The Méribel Aeroclub was established on August 24, 1964. It was founded by Nano Chappel and Robert Merloz, both from Savoy. A 2008 article (in french) summarizes the creation of the altiport and the aeroclub.
Nano designed the Club's emblem.
Nano Chappel has been a commercial airline pilot with Air France since 1952. He is a flight instructor. He has been coming to Méribel since 1946 (between his time fighting in the Savoyard Resistance and his service in the Indochina War as a transport pilot, he was the first "Center Manager" of the CMA (Centre de Mécanique Aéronautique) in Les Allues).
Robert Merloz was a co-founder of the airline Air Alpes (which he left in 1966 to join the SFA).
Nano Chappel was the first president (a position he held until 1999), and Robert Merloz was the first Chief Pilot.
The vice-presidents are Olivier Balthazard, an industrialist; Guy Desseaux, an Air France captain, both property owners in Méribel; and the mayor of Les Allues, Alphonse Borgey.
The general secretary is Henry Mauduit, a shopkeeper (father of our future world ski champion, Georges Mauduit).
The treasurer is André Gacon, the first taxi-ambulance driver in Méribel.
And let's not forget the founding members:
André Tournier, the resort's technical director (who was responsible for the ski run) René Beckert, president of the Tourist Office (a former champion who was part of the first French national ski team) Eugène Front, the valley's entrepreneur Gaston Chamonal, president of the Hotel Association (founding owner of the Hôtel Grand Coeur) Dr. Lebel, a surgeon in Paris Fernand Stachetti, director of the French Ski School (ESF)
All of them actively (and financially…) participated in the establishment of the ACM.
As early as 1965, Nano launched a fundraising campaign to purchase its first aircraft (a Rallye Commodore, F-BLSS). All the members of the Allvetains club contributed. In return, they received free flight vouchers. However, many never used their allocated hours. Friendship was priceless in those pioneering days, and mutual support was a way of life!
Unfortunately, it turned out that this aircraft was not suitable for snow. The winter following its purchase, equipped with skis, it did not perform well. During testing at the Grand Motte glacier, it ended up at the edge of a crevasse! A rented Piper PA18 allowed them to discover, during that first winter, that it was the ideal aircraft for mountain flying.
After several trials, the flying club's fleet was based on two types of aircraft: the Mousquetaire and the PA18, both of which proved entirely satisfactory. The ACM owned several of these aircraft, the last "survivor" from that bygone era being the Jodel D140 F-BOPK, purchased new in 1968!
The aircraft are all red… to make them easy to spot in the snow. The ACM has owned up to five aircraft. Today, it owns three Jodel D140s.