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SHV App: 600,000 Francs Official – and the App is Mostly Rented

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clarus.news | Analysis | July 10, 2026

by Andreas Binggeli

The Swiss Hang Glider Association has delivered. After the FAQ on July 6, an hour-long phone call followed, along with two written responses from IT Manager Andrin Zaugg – the second within just a few hours. The most important figure is on the table: The digital project costs around 600,000 francs over five years. And the most important ownership question has been answered: The largest part of the app does not belong to the association. The SHV has usage rights. Members are not financing ownership, but a subscription. This can be a smart strategy. But one should know about it.

From Evasion to Information

The chronology deserves recognition. On July 6, Managing Director Christian Boppart referred to a public FAQ. On July 7, IT Manager Andrin Zaugg took an hour for a phone conversation. On July 9, written answers to the open questions from clarus.news followed – and Zaugg responded to clarifying follow-up questions that same morning.

Many organizations choose the strategy of "wait for thermals and turn off the radio" when faced with critical questions. The SHV did the opposite. They responded in stages, but substantially.

The central information: The total costs amount to around 600,000 francs over the first five years. This confirms the magnitude that clarus.news had extrapolated from the "just over 4 plus almost 2 francs per member per year." Four francs sounds like a landing beer. 600,000 francs is an agenda item at the general assembly. Now the figure is official – and that's good.

What's in the 600,000 Francs

Zaugg breaks down the full cost calculation. It contains three blocks: the complete depreciation of project costs within five years, internal personnel for project and operation, as well as maintenance, operation and further development "according to SaaS contract."

Important clarifications: Not all costs flow to Ubique. Two service providers are working on two different applications – the mobile app and the flight area data. No temporary employees were hired; the projects ran with existing position percentages. And: For the software for the association's "core processes," the source code belongs to the SHV.

This is more detail than the FAQ offered. It also relativizes the image of a pure procurement project: A considerable part of the sum is internal effort, including the time-intensive maintenance of flight area data, which was explicitly requested by the clubs at the club conference.

Rented, Not Bought: The Ownership Question is Answered

When asked by clarus.news, Zaugg becomes clear: The largest part of the app development was not financed by the SHV but is obtained as Software as a Service. "This part accordingly does not belong to the SHV; we have the right of use." Only the project portion – Zaugg calls it the "hull" of the app – belongs to the association. According to Zaugg, it makes up a very small portion of the total costs. And because this hull is largely built on data from the SaaS part, continuing it separately would be "complex."

The strategy behind this is understandable and is openly stated: The association deliberately did not want to invest large sums in individual development and wanted to be able to react agilely to changes. For an association with 22,000 members, this is a reasonable consideration. Individual developments are expensive, risky, and quickly become outdated.

But the trade-off has a price, and it's called dependency. On the decisive contractual questions – source code escrow in case of provider failure, notice periods, data portability, costs of a provider change – Zaugg writes: "As mentioned, I cannot give you contractual details."

This makes the picture clear. The SHV owns a hull that hardly flies without the rented remainder. Those who have no realistic switching option at the end of the contract negotiate from the lee side. And the FAQ justification that they opted for the in-house solution because external providers "tend to create greater dependencies" is thus definitively inverted: The chosen solution is the dependency – consciously entered into, economically justifiable, but certainly not independence.

A technical detail underscores the point. A widget error documented by clarus.news on July 9 shows: The app's weather data runs through the server infrastructure "ubmeteo.io" – i.e., through systems from the Ubique environment. The new Previtemps function responded to the request with an internal server error. Zaugg reacts calmly to this: The systems are continuously monitored, errors are fixed promptly; since data is obtained from various sources, errors can also have external causes. The association has set up a channel for reports: [email protected]. A preview app may have errors. But every error on foreign infrastructure reminds us where the operation actually takes place.

Flight Schools: Now It's Official

The question remained unanswered in the FAQ. Now the answer is in writing. When asked whether flight schools were systematically involved, Zaugg writes: "Not systematically as a separate stakeholder group."

This confirms clarus.news's research – and the statements of several flight schools that they were not consulted in advance. According to Zaugg, the SHV's didactic concept, which the flight schools also apply, was included. Some schools had reacted positively; some wanted a web solution, which is now being examined. The association says it welcomes criticism from schools.

This is an honest answer. But it also makes the gap visible: The group that stands daily with students at the launch site was not consulted as a separate stakeholder group in a safety-relevant digital project.

Regarding the member survey from fall 2024, Zaugg mentions a key figure for the first time: The sampling error was plus/minus 2.22 percent, the response rate was "good to very good." The complete results are to be published in the first quarter of 2027 – together with the derived measures. This leaves the evidence for the project's central legitimation claim postponed by months. First comes the app, then the survey that justifies it.

More Than Weather – The Scope is Slowly Becoming Visible

In conversation with clarus.news, Zaugg made it clear: The app is "more than just weather." When asked, he now roughly names what is being replaced: the previous SHV weather page, the info boards maintained as PDFs "and other topics." Larger systems such as member administration, login procedures and website, on the other hand, are only partially connected to the app project. Further planned functions may not yet be communicated. A conclusion about the project, says Zaugg, can only be drawn after the summer release.

This creates some context – while leaving room to maneuver. A project that replaces legacy systems, digitizes flight area data and continuously receives new functions is a different project than a weather app. It is larger, riskier and more important. Then it should also be presented as such: with project scope, stages and milestones. What exists today are building blocks of a roadmap that the association itself is not yet fully showing.

The relationship between ambition and resources remains striking. Many new functions, several sub-projects, ongoing operations – implemented without additional positions, with existing position percentages. This speaks to the commitment of those involved. But it raises the question of whether the association has realistically planned for the burden.

The Governance Question: The Association Provides Answers

Something needs to be clarified here. The willingness to provide information, the speed and the recognizable expertise of IT Manager Andrin Zaugg deserve respect. Here is someone working with great commitment on a demanding project – and personally facing critical questions, twice on the same day.

The governance question is nevertheless not a question for him, but for the board and management. And answers are now available for this as well. For each project there is a deputy who participates in the project, writes Zaugg. The know-how is deliberately distributed among various internal persons and documented. Projects of this size are actively accompanied by the managing director, and regular reporting takes place in the board.

These are the right assurances. However, they are exactly that: assurances. Whether deputies are viable, documentation is current and reporting is effective only becomes apparent in an emergency – or in an audit. The association's own business audit committee has recommended "closely monitoring the project due to the investment sum, the complexity and the constantly changing parameters." This recommendation will measure whether the assured structures are more than paper. The general assembly now has the keywords to inquire.

Voices from the Flight Schools: "The Association is Looking for Tasks"

Two flight schools have independently expressed fundamental criticism to clarus.news. The tenor: The association's membership numbers have grown steadily – and with them the revenues. Instead of opening up new fields of activity, the association should concentrate on the essentials: license management, examination system and political representation for the preservation of flight areas. Weather and meteorology could be done "better and cheaper by others."

The numbers support the growth diagnosis: The SHV has more members than ever, contributions increased by 86,000 francs to 2.617 million in 2025, the annual result was 793,000 francs in profit, 923,000 francs above budget. The schools' conclusion is a value judgment – but one that the business audit committee essentially shares: The digital ecosystem should "primarily represent the association's core tasks" and not compete with private solutions.

A Voice from BAZL Circles – and the SHV's Response

An assessment also reached clarus.news from circles close to the Federal Office of Civil Aviation. The person does not want to be named; it is a personal view, not a position of the office.

The tenor: The SHV also performs tasks for BAZL and is compensated for them. Instead of building its own weather offerings, the association should concentrate on coordinating missing basic data with BAZL so that it becomes publicly available – especially in the ADS-L area, much is currently in flux. And the person explicitly agrees with one point of previous reporting: Shutting down an established website and replacing it with an unfinished app is the wrong approach.

The SHV contradicts the image of lacking coordination. An exchange with BAZL takes place regularly, writes Zaugg. They are also "in close exchange" regarding ADS-L. In which areas the cooperation exists and to what extent the association is compensated for it remains open.

It's a single voice against a brief association response. But it shows that the priority question concerns not only flight schools and members, but also observers on the authority side.

Fair Remains Fair

The list of points in favor of the SHV has become even longer.

The association has disclosed the total costs – this would not have been necessary voluntarily. They have clearly named the ownership situation when asked, instead of glossing over it. They own the source code of the core process software. They have dispensed with temporary positions. The hang glider forecast is created by MeteoSwiss on behalf of the SHV – so there is indeed cooperation with the federal office. The clubs were involved through the club conference, and the digitization of flight areas goes back to their express wish. A separate channel exists for error reports. The app is declared as a preview; errors and improvements are part of this phase.

And: The association has committed to publishing the survey results along with derived measures. This is a verifiable promise. clarus.news will verify it in the first quarter of 2027.

What Remains Open

  1. Is there source code escrow or comparable protection in case the provider fails?
  2. What notice periods and conditions does the SaaS contract contain, and is the data in a portable format?
  3. At what initial costs could another provider take over operations?
  4. What was the specific response rate of the member survey?
  5. What cooperation offers were available from Burnair and other providers, and why specifically did they fail?
  6. In which areas and to what extent is the SHV compensated by BAZL for tasks taken over?
  7. What other functions are planned, and when will the association present a complete roadmap?

These are not trick questions. They are the questions that arise from more precise answers.

Conclusion: Transparency on Numbers, Silence on the Contract

The SHV has created more transparency in one month than many organizations do in years. FAQ, conversation, two written responses, a disclosed total sum, an honest statement about ownership – this is the right course. The association's wish to see the project conclusively evaluated only after the summer release is also legitimate.

But one finding remains, and it is fundamental. Members are financing usage rights with around 600,000 francs over five years. The part of the app that belongs to the association is small and hardly viable independently without the rented remainder. The contract conditions that determine exit, data portability and switching costs remain confidential. And the flight schools were – now officially confirmed – not systematically involved.

Renting instead of building can be smart. But those who rent should know their rental agreement. And those who pay the rent from membership fees should at least be able to explain the conditions to members.

Or in aviation terms: Visibility has become good. The landing field is rented. Only the lease agreement still lies in the safe.

Transparency note: The author has been a member of the SHV for 23 years. The SHV was asked for comment several times before publication. Managing Director Christian Boppart responded on July 6, 2026 and referred to the FAQ on the SHV app. IT Manager Andrin Zaugg provided information by phone on July 7 and twice in writing on July 9, 2026 – including follow-up questions on the same day.

Sources

Primary Sources

  • The App that Fell from the Sky, June 5, 2026
  • Email exchange clarus.news / Christian Boppart, Managing Director SHV, June 5 to July 6, 2026
  • Phone conversation clarus.news / Andrin Zaugg, Head of IT & Digitization SHV, July 7, 2026
  • Written responses from Andrin Zaugg to clarus.news, July 9, 2026 (two emails)
  • Screenshot SHV app, widget error Previtemps Besançon (HTTP 500, weather-ws-prod.ubmeteo.io), July 9, 2026
  • SHV: FAQ on the SHV App
  • SHV: SHV App, Release Notes and Updates
  • SHV: Annual Report 2025
  • Feedback from flight schools to clarus.news, June/July 2026
  • Written assessment from BAZL circles to clarus.news, July 2026 (personal view, anonymized)

Supplementary Sources

Verification Status: July 9, 2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model.
Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-checking: July 9, 2026

Tags: #SHV #FSVL #Paragliding #MeteoSwiss #Burnair #Ubique #FluidMeteo #SaaS #BAZL #OpenData #Digitization #AssociationFinances #Transparency

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