Gotta say... my first rant about FT.

[kdobson83]

Just another thought on this related to my last thought. Anyone remember the exact dollar amount FT raised for Edgewater? It's was like $200k+ going on $300k right? This was purely donations from the FT community to get the airpark open that came with perks. Couldn't FT have done this to keep the store owned by FT and not sell out to Amain? I would gladly have paid a bit more or even donated to keep the store FT only. I get they have their pride in all and don't Wana ask for donations but I'd MUCH rather support some FT employees with 100% of my purchase than the way it is now. Heck, call it a fund raiser to keep the FT store FT! I'd even add an additional donation to every purchase if I knew it went straight to the FT family.
Just a thought. I don't Wana see FT commercialize any more than anyone else and personally would be willing to donate to the cause. To be honest, I'd feel more part of the family as weird as that sounds.

 

[BridgeInspector]

For those who commented about supporting FT via Patreon like way. They do have such a method via YouTube now that they are starting to use.

https://www.youtube.com/user/flitetest/membership

 

[kdobson83]

For those who commented about supporting FT via Patreon like way. They do have such a method via YouTube now that they are starting to use.

https://www.youtube.com/user/flitetest/membership

Ok, let me clarify on that a bit. The subscription thing on YouTube is a good way for FT to make a little extra money. But they don't get the whole 4.99 people give. From what I've read, it hasn't been announced what percentage of the the $$ the creator actually receives but they aren't getting all of it. Other platforms that use this subscription tool only give HALF of it to the creator. So, half of my $5 is going to YouTube? I'm not saying YouTube takes 50% of it, but I am saying they are taking their cut. I would MUCH rather give $5 a month to FT if I knew 100% of it went straight to FT.
Not trying to sway people to not do the membership thing on YouTube, just pointing out that a large chunk of that $$ never even makes it to FT. Where as a donations tab on their site, or a fund raising tab on their site would 100% go to FT.

And final thought, if they have their pride like most of us men do, and they don't want to ask for money, at least give people a way to give without asking. Right now the free plans are kind of hard to find on the site itself. Why not make a tab on the website itself that has all the free plans organized and easily available with links to the build videos and what not, and add the donation tab their. The plans are still free, but have a tab where people could give a few $$ when they download the plans if they choose too. The plans are still free but there is a way we could give $$ in support of the free plans. I personally would gladly donate for every free plan I used. It would require a little effort on their part to organize and structure a new tab on their website but it would also be a source of income for them that goes STRAIGHT to FT and not split with other non FT companies like Amain or YouTube.

 

[Dante]

Ok, let me clarify on that a bit. The subscription thing on YouTube is a good way for FT to make a little extra money. But they don't get the whole 4.99 people give. From what I've read, it hasn't been announced what percentage of the the $$ the creator actually receives but they aren't getting all of it. Other platforms that use this subscription tool only give HALF of it to the creator. So, half of my $5 is going to YouTube? I'm not saying YouTube takes 50% of it, but I am saying they are taking their cut. I would MUCH rather give $5 a month to FT if I knew 100% of it went straight to FT.
Not trying to sway people to not do the membership thing on YouTube, just pointing out that a large chunk of that $$ never even makes it to FT. Where as a donations tab on their site, or a fund raising tab on their site would 100% go to FT.

And final thought, if they have their pride like most of us men do, and they don't want to ask for money, at least give people a way to give without asking. Right now the free plans are kind of hard to find on the site itself. Why not make a tab on the website itself that has all the free plans organized and easily available with links to the build videos and what not, and add the donation tab their. The plans are still free, but have a tab where people could give a few $$ when they download the plans if they choose too. The plans are still free but there is a way we could give $$ in support of the free plans. I personally would gladly donate for every free plan I used. It would require a little effort on their part to organize and structure a new tab on their website but it would also be a source of income for them that goes STRAIGHT to FT and not split with other non FT companies like Amain or YouTube.

I like this idea because ft has always given away free plans and I don't want them to stop, but after maybe 10 free plans I feel kinda guilty for taking advantage of their hard work. A donate button would work great!

 

[basslord1124]

I'm in the same boat as many here, in that if I hadn't found FT, I would not be flying RC planes. The truth is that this hobby has a steep learning curve, and without the cheap, disposable airframes and durable electronics that FT champions many many people would become discouraged when they smash a $200 airframe. I know because I would be one of them.

This is VERY true especially for me. I had actually been getting back into RC planes again maybe a year or so before discovering Flitetest. At that stage I had already shelled out a good bit for some RTF planes/parts in my "learning phase" where crashes did occur as one would expect. Then once I started discovering FT I realized I could still learn and enjoy the hobby on the cheap. And right now with everything in my life, our new daughter, etc...anything I can do to save money is worth it.

 

[basslord1124]

Also, you know one of the coolest things I have seen out of Flitetest in recent years (aside from the flying tank)....

The fact that they did a cool review of the STRIX Nano Goblin and then shortly after, release a much cheaper DIY foamboard version.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Fred...

Thank you Fred for the years you have personally spent to give us a clean, free, family friendly place to build, fly, crash, rant and repeat.

I don't own a cell phone. Never have. I have never been to Facebook or Twitter or MySpace or Google+. I have never been to these places for the same reasons I don't smoke crack. I have seen people who do, and I want NO part of it.

While I do spend a HUGE amount of time on the internet (Stack Overflow!), FliteTest is my ONLY social media where I will type a word or be visible in any way and that is because of Fred and Chad and the environment they created here.

I got into FliteTest because of the BatBone Tricopter video. I stayed because of these forums.


To me, these forums ARE FliteTest.

EDIT: To be clear. I do not dislike people who use Facebook or crack. I know both. I dislike what Facebook and crack do to people. Thanks @Chuppster. I should have been more clear.

 

[Chuppster]

I would like to interject about Facebook. I check my FB from time to time, and it can be a good and helpful thing. I acknowledge that it's a genuine problem for some people but that's on them.

I would like to encourage people to look at everyone else in this hobby as a brother/sister in flite. If you fly foamies and they fly giant scale, they can still be your friend. If you fly racing quads and they fly ARF's, they are still participating in this wonderful hobby. If you interact on the forum and they prefer Facebook, they are still your friend in the hobby. Just because you are jealous that Facebook has more users and attention doesn't mean that FB is evil or bad or anything else. It's your choice to not use the platform, and you can have your reasons, but PLEASE don't look at the people who do as "other" or "inferior". That divides this group and we should be sticking together, marveling at what we can accomplish. FliteTest is a group, not a hobby. If FliteTest goes away the hobby will endure. People have been building foamies since before FT came about. It just so happens that FT was able to harness the art and market it in a way that is very helpful and very cool.

My two cents on the videos, I do miss having a director. If they went back to a weekly schedule with content that's more engaging for people in a wide experience level in the hobby (rather than just for beginners) I would be thrilled. I miss the polished, will thought-out early episodes. I find it sad that all the episodes I can actually remember (and want to re-watch) were produced by Chad (and I joined WAAAY after he left FT, about a year ago). But we have to remember that we are entitled to nothing, that FliteTest is providing all these things to us for free, and if we don't like it we can always stop watching. If I were in charge of FT I would want to make videos that got a lot of exposure, and I imagine that's exactly what FT is doing.

 

[kdobson83]

I would like to interject about Facebook. I check my FB from time to time, and it can be a good and helpful thing. I acknowledge that it's a genuine problem for some people but that's on them.

I would like to encourage people to look at everyone else in this hobby as a brother/sister in flite. If you fly foamies and they fly giant scale, they can still be your friend. If you fly racing quads and they fly ARF's, they are still participating in this wonderful hobby. If you interact on the forum and they prefer Facebook, they are still your friend in the hobby. Just because you are jealous that Facebook has more users and attention doesn't mean that FB is evil or bad or anything else. It's your choice to not use the platform, and you can have your reasons, but PLEASE don't look at the people who do as "other" or "inferior". That divides this group and we should be sticking together, marveling at what we can accomplish. FliteTest is a group, not a hobby. If FliteTest goes away the hobby will endure. People have been building foamies since before FT came about. It just so happens that FT was able to harness the art and market it in a way that is very helpful and very cool.

My two cents on the videos, I do miss having a director. If they went back to a weekly schedule with content that's more engaging for people in a wide experience level in the hobby (rather than just for beginners) I would be thrilled. I miss the polished, will thought-out early episodes. I find it sad that all the episodes I can actually remember (and want to re-watch) were produced by Chad (and I joined WAAAY after he left FT, about a year ago). But we have to remember that we are entitled to nothing, that FliteTest is providing all these things to us for free, and if we don't like it we can always stop watching. If I were in charge of FT I would want to make videos that got a lot of exposure, and I imagine that's exactly what FT is doing.

Can I play devil's advocate here for a second? I dont think people are complaining about Facebook or FT's use of Facebook. What I think people are complaining about is that FT releases news and behind the scenes stuff only on Facebook or Instagram or Periscope and they neglect the forums and their own website with this info/content. I for one hate social media but love FT, their forums, and most of FT related stuff, like most everyone else here. Heck, this thread wouldn't even be a thing if it weren't for people's love of the hobby and FT. I think their complaint here is that FT is leaning too much on Facebook and what not to release their stuff when a HUGE portion of the extended FT family doesn't even use Facebook or those media forms but DO use the official FT forums and website. They feel left out. Heck, FF this year hadnt been officially announced for dates and what not on their own website or forums but they posted about it on FB. I had to follow links in this forum to an obscure FB post to confirm dates for FF this year.
Anyway, I think an easy thing FT could do to rectify this issue of social networks and such would be to add a news section to their website. When ever something is posted on FB it should be posted on their site as well. Basically giving people that don't use social media the same info as the people that do. I for one don't use social media and feel like I miss out on a lot of official FT stuff because of it...

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Anyway, I think an easy thing FT could do to rectify this issue of social networks and such would be to add a news section to their website. When ever something is posted on FB it should be posted on their site as well. Basically giving people that don't use social media the same info as the people that do. I for one don't use social media and feel like I miss out on a lot of official FT stuff because of it...

I like this idea... I'll run it by Robert who does the IT side of things.

 

[mrjdstewart]

yup, i always questioned why they use FB when they have a perfectly good forum that they control every aspect of. why force people to go to a 3rd party who has a questionable history with personal info? i flat out refuse to register at FB, never have never will, so i agree it has a way of giving the perception that we are not as important.

me

 

[SlingShot]

... when a HUGE portion of the extended FT family doesn't even use Facebook or those media forms but DO use the official FT forums and website

I like your sentiment Krusty, but I reject the premise above. I think the data indicate that the majority of the FT people are not to be found on the forum. As someone else implied, Forum old school. Social media new school. Uhg.

 

[kdobson83]

I like your sentiment Krusty, but I reject the premise above. I think the data indicate that the majority of the FT people are not to be found on the forum. As someone else implied, Forum old school. Social media new school. Uhg.

Woah there, I never said majority. I said large portion. I would agree that the majority DO use social media like Facebook. I was simply pointing out that there is a chunk of FT fans including myself that miss out on news and non regular video official FT news because we don't use social media. Simple fix would be to post on a FT news tab on their website the exact same thing they post on their social media. Simple copy/past.

None of this is life or death for me. I usually find out all I want to know in these forums but only after asking or digging around for it. I just wanted to add my 2 cents to the topic and maybe provide some solutions/ideas to the voiced concerns by the community.

 

[Mad_Mechanic]

Anyway, I think an easy thing FT could do to rectify this issue of social networks and such would be to add a news section to their website. When ever something is posted on FB it should be posted on their site as well. Basically giving people that don't use social media the same info as the people that do. I for one don't use social media and feel like I miss out on a lot of official FT stuff because of it...

This, very much this! A news section on their website sounds like a great idea!

 

[Captain Video]

I Second this suggestion! I also avoid Fb like the plague. I would welcome the addition to the forum!

 

[fliteadmin]

Love the ideas brought in this thread, I believe you know we depend heavily on our community input in many important aspects, as we did from the beginning.

I believe these platforms have their own strengths but more importantly serve their own purposes. I for one prefer the organized structure of a forum when I do research for a project or seek detailed information on a topic, but I could also look up a social platform if I was interested in instant updates in regards to ongoing events or react and interact with members on the latest developments. That said, both can be used for either reasons just fine, and we hope to do our best to provide platforms for everyone to interact and participate in any manner they prefer. We heard your request for a news section, and I believe we have everything we need to make that happen.

Thank you so much for your sincere and valuable feedback, I hope this and other threads continue to expose more ideas to the community, and also feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions or concerns at any time as well.

All the best,
Robert

 

[sprzout]

Wow. I'm beginning to feel guilty on the only parts of the rant that I feel are relevant to me.

I've felt like FT's forums are the one place where I really and truly "check myself before I wreck myself". I've had moments which have been frustrating with some forum users, but I've managed to bite my tongue and back off and be better for it, and come to realize that they're not the people I was negatively perceiving them to be.

I've seen things on FT that have irked me, things that I felt were devolving into "fanboy" threads (i.e., Ford Vs. Chevy, Android vs. Apple, FrSky vs. Spektrum LOL) but somehow, I see the people here managing not to bash on others. How, or why? I'm not going to question it. I'm just glad I haven't seen it here, because we've managed to be civil.

For that, I'm glad.

Now, all of that said, I'm going to throw my ire into the mix for Amain taking over with their partnership of the FT store. I did 2 Maker Faires last year, and bought some chuck gliders through the store. An assortment of these gliders - they were a Viggen, F22, Spitfire, and Cub - were perhaps the best things out there for advertising Flite Test AND for bringing people in to clubs. Kids got a way to see how to build some gliders that actually LOOKED like real planes, flew well, and were a lot of fun!

Amain doesn't carry it. I've asked about them, written to them, and gotten confused comments from them. But if I go to the Business to Business portion of FT, I can still find them. I'm just hoping that they're still going to be available later this year, because our club is going to be buying them and building them again for our Mini Maker Faire over Father's Day Weekend and during the San Diego Maker Faire in Balboa Park, since they were so popular last year.

I know these chuck gliders aren't much to some of the FT crew, but our club and others around San Diego saw an influx of people with LOTS and LOTS of interest when we handed kids a glider and said, "Now, imagine making something a little bigger, with a motor and radio controls, out of the same material." It's a gateway drug into the hobby, LOL. But these kids (and their parents) were so jazzed that they could MAKE these planes with their kids, out of materials that they could get from the local Dollar Tree, or even ordering from Flite Test if they so wished. My point on this is that if we can't get the store to carry items that will help us bring in more for them, how are we expected to really do more and be the heart, brains, kidneys and gallbladder of the community? (there are days when I feel like the appendix, let me tell ya)

I've not really seen the smiles and enjoyment as of late in the forums. I don't know if it's just because of the time of year, and people aren't getting out yet to go fly (I know our club has been trying, but the *expletive* *expletive* *DOUBLE EXPLETIVE* rain has trashed the road into our field), or if people simply aren't visiting the forums as much because of social media, but I miss it. Maybe it's us, and we need to bring it back. Maybe we just are at a lull. I hope that's all it is.

So, my whole adding of a rant to this rant boils down to:

1) Thanks, everyone for being civil, not bashing on others, and throttling back; it's helped me to do the same:

2) AMain, you guys need to step up and start offering more of the cheap FT chuck glider kits for sale.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

or if people simply aren't visiting the forums as much because of social media, but I miss it. Maybe it's us, and we need to bring it back. Maybe we just are at a lull. I hope that's all it is.

Heck, I'm guilty of this. Facebook is just super easy to access with my phone. It's quick and simple to navigate, and I can scroll through it in stolen moments at work.

When I get home, I find myself busy with other things (including customer support for Flite Test, not all of that has gone over to A Main), and lately haven't been as active with my Flite Test friends on Facebook, or the forums.

I've been trying to stay active on here. I have some ideas for threads to post, but just gotten the gumption up to create them. I can do super quick image or video updates through my phone to FB where it's just a little more effort to do it on the forum, and as I may have hinted at above, I've been busy (and lazy) lately.

 

[mayan]

The FT crew rarely interact with the forums anymore, which is disappointing.

I totaly agree with this. I believe that FT hasn’t lost its path and that Bix wanting to build Edge water air park is really all about creating moments which is what FT is for me.

I too miss the older type content where the whole crew worked on projects together. I personally tend to like the project videos those make you think creatively out of the box and see how anything is possible.

Having worked in online marketing I hate ads but know to live with them, knowing what effect they have on being able to create content without spending money on resources.

I just wish the FT Crew came more active on the forums. There are some very amazing people here and awesome builds that I feel like they are missing out on. Regardless a lot of very dedicated people here that could use a good word for being part of the FT family.

 

[buzzbomb]

I've not really seen the smiles and enjoyment as of late in the forums. I don't know if it's just because of the time of year, and people aren't getting out yet to go fly

You've not been on the right threads...

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...id-with-the-tiny-trainer-the-challenge.57560/

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ft-mini-scout-newbie-challenge.57186/

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/my-tiny-trainer-build.55683/page-11

Most of us are waiting for better weather. Some of us don't care! Still, smiles all around.