The Eventful History of the Willisau Model Aircraft Club

Anyone familiar with the Willisau Model Aircraft Club (MFG Willisau) knows that it never stands still. There’s always something new happening. One moment it’s a model aircraft exhibition, a night flight team, the legendary Flying Days, a vacation activity program, a swap meet, and so on. But the club also has its traditions. To name just a few examples: internal model aircraft competitions, internal championships, or the event in early December when members grill and sell the best bratwurst at the Willisau Christmas market. This last event provides the club with the financial foundation for the upcoming flying season.

The foundation was laid 35 years ago. At that time, the club was called MOWIRO, the Willisau-Rottal Model Aircraft Group. An airfield was found in Grosswangen back then. But soon, flight operations there had to be suspended, and a new site had to be found. They found what they were looking for in Hinteregg, Willisau. The bylaws were amended, and from then on the club was known as the Willisau Model Flying Group.

The access road to the airfield on the Hinteregg hill gradually turned into a bike trail. As a result, in 2011, the club had to search for yet another new airfield. Fortunately, a plot of land was leased on a hill between Willisau and Zell, known as the Stocki.

There, the MFG Willisau—which today has about 60 members—is able to operate an excellent model airfield with understanding neighbors and great infrastructure, including electricity and water connections, a robotic lawn mower, a barbecue area, and more. A 110-meter-long grass runway, which resembles a golf course, is highly valued by the members. This runway allows very small model airplanes with small wheels to take off; however, it is also long enough to safely launch and land larger models.

The club has been a member of the SMV since 2005. There are plenty of cases today where a model flying club can find itself in the crosshairs of various environmental and landscape advocates, European regulations, and the like. Having a strong association and umbrella organization behind us seems more important today than ever. This allows members to devote themselves fully to what they love—model flying.

Time and again, members get together to outline a new project. The goal is to build and fly simple model airplanes together, usually in formation—for example, Styrodeltas, flying moor pigs, small PC-21s, and so on. A new project is currently in the planning stages. It will be on display at the Willisau Anniversary Air Show on September 7–8, 2024. At this event, the MFG Willisau will present itself to interested spectators alongside renowned model pilots from all over Switzerland.

Marcel Wiprächtiger