Members can be jerks.

[Bat Fastard]

Talk about a-holes, I was kicked out of the local flying club by the safety officer. He told an outright LIE (that I was flying BEHIND the flight line). He said that he got 3 calls from members that I broke one of the club rules and recommened my dismissal. His comments were written in my goodbye letter from the club president. Here's how the whole thing went about.

When I got to the flying field I had a new airplane, CG Pitts S-12. It had a g-26 with a Bisson inverted muffler. After the first flight, the club president came over and told me that it was too loud and not to fly it again till I had a new, Quieter muffler installed. I asked "How much is to loud?" Because the club safety officer has an Aeroworks 35% Edge with a BME 102 on stock mufflers and he is allowed to fly his plane without contest. The only thing I was told by the club president was that it needed to be quieter.

So, I waited until almost everyone had left and flew the CG Pitts again. I completed 3 good flights (all of which was to find the right tune for the engine). I then talked to the 3-4 guys that were there and called it a day and went home.

A few days later, I recieved a letter saying that MY MEMBERSHIP WAS REVOKED. The reason was that the club safety officer observed me flying behind the flightline. I thought he had left hours before? Only to find out that he HAD left but was hiding behind some trees at the end of the road. Those trees were at least 1/2 mile BEHIND the flight line. How he thought I was flying behind the flight line is beyond me.

After contacting the club president, I was totally disheartened by his comments. I asked if he would interview the people that said I was flying BEHIND the flightline and he said it wasn't needed, he said Claude's (the safety officer)comments were all that was needed. He wouldn't listen to anything I had to say about the OFFICIAL reason that I was removed from the club because he said that He told me not to fly the plane until I had an alternate muffler. BTW there was NO DB meter at the site. After trying to convence him that the 33%er with stock mufflers was much louder than mine, I started feeling the vibe of his comments. Only to find out later that he (the club president) was pretty much told what to do by the safety officer. (BTW I asked the 3 club members that were there if they reported me to the safety officer and they all said a resounding NO.) The man has NO spine.

As an interesting side note, I feel it is worth stating that the glorious club safety officer, earlier in the day, was flying a Weston UK Magnum (150mph+) and flew BEHIND the flight line SEVERAL times in the presence of the president of the club and numerous members, before crash landing. I made a joking statement about flying behind the flightline after his flight and got a beligerent statement immedeantly. I then ceased the conversation. (THIS caused the rift in the first place)

This just goes to show you how some clubs operate. I wish all the new pilots luck that fly at Hanover RC in VA.

If you dont want to play politics, dont join Hanover RC in Va. If you just wanna fly and have a good time, go elsewhere.

Just my .02

Also, I welcome other comments from Hanover RC club members if they see my interpretation as anything but the truth.

[Mike c.]

Dude that sucks, what a bunch of jerks! I wouldn't want to be in that club because of the safety officer!

[wizard]

Unfortunately, anytime you have a group of people there will be a few that seem to always cause problems. You will see it everywhere, the work place, clubs, events, you name it they are going to be there.

How you handle it depends on the situation. If possible, just distance yourself from the trouble makers. Many times that isn't possible. Just deal with them with respect, even if they don't deserve it. One of the saying that I always remember..."Tact is the ability to tell someone to kiss you a$s and have them thank you for the opportunity!"

[Jaybird]

Thats the great thing about flying outlaw! I have 5 or 6 club fields within an hour drive but usually dont go there unless someone calls me for help with a new plane. This year I didn't even renew my club membership. I only keep AMA for fly-ins. I realize that everyone doesnt have this option though.

[Stinger1]

This has got to be the most interesting thread I've read in a while . For the most part everyone who replied is correct . Yes, in any group of people you'll find those that are disagreeable and yes you'll find entire clubs that are disagreeable . There are closed minded individuals in any organization . The only way this will change is from within . They can't be told , they must be shown . Personally we had a group of guys ( affectionally known as " the Grumpy Old Men " ) who when we got a new club field resigned enmass . Damn we'll miss them but it appears that we have a better club for it . Little harsh but , oh well .

[RollingHarrier]

If you know a lawyer have him/her send them a letter threatening a lawsuit. That will get their attention. The clubs I belong to have bylaws that at least give you a chance to express your side of it and it takes a membership vote to get you out.
Seems like a tyranny to me.

	Quote: Originally Posted by Bat Fastard
	Talk about a-holes, I was kicked out of the local flying club by the safety officer. He told an outright LIE (that I was flying BEHIND the flight line). He said that he got 3 calls from members that I broke one of the club rules and recommened my dismissal. His comments were written in my goodbye letter from the club president. Here's how the whole thing went about. When I got to the flying field I had a new airplane, CG Pitts S-12. It had a g-26 with a Bisson inverted muffler. After the first flight, the club president came over and told me that it was too loud and not to fly it again till I had a new, Quieter muffler installed. I asked "How much is to loud?" Because the club safety officer has an Aeroworks 35% Edge with a BME 102 on stock mufflers and he is allowed to fly his plane without contest. The only thing I was told by the club president was that it needed to be quieter. So, I waited until almost everyone had left and flew the CG Pitts again. I completed 3 good flights (all of which was to find the right tune for the engine). I then talked to the 3-4 guys that were there and called it a day and went home. A few days later, I recieved a letter saying that MY MEMBERSHIP WAS REVOKED. The reason was that the club safety officer observed me flying behind the flightline. I thought he had left hours before? Only to find out that he HAD left but was hiding behind some trees at the end of the road. Those trees were at least 1/2 mile BEHIND the flight line. How he thought I was flying behind the flight line is beyond me. After contacting the club president, I was totally disheartened by his comments. I asked if he would interview the people that said I was flying BEHIND the flightline and he said it wasn't needed, he said Claude's (the safety officer)comments were all that was needed. He wouldn't listen to anything I had to say about the OFFICIAL reason that I was removed from the club because he said that He told me not to fly the plane until I had an alternate muffler. BTW there was NO DB meter at the site. After trying to convence him that the 33%er with stock mufflers was much louder than mine, I started feeling the vibe of his comments. Only to find out later that he (the club president) was pretty much told what to do by the safety officer. (BTW I asked the 3 club members that were there if they reported me to the safety officer and they all said a resounding NO.) The man has NO spine. As an interesting side note, I feel it is worth stating that the glorious club safety officer, earlier in the day, was flying a Weston UK Magnum (150mph+) and flew BEHIND the flight line SEVERAL times in the presence of the president of the club and numerous members, before crash landing. I made a joking statement about flying behind the flightline after his flight and got a beligerent statement immedeantly. I then ceased the conversation. (THIS caused the rift in the first place) This just goes to show you how some clubs operate. I wish all the new pilots luck that fly at Hanover RC in VA. If you dont want to play politics, dont join Hanover RC in Va. If you just wanna fly and have a good time, go elsewhere. Just my .02 Also, I welcome other comments from Hanover RC club members if they see my interpretation as anything but the truth.

[whirlyspud]

We had a guy very similar to many of those mentioned in this post. Worst part of the whole deal was that he was also an AMA Associate VP. Thank god he moved away.

Mike

[Dan J]

I think it's awesome the way you guys are responding to these people being idiots! I think we have all run into these people at one time or another, if you haven't give it a little time you will. The way you respond is key, some places you have to walk away from. I'm really sorry to here about Bat fastard's deal that truely SUCKS!
I have my stories too, exept my response was not near as kind as yours. I'm trying to learn from this thread thanks for shareing your stories. Dan

[Dangerous Dan]

I was thinking about this topic the other day. I think a lot of it depends on the age of the club and the club size.

A very small(new) club usually don't have problems, because not many people are flying at the same time and their primary goal is to attract new members. A very large club usually don't have problems, because there is enough members to seperate into distinctive "clicks". Go to a large field on a Saturday and you will see helicopter pilots space giant scale space scale warbirds space sport flyers space electric flyers. It is almost like 4 or 5 clubs in one. It is the medium sized clubs that have been around a while that suffers issues. I belong to a great club "Texoma RC Modelers", we have been around a while(30+) and are medium/large. We lease the land so only members and AMA carying guests can fly(2 times per year).

If I ever moved I would scope out all the fields within 100 mile range and join the one that was the best fit.

[whirlyspud]

I'm lucky in that most of the places I fly at now are public flying fields. There are a few clubs, but you do not have to be a member, and they have no right to say anything as long as you follow the posted rules. Years ago a few members of one of the clubs tried to tell me I could not fly my helicopters there. I tried to be nice about it, but to me being nice about it did not include me not flying. They made a stink, and the governing body for the field to them to pound sand after I had to call them. Like many have said. There is always one, and chances are if you live in a major city, more.

I have not been a member of any club for about the last 10 or 15 years. I like it that way. Last club I was in got to be a real joke. They did not like a certain pilot that was better than most of us at the time, so they made a rule that there were to be no low inverted passes. So we all started doing low KE passes. Guess what the next rule they came up with was? This went on for a while until pretty much everyone was fed up with all the bs and the group in charge was voted out.

Another bright idea they had was to make every Saturday a "pattern practice day" There were 3 or 4 hard core pattern guys and somehow they fealt that they should have exclusive use because they needed the time to practice. Alot of guys got pissed over that one. It didnt piss me off one bit, I just grabbed my plane and went out flying. I work all week, and Saturday was the only free time I could get. When I was told that I could not fly because it was pattern day I told them I was flying pattern, but I was just not very good at it. We got that rule changed pretty fast, but by that time I had lost my patience to deal with such morons on a regular basis.

I also had a group tell me I could not fly one day at a public field here because a well known pilot was going to be putting in some flights to get ready for the TOC. I will not name names, but the pilot was/is very well known, and he also manufactures kits. The funny part was that it was his kronies telling me that I could not fly. When the pilot showed up, we got to talking a bit, and he even offered me a go at his 40% plane. He was a hell of a nice guy. Just his hanger on's were the weenies. The best part of it for me was it really seemed to set them off that I was offered some stick time when none of them ever received the same offer.

Mike

Edit. I forgot to add. There is a newer club at one of the fields I fly at. They have been doing some good things for the field, and I am tempted to join. So I'm not all anti- club.

[Dangerous Dan]

Although members can be jerks, I am a strong believer in joining/supporting AMA Santioned Clubs. It is the members that pay the dues, mow the fields, run the events, pay the bills, find the sights, cary out the trash, etc...etc...etc...

Some people are Jerks, for the most part club members are stand up guys. I can understand when member that has put time, money, blood, sweat, and tears into developing a field, gets annoyed at guests using their facility for free.

Public fields are nice for droping and flying ocasionaly, but if you fly once a week or more at a public field in my humble opinion you should join the club

[CSpaced]

I feel all of your pain. I was going to write up some of my experiences but I am sick of telling them. It just seems that if you do something other than fly warbirds or sport planes around in circles you are going to get some grief from someone at some point.