Lesson learned in frustration

Piotrsko

Master member
Cant tell you how many fields I used to fly in that got trashed then closed by noobies doing stupid stuff . Ok I can, 23. Even had a couple where the noobie violated posted rules then sued the club. Had a 200 acre city park closed to us because some A$$ with a quadcopter was chasing the dogs in the next field. I can see their point. I now fly solo
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Just found this thread and wanted to bring it back....

I live in south florida near the nascar homestead speedway. There are a bunch of fields and empty parking lots down here but they are owned by the racetrack so you cannot fly there. There is a flying club with a field just to one side of the track. It's called osprey flying club. I drive by there a lot just to watch some of the flying. I think they are all gassers. Never seen an electric. The entrance is hard to find and has a chain link fence but always looks locked even when people are flying. You also have to drive down a long gravel road to get to the field. I made it in a while back and didn't really receive a warm reception. I was mostly ignored until some old dude around 80 came up and asked if I was a member of the ama and that I needed to be to fly here. Then he said I also need to be member of their club. He was going off. Luckily a guy in probably his early 40's saved me. He kinda gave me a run down of the club but it just seemed like too much expense and trouble. Plus like what has been posted here, most members seemed to be over 65. I fly about a 1/2 mile away at an old baseball spring training camp. It has several active ball fields. I fly in a large open area near the parking lot. There are usually baseball or soccer games going on by I have my area to fly and no one cares. I think I'll just keep going to my park and flying for free.

PS. Just got a used Traxxas Nitro truck. Can't wait to get it running and take it to my "field".

The locked gate aspect is pretty standard with most clubs. Our club actually has a gate actuator and key card sensor (we have a few guys that are truly handicapped and wheelchair bound, and can't get out of their cars to unlock the gate) that we, per the land owner, must keep locked during the week. However, on the weekends, we can (and do) leave the gates open, so that newcomers can come in and check us out. :)

I'll admit that we do have, just like your club, some "sour apples". I tend to refer to them as the old guard - they're the stodgy types that think we all should be flying gassers, no electrics, and the young kids coming in with their drones? GIT OFFA MY LAWN! The good news is that not everyone is like that; we're actually coming along fairly well within this last year of building up club membership. We've had several members die off (unfortunately, they quite literally died; old age, lung cancer, heart attacks and renal failure) and so there's kind of a push to get new blood coming in. Some of the old guys feel that if a kid can't afford to pay for the AMA, plus a plane, plus the $200 annual fee, they don't belong there, and that's just not right, in my mind.

I understand your willingness to go fly out at your own "field", so to speak; there's a field down by my dad, where we have people flying planes and quads on a regular basis. The city has ok'd the area for recreational flight, but, honestly? I don't like flying there. There's no structure, there's no safety in case someone crashes and sets fire to the dry brush, and some of the guys have no respect whatsoever for cars in the parking lot - they think that they can just land there because it's paved and the dirt area is not. I think there's benefits to flying both with and without a club, but I think, overall, no matter what, people need some sort of structure for safety. If you can't follow the safety rules, or don't know them, you shouldn't be flying - ANYWHERE. A lot of the older guys in our club have seen accidents, people get cut up by props, etc., and tend to think of anyone younger than them as, well, "dumb and inexperienced", and don't want to mix with that, so it's easier to chase them off than let them fly. THAT, I think, is a travesty, but so be it.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Just a different approach, one we use here to get new members, (older children included. Firstly we introiduce them to flying using the buddy box system of instruction. Until they obtain insurance they are only allowed ot fly using a buddy box though this does not mean that the instructor need ever actually take control.

Once the person decides to join our club AND has purchased insurance we provide a suitable trainer plane, currently a locally scratch built Tiny Trainer which they can fit out to their own tastes and fly to their utmost abilities. Parts are freely available though it can take a little time when a number of crashes occur on the same day!

For those under 18 we require parental permission for them to buy the insurance and to join the club, (junior membership is only a nominal fee anyway). We offer instruction to anyone for free and even have free time where the youngsters, (must be under 90), can do their thing in free flying, (must stay over the flying field, and no deliberate attempts to harm other aircraft or persons - the only restrictions).

It actually works! Keeps it safe, and fun, for everyone. Anyone who does not like it can submit a written complaint to the committee membership, (submit by placing the written complaint in the litter bin which can be found in the pit area).

Just what works here!

Have fun!
 

slipshift

Active member
A local flying club had a fly-in, open to the public. Mostly old guys flying big gassers and when I mentioned FT foam planes they didn't want to talk anymore. Maybe they were just a bunch of friends that started a club and were't interested in new members, I can respect that.

Jim
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
A local flying club had a fly-in, open to the public. Mostly old guys flying big gassers and when I mentioned FT foam planes they didn't want to talk anymore. Maybe they were just a bunch of friends that started a club and were't interested in new members, I can respect that.

Jim

Seems unusual that they're snobby about the FT planes...It's funny, I mentioned it to my club and most of the guys were asking where I got the foam. Seems a lot of them used to build out of Depron, which is becoming increasingly difficult to find and isn't being made anymore, so some sort of alternative for them was awesome. :)
 

slipshift

Active member
Sounds like a friendlier club. A good example of snob was on the Aloft forum when a poster said he is on the FT forum but has to "hold his nose" when he is there. Each to his own.

Jim
 

FDS

Elite member
I think under 18’s subs and family membership should be rock bottom price. If more kids want to get involved in any past time or hobby then it will prosper, if you only take crusty old gits or middle aged big kids (I am happy to be one) and nobody else you won’t grow. If I can go somewhere with at least one of my kids and feel welcome I will spend time and money there. My nearest club is a long drive vs the nearest open space, so I have stayed local but we are looking at starting a drone racing league in town.
 

jaredstrees

Well-known member
The clubs around me all seem nice, but when it's nearly an hour to get there versus fly for free less than a mile from my house it's almost a no brainer. We're planning on moving soon, and I hope there is a club near where I end up (with nice members cause I'm not leaving my FT planes behind!). I'd love to be a part of one, but it has to make sense.
 

Captain Video

Well-known member
There is Dineen Field about fifteen minutes from my house. I have dropped in a couple times to chat. It seems nice enough but I am not certain how my FT stuff will be received. I do have a Radial XL 2.9m glider and a Cessna Carbon Z of comparable size which should lend me some credibility. My skills are still somewhat lackluster. I just may pull the trigger for the AMA fee and see how it goes but it is tough to beat FREE at the middle school large field five minutes away. I do not fly when people are around and have left when a single person was practicing his disc golf skills in my flight zone.(Bummer). I have trained my college age sons to follow the rules as well. I want them to enjoy the hobby but respect the hobby as well.
 

makattack

Winter is coming
Moderator
Mentor
I think under 18’s subs and family membership should be rock bottom price. If more kids want to get involved in any past time or hobby then it will prosper, if you only take crusty old gits or middle aged big kids (I am happy to be one) and nobody else you won’t grow. If I can go somewhere with at least one of my kids and feel welcome I will spend time and money there. My nearest club is a long drive vs the nearest open space, so I have stayed local but we are looking at starting a drone racing league in town.

Under 19 is actually free at a few clubs. It is for mine, and it was setup to match the AMA Free for U19 membership...
 
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sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Under 19 is actually free at a few clubs. It is for mine, and it was setup to match the AMA Free for U19 membership...

We charge for junior memberships, but it's only $20 for kids, and $15 for additional family. I pay $90/year for me and my dad to have memberships into my club (I volunteer for a lot of different things within the club and get a lot of the cost of my membership knocked off). We DO require everyone (kids, adults, seniors) to be AMA members, but free kids memberships help for a lot of the kids joining up now (which is something I need to remember as I do the Maker Faires that I've been doing, because a lot of people have been asking about family memberships and costs)
 
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slipshift

Active member
[QUOTE="jaredstrees, post: 455927, "it's nearly an hour to get there" [/QUOTE]

I'm jealous, here in the Ozarks it's 43 miles on windy, twisty roads to the nearest "local" club.
 

FastCrash45

Elite member
I really hate to complain about clubs and RC fields, because they're pretty much a vital necessity here in Southern California, where the stigma of RC aircraft of any kind is, "You're using it to spy on me!". Without the clubs and the designated fields allowing us to fly, it's hard to enjoy this hobby.

That said, I experienced a frustrating lesson in resistance to change from the "old guys" in a club the other night.

I attended a new club meeting where there was talk of new members joining up, and the club was going to offer to pay the AMA membership for the first year and offer a discounted rate for that first year, to get people in.

Why?

Because the average age of the club members, just looking around the room, was 65+. There are no kids getting involved with it, at least with that club.

So they took a vote for allowing this "new member pilot program" to go forward (the proposal was $150, which was AMA membership for a year, at $75, and club membership, which is discounted down from $200 to $75), and majority was for the new member program. But there was a surprising number of people who were against it, and when asked why, the responses ranged from, "We come out to get away from our kids," to the one that frustrated me the most, "If they can afford the plane and the transmitter and everything that goes with it, they can afford the membership."

I think that attitude is a BIG reason why we have so many pilots who are thumbing their noses at AMA rules and not wanting to join up in clubs. Parents invest in $700-$800 in a plane, transmitter, batteries, etc. to get their kid flying for the first time. For a lot of people, that's a fair chunk of change. Then you're told that you need to fork over another $75 to the AMA to be able to fly without a part 107 license, plus club membership fees to fly at a specific field. Wouldn't you want to know that ahead of time, say, as you're purchasing the quadcopter/Cessna/sailplane/warbird that you're wanting to help your kid learn to fly?

Plus, if a club is willing to help you get set up, explain the AMA membership benefits (and requirements to fly at their field), AND give you a discount for membership, along with the club perks (4th of July and Labor Day BBQs at the field, a section for fixed wing pilots and a separate field area for heli pilots, as well as a separate drone racing area, camping nights with night fly events, free flight training from club instructors, etc.), wouldn't that go a long way in making you feel more welcome than saying, "Well, you had money to buy a plane...Fork over more now to join us, because if you can afford the plane, you can afford to join the club."

I guess maybe I'm frustrated, and maybe it's just the "old guard" way of thinking, and maybe they need to take a back seat so that new members can feel welcome - a lot of maybes.

Anyone else experience this? And what have you done to change the minds of...well..."the old way" of thinking?
I agree whole heartedly!! Not only for younger kids who don't have much if any money, what about those that are on a fixed income? I live in an old farmhouse and the landlord has never raised the rent on me. I've lived here 17 years. I was disabled by a waterline cave in when I lived in Colorado. The only reason I'm back in this hobby is because I never got rid of any rc stuff and I found Flitetest airplanes. Luckily I don't have to join anything since I'm miles in the sticks. I couldn't afford it. I can afford planes from Flitetest that are $15-$40 but ONLY if I'm careful with money. Some people are given things as gifts bit are sitting around collecting dust because of the costs involved. The attitude you described is everywhere and getting worse. Give the new, young, retired, and the disabled a break!!!
 

FastCrash45

Elite member
I really hate to complain about clubs and RC fields, because they're pretty much a vital necessity here in Southern California, where the stigma of RC aircraft of any kind is, "You're using it to spy on me!". Without the clubs and the designated fields allowing us to fly, it's hard to enjoy this hobby.

That said, I experienced a frustrating lesson in resistance to change from the "old guys" in a club the other night.

I attended a new club meeting where there was talk of new members joining up, and the club was going to offer to pay the AMA membership for the first year and offer a discounted rate for that first year, to get people in.

Why?

Because the average age of the club members, just looking around the room, was 65+. There are no kids getting involved with it, at least with that club.

So they took a vote for allowing this "new member pilot program" to go forward (the proposal was $150, which was AMA membership for a year, at $75, and club membership, which is discounted down from $200 to $75), and majority was for the new member program. But there was a surprising number of people who were against it, and when asked why, the responses ranged from, "We come out to get away from our kids," to the one that frustrated me the most, "If they can afford the plane and the transmitter and everything that goes with it, they can afford the membership."

I think that attitude is a BIG reason why we have so many pilots who are thumbing their noses at AMA rules and not wanting to join up in clubs. Parents invest in $700-$800 in a plane, transmitter, batteries, etc. to get their kid flying for the first time. For a lot of people, that's a fair chunk of change. Then you're told that you need to fork over another $75 to the AMA to be able to fly without a part 107 license, plus club membership fees to fly at a specific field. Wouldn't you want to know that ahead of time, say, as you're purchasing the quadcopter/Cessna/sailplane/warbird that you're wanting to help your kid learn to fly?

Plus, if a club is willing to help you get set up, explain the AMA membership benefits (and requirements to fly at their field), AND give you a discount for membership, along with the club perks (4th of July and Labor Day BBQs at the field, a section for fixed wing pilots and a separate field area for heli pilots, as well as a separate drone racing area, camping nights with night fly events, free flight training from club instructors, etc.), wouldn't that go a long way in making you feel more welcome than saying, "Well, you had money to buy a plane...Fork over more now to join us, because if you can afford the plane, you can afford to join the club."

I guess maybe I'm frustrated, and maybe it's just the "old guard" way of thinking, and maybe they need to take a back seat so that new members can feel welcome - a lot of maybes.

Anyone else experience this? And what have you done to change the minds of...well..."the old way" of thinking?
Just so everyone knows I do follow AMA rules even here in the boondoggles
 

FastCrash45

Elite member
I
I really hate to complain about clubs and RC fields, because they're pretty much a vital necessity here in Southern California, where the stigma of RC aircraft of any kind is, "You're using it to spy on me!". Without the clubs and the designated fields allowing us to fly, it's hard to enjoy this hobby.

That said, I experienced a frustrating lesson in resistance to change from the "old guys" in a club the other night.

I attended a new club meeting where there was talk of new members joining up, and the club was going to offer to pay the AMA membership for the first year and offer a discounted rate for that first year, to get people in.

Why?

Because the average age of the club members, just looking around the room, was 65+. There are no kids getting involved with it, at least with that club.

So they took a vote for allowing this "new member pilot program" to go forward (the proposal was $150, which was AMA membership for a year, at $75, and club membership, which is discounted down from $200 to $75), and majority was for the new member program. But there was a surprising number of people who were against it, and when asked why, the responses ranged from, "We come out to get away from our kids," to the one that frustrated me the most, "If they can afford the plane and the transmitter and everything that goes with it, they can afford the membership."

I think that attitude is a BIG reason why we have so many pilots who are thumbing their noses at AMA rules and not wanting to join up in clubs. Parents invest in $700-$800 in a plane, transmitter, batteries, etc. to get their kid flying for the first time. For a lot of people, that's a fair chunk of change. Then you're told that you need to fork over another $75 to the AMA to be able to fly without a part 107 license, plus club membership fees to fly at a specific field. Wouldn't you want to know that ahead of time, say, as you're purchasing the quadcopter/Cessna/sailplane/warbird that you're wanting to help your kid learn to fly?

Plus, if a club is willing to help you get set up, explain the AMA membership benefits (and requirements to fly at their field), AND give you a discount for membership, along with the club perks (4th of July and Labor Day BBQs at the field, a section for fixed wing pilots and a separate field area for heli pilots, as well as a separate drone racing area, camping nights with night fly events, free flight training from club instructors, etc.), wouldn't that go a long way in making you feel more welcome than saying, "Well, you had money to buy a plane...Fork over more now to join us, because if you can afford the plane, you can afford to join the club."

I guess maybe I'm frustrated, and maybe it's just the "old guard" way of thinking, and maybe they need to take a back seat so that new members can feel welcome - a lot of maybes.

Anyone else experience this? And what have you done to change the minds of...well..."the old way" of thinking?
Was involved in a couple clubs in Colorado but when the leadership changed so did attitudes. You had to but their recommended planes and they HAD to look perfect!! No sport planes or scratch builds. ONLY scale planes. If it didn't look like the real thing you couldn't fly. Being a snob in this hobby is no way to grow the fun!
 

FastCrash45

Elite member
I think that's becoming quite the challenge for other clubs too. It is for ours too and a lot of our members are up in there in age as well. And between the old and the young the interests are so different...old guys want planes, young want drones. But we try and be appreciative and accommodating to all forms of RC...we are even in the process of adding a racetrack. It always has made me wonder what's going to happen when the younger folks are going to be more in charge of the club. Guess we shall see.
If it's radio controlled I'll want it. I own cars, a coaxial heli, a 24in boat that does 78mph, a new FT Mini Scout, and have owned motorcycles, tanks, and rockets. There is room for all with an open mind and basic common sense.
 

slipshift

Active member
It is a cool place to live, we are out of the way and aren't bothered by a lot of restrictions. I can't even describe the feeling of FREEDOM after coming from Illinois. The downside is all these plane eating trees.
 

makattack

Winter is coming
Moderator
Mentor
It is a cool place to live, we are out of the way and aren't bothered by a lot of restrictions. I can't even describe the feeling of FREEDOM after coming from Illinois. The downside is all these plane eating trees.

If you're anywhere near Ft Chaffee, AR which I believe is now fully demilitarized, and not fully developed yet, there's an old drop zone where we used to parachute into that would make a great RC flying site:

https://goo.gl/maps/y6h6gbgCgWk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Chaffee_Maneuver_Training_Center#History
 

FastCrash45

Elite member
It is a cool place to live, we are out of the way and aren't bothered by a lot of restrictions. I can't even describe the feeling of FREEDOM after coming from Illinois. The downside is all these plane eating trees.
I wouldn't mind dodging a few trees where I'm at. I'm the only wind break between 2 towns that are 22 miles apart with me almost exactly in the middle.😁😎