Dissolution of the Mittelland Regional Model Aircraft Association

At the Regional Presidents’ Conference of the Mittelland Model Aircraft Association held on January 14, 2007, the presidents—nearly all of whom were present—resolved to dissolve the association retroactively as of December 31, 2006.

Since certain positions on the MVM board had remained unfilled since early 2005—despite intensive efforts by the remaining board members to fill them—dissolving the association ultimately became the only solution. This issue had already been discussed at the previous RPK meeting on October 20, 2006, and solutions had been sought. The fact that three additional members of the remaining executive board had announced their resignation effective the end of 2006 had little impact on the opinion of the group presidents present even at that time. Comparisons were made with other countries and their model aviation organizations, and it was determined that, given the number of model aviators, the number of model flying clubs, and the geographical extent of Switzerland, there are too many regional associations. From this, one might conclude that, given the relatively small number of model aviators per region, there are simply too few who are willing or able to serve in an official capacity. The author of this report, however, believes this is more of a temporary phenomenon. Even within model flying clubs, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people to serve on the board or organize events. It seems that, with a few exceptions, today’s model aviators are interested only in the infrastructure—namely, perfectly maintained flying fields—and believe that by paying their membership dues, they have, so to speak, paid the usage fee for it. They feel no obligation whatsoever to secure the future of the club—or perhaps even the entire model aviation community—through active involvement, even if it means serving on a club’s board for just a few years. This raises the heretical question of whether, in the future, this situation could—or even would have to—be addressed by professionalizing club administration, including the maintenance of flying fields, similar to a golf club? That would be a shame!

The model flying groups of the former MVM will be distributed among the surrounding RMVs. The presidents of the RMVs “Central Switzerland,” “Bern-Oberland-Upper Valais,” and “Northwestern Switzerland” were also represented at the RPK meeting on January 14, 2007, and unanimously expressed their willingness to accept the MVM groups into their respective associations. The organizational and administrative procedures related to the dissolution of the MVM were explained by Yves Burkhardt, the president of the SMV, who was also present, and were recorded in the minutes; we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to him.

Finally, we would like to thank the last members of the MVM Executive Board for their work within the association—work that in some cases spanned many years and became rather grueling in the final phase. Above all, President Christian Bont, as well as his colleagues Rolf Weyermann, Hans Kern, Bernhard Wyman, Christian Gugger, André Meyer, Stefan Heller, Werner Hunziker, and Bernhard Boo, deserve the heartfelt thanks of all MVM members. Even though the MVM no longer exists, their work was always purposeful, meaningful, and necessary.

On behalf of the former MVM, *Urs
Bärtschiger*