Honor to whom honor is due!

Yves Burkhardt, Secretary General of the Aero Club, delivered a fitting tribute to Emil Giezendanner. We would like to share Yves’s heartfelt words with you.

Dear Emil
, dear fellow club
members,
ladies and gentlemen

It is a special honor and pleasure for me to deliver a brief tribute today to an outstanding figure in model aviation: Emil Giezendanner. I know full well—Emil is not a man of grand words, and it’s almost uncomfortable for him when people speak of his dedication, his achievements, his successes, and the visions he has realized throughout his long career in model aviation as a volunteer. His name, more than almost any other, stands for creativity, innovative thinking, and tireless dedication to the advancement of model aviation.

Emil Giezendanner looks back on an impressive career as the long-serving regional association president of the NOS and, since the early 1980s of the last millennium, as a board member of the SMV as well. In this role, he not only represented the interests of model aviation with great dedication but also set a decisive course for its future. His work was always characterized by progressive ideas and a visionary—and often, quite rightly, demanding—approach. His ideas, his projects, and his highly valued commitment to promoting youth and the next generation have had a lasting impact on model aviation not only in Switzerland but worldwide. Initiatives and events that Emil launched, such as “Young Silent Wings” and the “Winterthur Junior Event,” have become firmly established and help raise the necessary profile of model aviation in society.

Emil Giezendanner wrote another chapter in his story as Chairman of the FAI F5 Subcommittee within the framework of international model aviation for electric flight. Very early on, he recognized the future significance of electric flight with model airplanes, its potential, and its economic and environmental importance. The numerous military competitions held here in the Zurich Oberland remain unforgettable. In this role, he made a significant contribution to strengthening and advancing model aviation on an international level. His outstanding track record and his international network of contacts for organizing and conducting competitions, as well as his diplomatic skills in collaborating with international federations, are unparalleled and will remain unforgettable.

Emil Giezendanner also left a lasting legacy as the founder of the magazine *modellflugsport*. With foresight and a spirit of innovation, he created—as editor-in-chief in 1971, 54 years ago—a national model aviation magazine and a recognized platform that continues to serve as an important source of inspiration and information for the model aviation community in Switzerland to this day. His tireless dedication as a dynamic figure has made the magazine an integral part of the community. I remember my time as president of the SMV—how I would always tremble with anticipation before the release of the next issue of the six annual issues of *modellflugsport*. I would worry about the issues that Emil brought to our attention—as association representatives—in his editorials. On the merits of the matter—and I must admit this candidly today—Emil was actually almost always right. As a representative of model aviators, he wasn’t concerned with writing polished and unctuous editorials, but rather with advancing the cause of model flying and its pilots throughout Switzerland. His tone was often—to put it politely—very direct, but it never failed to achieve its intended effect. The magazine *modellflugsport* and its publisher, the foundation of the same name, still operate today under Emil’s credo and guiding principle from back then: “Made by model aviators for model aviators.”

Particularly noteworthy is his vision as the father of the model aviation symposia at Technorama Winterthur. These events—an incredible 39 editions since their inception, launched under his leadership—offer a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge, ideas, and experiences. Here, too, his vision of “Made by model aviators for model aviators” has been realized. These symposia were—and, hopefully, will remain—a significant and indispensable contribution to fostering community and strengthening model aviation as an innovative and fascinating platform for the exchange of knowledge and experiences among us model aviators.

His many years of experience as a competing pilot alongside his brother Bruno and, later, as a jury member at FAI World and European Championships attest to his deep understanding of the sport and his expertise in flying model aircraft. Emil Giezendanner has always acted with professionalism, expertise, and technical understanding in the best interests of the competitors and the sport. He is established internationally within the FAI’s CIAM as a respected and competent representative of model aviation. His CIAM flyers, produced for the global model aviation community and covering a wide variety of topics in model aviation, are and have been highly valued. The concise, double-sided CIAM flyers, with their brief yet striking design, could be used and applied by anyone in the general public to illustrate the many different categories of model aviation.

Emil always demonstrated an experienced and trained eye for upcoming challenges and potential risks that could affect the future development of model aviation. For example, it was a great pleasure and honor for me to have Emil on board as part of our joint work with the AeCS and the SMV on the project team for regulations and exemptions for Switzerland regarding model aviation and drones. Today, we are envied throughout Europe for our national regulations on model aviation, which were achieved through the joint efforts of our associations. Emil was not intimidated by the inefficient and cost-driving administrative behemoth of the EU and EASA; as an upright democrat, he fought alongside the AeCS against regulatory and nonsensical red tape. Working with Emil Giezendanner was and remains characterized by his pleasant and results-oriented manner. His dedication and immeasurable passion for model aviation serve as an inspiration and motivation to all who are fortunate enough to work with him.

Emil Giezendanner, you are a figure who has had a decisive influence on the history and future of model aviation worldwide. We tip our hats to you and are grateful for your tireless work. Even though we both frankly did not always see eye to eye from time to time toward the end of the 1990s, we always found common solutions at the end of our discussions.

On behalf of everyone who recognizes, admires, and appreciates your work, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your outstanding dedication and your great contributions to national and international model aviation, on behalf of the AeCS and also the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).

This small gift from the AeCS is meant to encourage you to continue making the right cuts in the right places with a sharp knife. Thank you, my dear Emil!

Pfäffikon ZH, January 23, 2025
Yves Burkhardt, Secretary General, Aero-Club of Switzerland