2009 Swiss Presidents' Conference in Interlaken

Black ice and several accident-related traffic jams on the highways around Bern caused many club representatives to arrive very late, and given the looming massive delay, one or two of them had apparently turned back early at the next exit. Even though road and traffic conditions in the Bern area were very difficult that morning, the sharp drop in attendance—from around 70 in the past to just 59—did disappoint a few people.

One thing is certain: The organizers from the Interlaken area had gone to great lengths to put together an event that was a success in every respect for their model-aviation colleagues from all over Switzerland! The unfinished models on display alone would have been worth the trip to Interlaken...

The weather can hardly have been the only reason for the high number of absences; in any case, before and after the SPK, there were comments here and there that “no one in the club could be found to make the trip to Interlaken.”

The SMV will likely have to consider the future format of the SPK in the coming weeks. It’s unacceptable that the most important event of the year—during which the executive board’s actions can be critically scrutinized—should generate so little interest. →

Those who arrived at the SPK on time—or even late—were treated to a comprehensive, yet as always very concise, report in the festive hall on the activities of the various departments within the SMV. There were no contentious motions.

Communication/Youth Development (Reto Schilliger). The head of communications was pleased to hand over leadership of the now-established Youth Development sub-department to Thomas Suter from MG Lucerne.

All department heads were able to demonstrate that very concrete initiatives are underway in many respects! The

new website, presented in broad strokes, was just one of the initiatives actively supporting model aviation all the way down to the individual member.

It is particularly gratifying that the SMV will be awarded the Recognition Prize this year by the Pro Aero Foundation for its work in the area of youth development at the Delegates’ Assembly of the Aero Club of Switzerland. Adrian Bruni’s brief presentation on the introduction of the Leis program underscored that the new projects presented last year are now underway—

See the minutes for details!
Regarding routine business, please refer to the minutes, which will be available on modellflug.ch when this article is published.

Once again, the remarks by President Yves Burkhardt and the department heads on the work in the areas of Finance (Bernard Grandjean), Sports (Peter Germann), Infrastructure/Safety (Adrian Eggenberger/Edgar Bruhin), and Com-

Communications/Youth Development (Reto Schilliger). The head of communications was pleased to hand over leadership of the now-established Youth Development sub-department to Thomas Suter of MG Lucerne.

All department heads were able to demonstrate that very concrete initiatives are underway in many respects! The new website, the basic outline of which was presented, was just one of the initiatives through which model aviation is actively supported all the way down to the individual member.

As part of the SPK, Rolf Girsberger—the creator of the RG profiles, which are still widely used today—received the FAI’s Airsports Medal, an award rarely bestowed worldwide, in recognition of his decades of dedication to model aviation on the international stage. The SMV extends its

former board colleague wholeheartedly on this wonderful recognition of his immense volunteer work over more than five decades, which has always benefited model aviation in Switzerland as well.

The supporting program featured an afternoon presentation on the “Sky Sailor” project by André Noth (ETH Lausanne) and Walter Engel (MG Dübendorf). The project originated from a feasibility study by the European Space Agency (ESA) on the development of a solar-powered aircraft for exploring the surface of Mars. It was carried out by ETH Lausanne in collaboration with several model builders from the SMV under the direction of Walter Engel, who is well known to many in the electronics community. The project is an impressive example of how model aviation can also be pursued scientifically in the context of such projects. And the flight performance speaks for itself: “Sky Sailor” took off on Friday, June 21, 2008, at 12:33

from the Niederwil model airfield near Cham, ZG, and landed on Saturday after more than 27 hours of nonstop flight. During this time, the solar-powered glider covered over 870 kilometers—more than the distance from Zurich to London—and circled on a constant flight path between 200 and 400 meters above ground level. A world record!

The SMV Board would like to thank the Bern-Oberland-Valais Regional Model Aviation Association, MG Interlaken, and the local authorities of “Bödeli” for their wonderful hospitality. Following the 2000 Scale World Championships and many other national championships, we once again felt very warmly welcomed in Interlaken.

Photos: Daniel Müller,
MG Interlaken

(Youngest European Championship/World Championship participant)

Christian Andrist (1990),
MV Bern

Hans Lüdi