Josef Anton Eugster-Bischof, a leading advocate for model aviation in Eastern Switzerland – March 2, 1930, to April 25, 2020

Josef Eugster was a founding member and the first president of the Thal Model Flying Club, and he founded the MG Thal in the winter of 1963–1964. He served as president of the MG Thal for ten years and, beginning in 1970, also as regional president of what was then known as Model Flying Region 6.

Josef Eugster had a gift for inspiring young people—and those young at heart—to take up the fascinating hobby of model flying. Thanks to his healthy encouragement, the model airplane enthusiasts from Thal were soon able to hold their own in national and international competitions. He conducted annual model-building courses at the school and also led model-building courses as part of the Swiss teacher training program.

• 1971: MG Thal organizes the regional championship for free-flight models in Frauenfeld
• 1972: MG Josef Eugster negotiates a long-term lease, including furniture, with the school district for the craft room in the Feld school building in Thal

spent the afternoon on a mowed airfield or at the clubhouse (I, too, remember that time very well).

• 1965: First fall flying event in Altenrhein
• 1966: Thal organizes the regional championship for RC gliders at Schwägalp (RCS slope)
• 1967: MG Thal becomes a member of the Säntis Section. MG Thal organizes the St. Gallen

I learned from founding member Hans Wüst that many founding members came from the Thal Men’s Choir and had a clubhouse in Feldmoos before MG Thal was founded. MG Thal then took over this facility. Every Saturday at 1:00 p.m., the group gathered in Feldmoos (at the “Bude”) and

Josef Eugster—we also called him “Drachensepp”—was a jack-of-all-trades. He played the church organ, was a teacher, and an advocate of the “old” method of teaching by example. When Sepp provided fantastic support for the Pro-Aero youth camp’s diverse program right from the start by helping with kite-building as part of the planning, things really took off. He was a true kite expert and published several books on the subject with various educational publishers. The colorful kites against the blue Engadin sky also impressed numerous tourists.

When the Maloja wind really picked up, the pull on the strings grew strong, and Sepp would shout in a powerful voice: “Fadä gääh!” It’s said that our young people from French-speaking Switzerland misunderstood it as “fatigué” and immediately lay down comfortably in the grass. E. Giezendanner

Josef Eugster

Kites

Kite Book: Building Blocks for Crafts by Josef Eugster.

Remote controls weren’t yet widespread—so every model aviator in Thal had a Kö C (A2 free-flight model). He also led the Thal Model Flying Club as a trainer and coach. As a result, young model aviators from Thal were soon competing in various categories and bringing their expertise to the club.

After his intensive time as chairman, he wanted to introduce a new F1E category for the Thal Model Flying Club. But most of the Thal juniors were equipped with remote-control models—that was the trend!

Hansruedi Zeller, Thal
; Photos: Hans Wüst, Thal