YOUTH HELPING YOUTH – HOLIDAY PASS AT LANGHOLZ

As part of a basic activity, the children built their own small gliders under supervision, which they later used to compete in a contest. Bruno Haas had given the models a new look beforehand: Using a laser, he engraved the logos of MG Buttikon and the March Vacation Pass onto the wings.

The flight simulator is and always will be a huge draw. Here, the children were able to try things out in a relaxed setting. Rarely was the focus on flying the model smoothly or even landing it cleanly—crashes were often deliberately accepted. Nevertheless, some talented kids who already had some experience and took the whole thing much more seriously also stood out here.

It finally became a reality thanks to two teacher-student pairs: With the support of experienced members of the MG Buttikon club, the children were able to fly real model airplanes. A few talented kids really stood out, even though coordination was understandably still quite a challenge for most of them.

After lunch, courtesy of MG Buttikon, we continued our program with renewed energy.

In between, members of the MG Buttikon club presented some of their model airplanes to demonstrate what’s possible in our sport. Thomas Wackerlin captivated the audience with his L-39 Albatros—a jet with an impeller-driven engine built by Ueli Amacker. Nicolas Ruoss flew a spectacular freestyle routine, and to wrap things up, I was able to perform a short, precise F3A aerobatics routine myself.

After the homemade gliders were fine-tuned, the highlight of the day began: Who could fly the farthest? This year, the winner’s model achieved an impressive distance of over 21 meters. In the end, no child went home empty-handed. Thanks to the great prizes donated by Hebu GmbH and our former president, Hans Jörg Amman, every child was able to enjoy a reward. A heartfelt thank you for that!

A group photo with all the children and volunteers rounded out the successful day. When the children were picked up by their parents, their enthusiastic reactions spoke for themselves—everyone had so much to share, which is the greatest reward for us volunteers. Remarkably, even after the official program had ended, three children wanted to try the dual-control flight again.

In addition, several copies of *Modellflugsport* were available to take home on the prize table, and they were quickly snapped up. Some teenagers also asked specific questions about the requirements for joining the club.

A total of ten motivated members of the MG Buttikon sacrificed their free time or took time off work specifically for this day. A big thank you goes out to the entire team—investing time in the Ferienpass program pays off in the long run.

A wonderful success from last year shows that this work with young people is paying off: A boy who joined us back then as part of the “Ferienpass” program is now a full-fledged member of our neighboring club, MG Linth. He was already back participating in this year’s “Ferienpass” program. It was a wonderful affirmation of our work, and it was actually quite relaxing at times to have someone in the co-pilot seat who already knew what they were doing.