine that the EASA lawyers responsible for model aviation must have operated in an extremely dangerous manner due to their own lack of skill in model flying. Anyone who reads the regulations can clearly see exactly what catastrophic airspace violations

they must have committed—and to think that someone actually forgot to register...

Let’s stick to the most important thing in the world: registration. It is not, as Federal Councilor Sommaruga had recited in the National Council and Council of States, something that can be done “with a single mouse click.” If I want to enhance my model-aircraft vacation abroad with my hang glider, I even have to pass a “test” administered by the FOCA. All of these are tiny details that cause the employment rate in the public sector to grow indefinitely, while

the private sector suffers from a shortage of skilled workers (23% of all employees work in the public sector). If I go on to claim that a large part of this growth in the number of government employees is due to unnecessary government intervention, I see a long-term threat to our direct democracy. The whole thing is happening insidiously.

Dear colleagues who “understand the EASA and FOCA”—do we really want our leisure time to drift ever further away from our liberal understanding of society?

Emil Giezendanner

redaktion@modellflugsport.ch