Analytics/Demographics of FT viewers

Prof_Lawry

New member
As a lover of data, I would like to see an episode discussing web analytics of FT viewers, particularly viewer age. This is important because the RC aviation hobby must attract a young audience to continue strong into the future. For example, on my own technical non-flight (CAD) videos, YouTube analytics show that the primary audience is 25-34 year-olds. But on a video showing an RC flight, the average viewers are 55-64 year-old males.

My expectation is that FT attracts a much younger crowd than does the AMA. But I would be curious to see a study of the age demographics vs topic. Which video topics attract the youngest viewing audience? One might guess that quadcopters and FPV attracts a younger audience than videos on warbirds.

It would also be interesting to see the global audience that FT attracts. This is important, because anything that unites us as people helps to make the world a more peaceful place. For example, my own technical instruction (CAD) videos are watched in 130 different countries and all US states. I typically get the most viewers from India, and a lot of interest from Europe, Mexico, and Turkey, and a surprising amount of interest in countries like Vietnam and Thailand. But on my (one) flight video, viewers are mainly from Ohio and California. Do developing countries have a thirst for technical knowledge, but little time or resources to pursue hobbies?

Youtube provides some great analytic tools to the video owner, and a study of this data can provide insight into understanding people. I would love to see a study of the global impact of FT.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Very interesting.

I would be a little concerned about a parallel experience I just saw in my local RC club.

Our annual spring auction just moved to a new location, and the turnout was low, and the spending of the people who did show up was low, and after payouts the club only netted a couple hundred dollars. And there was much gnashing of teeth, and discussions of ways to increase the average sale price, and get more bodies in the door, and attract people who would spend more. And the mood in the room got pensive, and irritable, and discouraged.

And then a voice spoke up and said 'wait a minute. the goal for the annual auction when it started was to offer members a place to clear out their basements and pick up some new projects'. And by those measures it was a success. But in the desire to analyze data about the performance of the auction, we lost that point for a while.

I would want to make sure that if FT does start doing deeper demographic analysis, and especially if they share that information with the wider community, that it is very carefully thought through to make sure the audience conversation doesn't get off (or start leading people off) in a direction different from the original goals.

That said, I'm still very interested in the data analysis. :)
 

chomlee

Junior Member
age group in rc flght

First off, I became an aerospace engineer because of my love of planes. When I was growing up in the 80s, there was alot of interest in rc planes from the younger generation. What I have seen recently is that the younger generation is more into quad copters than planes. Pretty sad that at 50 years old, I am the youngest person at our local rc club. The sad thing is that the young pilots would catch on extremely quick and become experts overnight simply because they have been spending 2-3 hours a day for the past 10 years with a PS4 or Xbox controller which when they use a transmitter feels natural.

Flite test on the other hand does offer some additional interest by showing how to build a plane for pennies which students love. It would be interesting to see the demographic at least to see how much different it is than my experience with RC clubs.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Flite test is a success because they make this all fun. From what I have seen in organized clubs it is usually existing members and their families with only a few new additions on occasion. This I see comes from like in all organized things the hierarchy running things the way they want and not relaxing what they do to suit a broader spectrum of people.

I understand the need for safety and organization but far to many times in any organized thing I see certain types of people go for the "Power and authority" portion of it more so then the meaning of a group to begin with. There are not many people who will stick around something they want to do for fun if there are people acting in an overbearing manor and keeping stress levels high.

If clubs want to raise participation in anything from flight line to meeting and fund raising they need to get out of that old school military type workings and start working on a more relaxed fun way to do things. It surely can be done as Flite Test is proving every time they do a video, and interview, and event. People only have so much disposable income and they wont be using it at a place where people are screaming at them or limiting their enjoyment with the money they can and do spend on their hobbies.
 

Swanno

New member
My expectation is that FT attracts a much younger crowd than does the AMA. But I would be curious to see a study of the age demographics vs topic. Which video topics attract the youngest viewing audience? One might guess that quadcopters and FPV attracts a younger audience than videos on warbirds.

(I'm in the 15-25 age bracket).

I would agree, I tend to gravitate to the Flite Test stuff more. I would also agree that quadcopters and FPV does have a larger allure to the younger audience. I do have a versa-copter but I also have a Bloody Baron, FT Mustang and a Mini Guinea. The only reason I fly my versa-copter more than my planes is that it is more convenient. I started flying planes with a cheap mode 1 Tx, I bought a second controller recently that is mode two and was attempting to transfer all my models to that remote even going to the extent of purchasing a extra receiver. The local hobby shop sold me the wrong model and I went in to order another while getting a refund for the first. After 6 weeks of waiting for the part that I ordered and they never got in to fly my FT Mustang, as I wanted to do so on a reliable Tx. I even bought full metal gear 9 gram servos for the plane... Due to this I have been flying a multi-rotor instead of my planes because I only have one receiver.

I put in the order two weeks before Easter...

I'm sure I would have a wall of planes if I had access to DTFB at a dollar a sheet but that is not the case here in Australia.

No easy clubs to get to around here either, I taught myself how to fly off Flite Test videos and my first 4 channel was the Bloody Baron.

You could start a poll and see what age brackets use the forum and what part of the hobby they are into if you wanted a idea of the age mix.
 
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