Even with ready-made models—nothing happens without hard work

Dear Reader

Some of us model airplane enthusiasts had to carve out our hobby by investing a great deal of time and money, and often this meant sacrificing other enjoyable things. Setbacks and all sorts of unpleasant surprises alternate with success and enthusiasm. It would certainly be interesting to chart these ups and downs over the years as a “temperature curve.” Many model flying clubs have had similar experiences with their flying fields: grueling political and financial disputes over the years, overcoming resistance from within their own ranks, and thousands of hours of mandatory labor instead of enjoying model flying.

Looking back, everything seems rosy, and everyone views the achievements as a collective effort. The fact that members who didn’t want to pay or work have disappeared—either permanently or temporarily—is forgotten. Not only that, but model flying fields are increasingly viewed as (self-evident) public facilities for everyone, just like playgrounds, campfire sites, or hiking trails. Even newcomers don’t always understand why they, too, should contribute to the infrastructure in the form of an admission fee. Added to this is the unrealistic assumption that membership dues cover everything. That is why I would like to remind all model aviators once again

that standard membership dues are nowhere near enough to maintain an airfield. This is only possible because individual members volunteer their free time throughout the year to carry out all the tasks, big and small. As examples continually show us, airfields are also increasingly exposed to a rapidly changing social and political environment, which means there are no absolute guarantees for the future. Incidentally, everyone has the same amount of time—24 hours a day—at their disposal: each person must set their own priorities. I wish everyone a great start to the new flying season and the best of luck.

Sincerely,
Emil Ch. Giezendanner

Standard membership dues are nowhere near enough to maintain an airfield.