In Memory of Ernst Leutenegger

On March 2, 2013, Ernst Leutenegger passed away after a long battle with an insidious illness.

A trained precision mechanic, he grew up in Zurich. He settled with his young family in Obfelden in the Säuliamt region, where he joined the Affoltern a.A. model aircraft club. Fascinated by technology, he built an RC helicopter—something that seemed unthinkable at the time. He eventually shifted his focus back from rotary-wing models to fixed-wing models. After a few F3A competitions at the airfield in Hausen a. A., organized by the MGAF, the idea was born within the club to launch a scale model competition. Along with Sven Wiesendanger and Ueli Aeberhard, Ernst was one of the founders of the Hausen Air Show, which is being held for the 34th time this year. Driven by his own passion for scale modeling, Ernst built increasingly elaborate, true-to-scale model airplanes. Suddenly, the club saw fewer utility models and more scale models, all of which were still built by members themselves with great passion at that time. Starting with the Stearman biplane, the Klemm 35, the Fieseler Storch, the Stinson, and his legendary Spitfire—to name just a few. His professionalism led him all the way to the F4C-Scale national team, where he achieved strong finishes in Périgueux and Paris (France) and Oslo (Norway). Building models—a pursuit in which he amazed many enthusiasts with his ideas and craftsmanship—had become a true passion for Ernst. Despite all his successes, he always remained humble and grew into a true mentor within the club.

For several years, he also served as the club’s treasurer and was always on hand to help with any task. As a highly valued MGAF member, he was awarded honorary membership in recognition of his contributions.

Thank you very much, Ernst, for everything, and take care!

On behalf of the Board of MG Affoltern a. A. and the Hausen Organizing Committee. ■

Wolfgang Auth