Sports Department of the Swiss Model Aviation Association

 

Building and flying model airplanes of any kind is very interesting and quite demanding. It is by no means only the diverse technology and the manual challenge of controlling a flying object which can have a lasting fascination. The affiliation to a group of people who understand us and our attitude is actually the essential element of the often lifelong enjoyment of our cause. Whether this affiliation is strengthened by membership in an association or whether it is expressed in the individuality of individuals, the only decisive factor is the inner attitude towards the common cause. It must be added, however, that the advantages of club membership, for example in terms of the exchange of experience or the availability of flying sites, are undoubtedly of considerable value.
Model airplanes, once they and their pilots have reached the point where they function well, can be used as very respectable sports equipment. This opens up a whole new dimension for the model airplane pilot, because it is no longer just a matter of "it" flying, but primarily a matter of "it" doing so as well, far, long, fast or beautifully as possible. All aspects of model flying also come into play in model aviation, but on a different level of perfection and self-discipline. Here the hobby constructors, the empirical researchers and the careful perfectionists are challenged. What is interesting here, perhaps in contrast to other sports, is that the idea of competition does not impair the social cohesion of the model airplane sportsmen, but on the contrary promotes it very effectively. It is not uncommon for lifelong friendships, across countries and other borders, to be a nice accompaniment to a satisfying career as a model airplane pilot.

On a global scale, model aviation, even if not always perceived as such, is quite a significant sport. For example, world and European championships are held every year in all disciplines. Under the standardized rules of the FAI, up to several hundred participants meet at major events somewhere in the world. Of course, there is also an active scene "at work" in Switzerland, the reporting in the publication organ of the SMV, the "modellflugsport" shows this impressively again and again. The Sports Department of the SMV does the background work for the organizational support of model aviation in Switzerland and represents the interests of Swiss model pilots in the international air sports umbrella organization FAI/CIAM.
In Switzerland, the Technical Commissions (FAKO) of the SMV are of decisive importance for the promotion and support of individual disciplines of model aviation. These working groups, they consist for the most part of active sportsmen of the respective discipline, do great things and thus enable the existence and growth of model aviation sport in Switzerland. The FAKO's are the first point of contact for model pilots interested in a sporting challenge, for clubs that would like to strengthen their internal cohesion by organizing a competition, or for individuals who would like to experience the sporting variant of model flying up close, either as a helper or as an official.