RCU Forums - View Single Post - What can the AMA do to recruit the under 30/park flyer group?
Old 01-15-2005, 07:13 PM
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abel_pranger
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Default RE: What can the AMA do to recruit the under 30/park flyer group?

[quote]ORIGINAL: bdavison

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I would have AMA members in every district get the Adopt-a-School program in high gear. This shouldnt be a problem because the person that does this will get a significant discount on their AMA membership as listed above. The AMA already has a program in which non-AMA members can be covered by the AMA insurance while learning how to fly, the only stipulation if I remember correctly is that they have to be instructed by an AMA Instructor.....which gets a discount for doing this.
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Bryan-
Lots of food for thought in your posts, but I think the parts I quoted relate to the efforts that would possibly yield the greatest return. In no small part this is because the guys in the education coordination group in AMA are some of the most enthusiastic and motivated people I've met in the organization, and IMHO that counts heavily in breeding success.
As for the instruction of non-AMA members, it doesn't work as well as it might, and not quite the way you remember it. I think you are referring to the Intro Pilot Program. The Intro pilot (instructor) does not get any incentive like a a discount on membership. What he gets is paperwork to maintain and submit to AMA after the enjoyable part of introducing a newbie to the hobby, and the club has to pay AMA for the privilege of designating Intro Pilot(s), on a per head basis. The period of operation of the program is 30 consecutive days. In an ideal world, like the Muncie monument, this may seem adequate or even generous, but in the real world, it doesn't work very well. Often the Intro Pilot has a job, family and other aspects of having a life that means he isn't available whenever the newbie is - and the newbie probably has a life too. In practice (BTDT, as an Intro Pilot), it is often not adequate to allow more that one or two sessions. Also, and perhaps more importantly, it ignores the fact that model airplane flying is largely a social function for many of us. Most people that show at a model flying venue aren't barefoot pilgrims that appear out of nowhere - they are friends, family members and associates of somebody that is in the club. The host doesn't really want to turn his guest over to a stranger for a go at the model flying experience - he wants to be involved himself. AMA policy that applies to what the host and his guest really prefer is the one-time-only buddy box flight. This policy is completely arbitrary, and has no purpose other than to rush the newbie into joing AMA and paying dues. It has no parallel in the rider-scale world of aviation. I know of no organization or agency that puts a limit on the number of times a 'guest pilot' can be at the controls while under the direct supervision of the pilot in charge, that can seize control at any time he desires or deems necessary. AMA should dump this restriction altogether - there is no good reason for the one-shot limit and it just projects AMA in the image of the "hungry salesman that doesn't sell." That rant over, I think the issue is a bit off topic. It's a general issue regarding newbies in any aspect of model flying, and we started out with a discussion of how to attract younger modelers and in particular those into 'parkflyer' type models. My observation is that many of these folks are already skilled pilots and builders, and at the very least seem to have demonstrated they are into aeromodeling for the long term. FWIW, it would probably be more productive for AMA to focus recruiting efforts on these guys, rather than limiting efforts to attract newbies with a general interest in aeromodeling, an effort that has been ongoing with mixed reviews as to results.

Abel