The “Both-and” Society

Today, we can both promote the European Soccer Championship and oppose the night flights that transport fans home. Airlines can both make safety their top priority and hire poorly trained pilots. Pilots can be the best in the world, or they can race around like “Red Bulls” gone mad, perform a dive over Speck Airfield in a Jumbolino, land on the frozen Pfäffikon Lake, or fly through the restricted zone at the Davos World Economic Forum. We can concentrate the Air Force in the mountain valleys or promote tourism. Our Federal Council can advocate for nature and environmental protection or approve jet skis, and so on. Fortunately, in model aviation, it’s far less about money and power, and the “both-and” trend rarely plays out in the public eye. A question for the future might be, for example: Can

we make our hobby both increasingly technically sophisticated and expensive while also attracting enough young people? Or, can we both build the necessary new airfields and resist the immense pressure for urban development in certain regions? Can we allow more and more other recreational activities—such as horseback riding, biking, Nordic walking, etc.—to take place around our airfields while still ensuring safety? We Swiss are accustomed to finding good compromises anytime and anywhere. Unfortunately, in doing so, we often lose sight of the facts. When it comes to flying—whether in manned aircraft or model airplanes—there are simply no compromises in many areas: Either the engine works properly, or we stay on the ground. Either the runway is clear, or we can’t take off—this also applies to military airfields, where tractors hauling manure

and cyclists are roaming the runways. Unfortunately, our authorities are usually only willing to intervene where they don’t have to fear a powerful lobby and where high-profile lawyers aren’t brought in. Politicians with clear-cut positions apparently cannot win majority support. We still haven’t understood that too much “both-and” thinking jeopardizes the credibility and integrity of our state and its institutions.

Sincerely,
Emil Ch. Giezendanner