What do you do when your club isn't dedicated anymore!!

[The Dirt Doctor]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RobertV
	Alan, one thing you can do is drive about an hour south of Roanoke Rapids and FLY THE RDRC TRAVELLING CIRCUS!

Our club has the exact same problem that plagues most clubs -apathy!! Like one of you said above, folkes don't like change. There is a rather small group of retire guys that don't even like computers and voted to kill our club website because THEY never looked at it!!

The thing that I see with the big planes, IMAC and Flying Giants is that we (I fly a 35% AW Yak) are the movers and shakers in most clubs. We stay out front of the pack always looking for better equipment etc., a lot of us are go-getters and young at heart. I decided a few years ago to ignore the negative attitudes and do my thing whether they like it or not (some like to watch but most are scared of the big planes and won't fly at the same time that I do). Too bad, because there is a lot of sky up there and I sure don't risk my bird down close to the ground!!

Anyway, hang in there and keep chuging away. OR, if you find a better field within a resonable distance from you, join that club and don't look back.

Bobby

[bodywerks]

I think or club holds the record for number of circles flown without so much as a roll in between! That's fine, but today's prospective pilots that might wonder over to our field to watch will quickly lose interest in watching a plane fly in circles - I know I do!
About 80% of the membership is over 60 and about 5% is under 35. Right now, it is the older crowd that runs the show, and that's fine, too - what worries me is what may happen when they pass on...
I am relatively new to the club and don't have much say in what goes on, nor should I. I believe in earning respect and that always takes time. But for now, we have the west-enders and the east-enders at our field. It's like two different clubs flying at the same field! It isn't warbirds vs. aerobatics, really - it's just a different attitude on each side, it seems. Hard to explain...
I am mostly on the east end, myself, but I try to make my way over to the west side from time to time. I try to avoid the drama...

[SuperDave]

This is a situation that is so universal you could write a book on it. My choice was to ditch the club I was in and just go to a public field and fly there. Some may not have the choice, but I would rather drive an hour to a field then ten minutes to fly in the company of the few grumpy butt wipes at the KAFB RC Club. I'm not afraid to call them out... the few just plain ruin that club. Irony is... the grumpiest don't even fly!!! But, I digress. Try to find a new field if you can. This is supposed to be fun, and if you are miserably beating your head against the wall you have to do something.

[flying skunks]

This is what I did,1- become an officer in the club,2- do not degrade the SC of the club,"Adopt a Senior Citizen " ,3- introduce them into the world of Hucking by inviting people over to throw donw and have fun.Most importantly is to get the younger generation involved.You would be supprised to how well the SC will accept watching a young child getting involved and learning.
Donnie

[FireFighterFSFD]

hey man this is my story my club was the sam way just not that bad yet. i jumped in and starte to help get more pilots to visit and put on some more funflys.. no i am the vice president and like you i am only 26 and 99% of the club members are retired. now we have a huge turn out at every meeting and every fly in. my self and brad the pres had put some of are own money in it to get a better turn out at the fly in's and this is a good example. the last one the landing fee was 10 dollars. that included pizza (all you can eat all afternoon) and bbq all afternoon the next day. man it was awesome we had salads bbq pizza drinks (also free) and well lots of food. for breakfest i also bought mcdonalds for the campers and the drinks for you know after hours. any way icould go on but now because of that we have got a nice bank acount going and it seems that every fly in i go to people ask me when the next fly-in is. let me tell you man it may take work and it might even take a little of your own money but it is well worth it. i know have a great time every time i go out there and there is always people flying



good luck man i hope it pans out for you

[Stu_D]

This is an interesting topic of club apathy and self interest . I have been a member
of up to four clubs at the one time in my city and have got to see this in all its
forms .

I think the common theme in declining clubs is a poor committee which lacks
direction . I have seen clubs bang on about having noise complaints and we have
to bann certain planes , only to find out later that there was no such cpmplaint .
Very petty stuff but they club will pay in the end with members leaving in droves as you have found with your own club .

I ended up at a club where I found like minded people who were only interested
in one thing , flying . The local IMAC guys got on to this club and now on any
Sunday its pretty much giant scale only and we fly one plane at a time . No one
talks about the fact that the club house is C R A P in there is no power and if you
need to go to the loo its a 10 min drive down the road .

If leaving the club is not an option then get like minded people to join the club .
Adertise on the giants that you are having a bit of a get together of giant scale
planes at your club . We did this and ended with over 15 IMAC guys on the one day .

best of luck with it all

Stu

[DoubleA]

Guys this information is being taken in and going to be put to use!! You guys really sound like you have pulled through alot!! The support from you guys is appreciated!! keep it coming!! Looks like I might have started a real subject here!! The way you guys make it sound I will be doing a whole lotta this

[DoubleA]

	Quote: Originally Posted by 50%plane
	Sweet! I travel to VA frequently. In fact I'm going up there this weekend. Do you have a club website? If you'r not to far off the beaten path(I-95), I'll try to stop by on Sunday on my way back to Goldsboro. Let me get some motor work done on my Kaos and that'll probably get the old timers jummpin for joy.... at least until I take off like THIS While screaming at the top of my lungs SNAP-A-SAURUS BAD ASS!!!(ok, maybe not, I don't want you to get kicked out for having me as a guest) 50%

hell no I want you to do it!! and to let you know the field is not very far off of I-95 at all!!! Maybe a football field!! My email addy is yellorx7@earthlink.net let me know and I will be out there!! I am trying to get somemore planes together now!! like I said I am in between planes!! where do you go in VA??

[tec]

	Quote: Originally Posted by AArthur
	hell no I want you to do it!! and to let you know the field is not very far off of I-95 at all!!! Maybe a football field!! My email addy is yellorx7@earthlink.net let me know and I will be out there!! I am trying to get somemore planes together now!! like I said I am in between planes!! where do you go in VA??

50%, our field is about a 1/4 mile off 95. We could use more cool huckers out there, It's getting pretty lame being the only guy flying on a beautiful sunday day.

Alen, your pretty fired up about changing the club around! I half to admire you for that, I have to many fires to deal with owning a business to think about trying to save the club, I'll do whatever I can to help. Maybe we can sneek into office and ban all the circle flyers J/K of course.

[tec]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RobertV
	Alan, one thing you can do is drive about an hour south of Roanoke Rapids and FLY THE RDRC TRAVELLING CIRCUS!

Vess, yes we love you guy's!

show us some circus love get up here, huck and go home. (after dinner of course)

[DoubleA]

	Quote: Originally Posted by tec
	Vess, yes we love you guy's! show us some circus love get up here, huck and go home. (after dinner of course)

I understand!! No prob!! I just hope there is some way that I can really pull something off!! I don't mind putting some of my own money in just as long as I get at least a small return!!

oops wrong quote!!

[DoubleA]

	Quote: Originally Posted by bodywerks
	I think or club holds the record for number of circles flown without so much as a roll in between! That's fine, but today's prospective pilots that might wonder over to our field to watch will quickly lose interest in watching a plane fly in circles - I know I do! About 80% of the membership is over 60 and about 5% is under 35. Right now, it is the older crowd that runs the show, and that's fine, too - what worries me is what may happen when they pass on... I am relatively new to the club and don't have much say in what goes on, nor should I. I believe in earning respect and that always takes time. But for now, we have the west-enders and the east-enders at our field. It's like two different clubs flying at the same field! It isn't warbirds vs. aerobatics, really - it's just a different attitude on each side, it seems. Hard to explain... I am mostly on the east end, myself, but I try to make my way over to the west side from time to time. I try to avoid the drama...

I like the way you worded that!! I can agree with you too!! I think we may have one of the only clubs that is 40 plus strong but may only see a total of 4 or 5 per weekend!! out of that 4 or 5 we might have 2 actually put something in the air!!