50 Years of the Bülach Model Aircraft Club

In 2009, the MFG Bülach celebrated its 50th anniversary. The celebration took place at an idyllic hunting lodge west of Bülach, featuring a delicious dinner and a retrospective of films and photos from the early days of remote-controlled model aviation to the present, with commentary by Honorary Chairman Hans Schibli, a member since 1962 who served as chairman for 15 years.

During the cocktail reception, Pierre Bartholdi conveyed congratulations and best wishes from the Model Flying Region of Northeastern Switzerland (NOS) and presented the current president, André Fivaz, with a check for 1,000 francs as a loyalty bonus for his long-standing membership in the NOS. At the same time, he took the opportunity to remind the assembled model aviators of the activities of the NOS, SMV, and AeCS associations and emphasized the importance of solidarity among all those who engage in recreational aviation activities. This is taking place in an environment that is becoming increasingly challenging, and in which aviation activities—regardless of their form—are coming under fire from certain circles. The club’s history, which can be downloaded from the website www.mfg-buelach.ch, shows that the MFG Bülach was first founded in 1942 but existed only until 1946. In 1959, 16 enthusiastic model aviators came together once again to reestablish the MFG Bülach. The evolution of model aviation is beautifully illustrated by the example of the Bülach group and traces the technical advancements and activities up to the present day. For many years now, the MFG Bülach has been a group dedicated exclusively to glider model aircraft, which only returned to powered flight with the advent of efficient electric motors.

The Bülach club does not fly models with internal combustion engines; instead, it has three flying sites without infrastructure, selected based on wind direction.

*PEB-NOS*