The Poop has hit the fan !
12-29-2018, 09:20 PM
#276
I can certainly understand that a club president needs to be more accommodating then that. I had the same situation happen to me at a local club. That didn't nessesarily turn me off from joining that club, it was when he and a few other members were joking about a murder suicide that happened 5 years ago following a different clubs meeting. However there are guys in that club that I like to hang out with and extend invitations to them when my club or a different club is having an event. Not all the apples on that tree are bad. Whenever you get a group of guys together there is going to be some friction. I don't let it get in the way of enjoying my day at the flying field.
12-29-2018, 09:38 PM
#277
Perhaps it is the contrast in approach that made me join the other club. Perhaps if I only had one choice in my area I would have joined and given the other one a chance. I'm not really sure to be honest with you. As I said I don't regret the choice I made. I don't have the time to really devote to two clubs. I have a hobby because I want to have something to enjoy doing. To me, life is too short to deal with unpleasant attitudes especially when there is another choice available.
I understand your points and I'm sure there are good people in each club, but the general welcoming attitude sure does go a long way and I have yet to meet anyone at the club that wasn't friendly and helpful.
I understand your points and I'm sure there are good people in each club, but the general welcoming attitude sure does go a long way and I have yet to meet anyone at the club that wasn't friendly and helpful.
12-30-2018, 03:06 AM
#278
So you are saying that the big box distributor that pushed cheap ARF models right into bankruptcy is the business model that should be followed? Take a closer look and you will see that in the last 5 years there have been a number of cottage type kit manufacturers spring up. Three of them alone are doing reproduction classic pattern kits. EBay is flooded with wood kits and judging by the prices they are in demand. For those who have Facebook there are dozens of groups centered around building R/C models. I would suggest visiting some AMA clubs to see what it actually being flown, your local hobby shop is not a good indicator as they are selling very little of what shows up at the flying fields. A good example is my own hobby room. Although somewhat a disaster, is there anything you see that came out of a hobby shop?
My points are that:
1) unless someone really wants to get involved with building and can find out how to contact any of the "cottage type manufacturers" you mentioned, they are going to go to someplace they can find something to fly. The easiest places are the LHSs that are still in business or online places like Tower Hobbies or Hobby King as they are the ones that are easiest to find.
2) with the present fixation on "instant gratification", most won't want to take the time to find a kit maker, order a kit, wait for it to arrive and then build it, knowing it will probably be scrap within a few flights while, with a foamie, it can be glued back together and flying within a short period of time
3) using my own area as a base line, I can be at any one of several school yards and two parks to fly a foamie/park flyer in less than 10 minutes while it will normally take me well over 30 minutes to get to the closest flying club. To go to the club meetings, it's 45 minutes to an hour to get to their meeting location. Since gas is well over $3 per gallon, I'm looking at maybe $2 round trip to any of the parks or school yards while I'm looking at between $8 and $10 to get to the flying club.
12-30-2018, 04:27 AM
#279
Banned
12-30-2018, 04:30 AM
#280
Banned
FAA registration was around 1,000,000 last I looked.
So just where do you think those 800,000 people go to fly?
12-30-2018, 06:03 AM
#281
Not quite sure how you take "you can speak to your heart's content..." and extrapolate something about peers. IMO, you're reading way too much into things. Please focus on the actual words and not any hidden (imagined) meanings.
12-30-2018, 08:11 AM
#284
I can see that you missed the point of my last post.
My points are that:
1) unless someone really wants to get involved with building and can find out how to contact any of the "cottage type manufacturers" you mentioned, they are going to go to someplace they can find something to fly. The easiest places are the LHSs that are still in business or online places like Tower Hobbies or Hobby King as they are the ones that are easiest to find.
2) with the present fixation on "instant gratification", most won't want to take the time to find a kit maker, order a kit, wait for it to arrive and then build it, knowing it will probably be scrap within a few flights while, with a foamie, it can be glued back together and flying within a short period of time
3) using my own area as a base line, I can be at any one of several school yards and two parks to fly a foamie/park flyer in less than 10 minutes while it will normally take me well over 30 minutes to get to the closest flying club. To go to the club meetings, it's 45 minutes to an hour to get to their meeting location. Since gas is well over $3 per gallon, I'm looking at maybe $2 round trip to any of the parks or school yards while I'm looking at between $8 and $10 to get to the flying club.
My points are that:
1) unless someone really wants to get involved with building and can find out how to contact any of the "cottage type manufacturers" you mentioned, they are going to go to someplace they can find something to fly. The easiest places are the LHSs that are still in business or online places like Tower Hobbies or Hobby King as they are the ones that are easiest to find.
2) with the present fixation on "instant gratification", most won't want to take the time to find a kit maker, order a kit, wait for it to arrive and then build it, knowing it will probably be scrap within a few flights while, with a foamie, it can be glued back together and flying within a short period of time
3) using my own area as a base line, I can be at any one of several school yards and two parks to fly a foamie/park flyer in less than 10 minutes while it will normally take me well over 30 minutes to get to the closest flying club. To go to the club meetings, it's 45 minutes to an hour to get to their meeting location. Since gas is well over $3 per gallon, I'm looking at maybe $2 round trip to any of the parks or school yards while I'm looking at between $8 and $10 to get to the flying club.
Dave, I will have to get back to you on this, I'm already running a bit late to meet up with some buddies for breakfast and a day at the flying field. I expect the day will cost me about 15.00 in gas 20,00 for food and one of my friends is a bit down on his luck and I needed to send him a few bucks for an engine mount in order for him to join us. I'm sure that at the end of the day I will,still consider this all money well spent.
12-30-2018, 09:48 AM
#285
Banned
12-30-2018, 05:06 PM
#286
Dave, I will have to get back to you on this, I'm already running a bit late to meet up with some buddies for breakfast and a day at the flying field. I expect the day will cost me about 15.00 in gas 20,00 for food and one of my friends is a bit down on his luck and I needed to send him a few bucks for an engine mount in order for him to join us. I'm sure that at the end of the day I will,still consider this all money well spent.
Last edited by Hydro Junkie; 12-30-2018 at 05:10 PM.
12-30-2018, 05:49 PM
#287
I don't see that as a run to the field since you were doing multiple things. The wife and I went out dancing with a dinner stop along the way, driving almost 200 miles in the process. Do I count all of those miles just to go dancing? To me, the answer is NO. Since dinner WASN'T directly on our route to the dance location and the money spent on food was at a separate stop, it was a separate trip. As far as paying for an engine mount for a friend, that's not an expense that you HAD TO PAY to spend time at the field. Your costs were fuel for your vehicle to go directly to your flying field and back, fuel for your planes and, if needed, any parts that had to be replaced on your planes between flights.
12-30-2018, 05:54 PM
#288
We both know that the FAA is not collecting data on what type of UAS is being flown by whom. I can't show any hard data that I am right and you can't show any hard data that I am wrong. That being said, the largest supplier of fixed wing hobby supplies recently went bankrupt and was sold, Hobby King has downsized. It doesn't take much common sense to figure out that if a good percentage of those 800,000 were fixed wing park fliers that the business end of the hobby would be in better financial shape.
12-30-2018, 09:41 PM
#289
You can call it being nit picky if you wish but I don't. When I go racing boats, the wife may or may not want to go with me. There are a couple of races I go to each year that are in eastern Washington. The wife doesn't normally want to go so, due to the fact there is dancing at a private campground that she does want to go to, she goes with me and spends the time I'm racing in the campground socializing with friends. To me, that's a win/win, not looking at where the money to pay it comes from. What it does do, however, is let me spend very little to go racing as I only have to drive 40 miles further to make it to the race site, roughly $15 in gas for the round trip. To get to the campground, it costs me roughly $50 in gas to get there and $20 to get home as we leave our trailer for two weeks since we spend three consecutive weekends at the campground. Unlike your post, where you lumped everything together, I don't. We would have driven to the campground and spent the $70 in gas on the first and third weekends anyway so, driving that distance wasn't included in what it cost me to go racing.
Last edited by Hydro Junkie; 12-30-2018 at 09:44 PM.
12-31-2018, 05:34 AM
#290
Banned
We both know that the FAA is not collecting data on what type of UAS is being flown by whom. I can't show any hard data that I am right and you can't show any hard data that I am wrong. That being said, the largest supplier of fixed wing hobby supplies recently went bankrupt and was sold, Hobby King has downsized. It doesn't take much common sense to figure out that if a good percentage of those 800,000 were fixed wing park fliers that the business end of the hobby would be in better financial shape.
And BTW, you're the one who bought up showing proof. I did! If you can't or won't then I suggest you walk away from the topic.
12-31-2018, 05:39 AM
#291
Banned
I don't see that as a run to the field since you were doing multiple things. The wife and I went out dancing with a dinner stop along the way, driving almost 200 miles in the process. Do I count all of those miles just to go dancing? To me, the answer is NO. Since dinner WASN'T directly on our route to the dance location and the money spent on food was at a separate stop, it was a separate trip. As far as paying for an engine mount for a friend, that's not an expense that you HAD TO PAY to spend time at the field. Your costs were fuel for your vehicle to go directly to your flying field and back, fuel for your planes and, if needed, any parts that had to be replaced on your planes between flights.
12-31-2018, 07:25 AM
#292
Moderator
I'm going to remind everybody involved in this conversation that the forum rules require civility and respect in your posts. You can disagree without being a jerk. But if you choose not to, please don't post at all. After all, this conversation is just about enjoying toy airplanes. It's not something to get up in arms about.
12-31-2018, 08:32 AM
#295
I take great comfort in knowing that 48.4% of my money pays for just two things: salaries at "Taj-Muncie" and the magazine. A magazine that's full of interesting reading, like events that happened four months ago. But look at the bright side, at least the magazine is losing money too.
P.S. I did cancel my daughter's membership though. So total net membership change is -1.
Last edited by franklin_m; 12-31-2018 at 08:38 AM.
12-31-2018, 08:52 AM
#296
Yesterday's trip to the feild. Much more fun then sitting in front of a computer.
I wonder if you are this concerned of what Walmart, Safeway, Chevron etc uses the money you spend with them or are you just happy knowing that you spent your money and got a decent value in products? Like I have said many times over, I am perfectly happy with what I get for my 75.00. It enables me to attend as many events throughout the year which I find very enjoyable. Let's say I do 10 events a year. That is 7.50 per event and each event keeps me entertained for most of the day. Compare that to a trip to a movie theater. In my area that is 12.50 for 2 hours of entertainment. There is value there if you choose to see it. I realize though that I am a social person and you are not. Speaking of cost per value, I wonder how many guys in this thread spend 1,000.00 per year or more ruining their health with cigarettes but complain about 75.00 AMA membership not meeting their expectations?
12-31-2018, 09:03 AM
#297
Oh and speaking about " Supporting the hobby " I have been working on donating this airplane setup to a young man who is truly deserving. Several other AMA members have come forward to donate equipment to make this possible. The mother of this young man has asked us to wait until his birthday in 2 weeks to present the airplane to him. I realize that some will Veiw this as self promotion, so be it. I Veiw it as getting out there and doing something that will make a difference. Face it, nothing we do or say in this forum is going to make any difference, getting off your butt and doing something tangible will!
12-31-2018, 10:49 AM
#298
Banned
But then, your stream of reporting is nothing more than your attempt at the same thing. And where did that get you on RCG?
12-31-2018, 10:51 AM
#299
Banned
I'm going to remind everybody involved in this conversation that the forum rules require civility and respect in your posts. You can disagree without being a jerk. But if you choose not to, please don't post at all. After all, this conversation is just about enjoying toy airplanes. It's not something to get up in arms about.
Otherwise you can close my account at any time.
12-31-2018, 03:52 PM
#300
( photo omitted for brevity)
Yesterday's trip to the feild. Much more fun then sitting in front of a computer.
I wonder if you are this concerned of what Walmart, Safeway, Chevron etc uses the money you spend with them or are you just happy knowing that you spent your money and got a decent value in products? Like I have said many times over, I am perfectly happy with what I get for my 75.00. It enables me to attend as many events throughout the year which I find very enjoyable. Let's say I do 10 events a year. That is 7.50 per event and each event keeps me entertained for most of the day. Compare that to a trip to a movie theater. In my area that is 12.50 for 2 hours of entertainment. There is value there if you choose to see it. I realize though that I am a social person and you are not. Speaking of cost per value, I wonder how many guys in this thread spend 1,000.00 per year or more ruining their health with cigarettes but complain about 75.00 AMA membership not meeting their expectations?
Yesterday's trip to the feild. Much more fun then sitting in front of a computer.
I wonder if you are this concerned of what Walmart, Safeway, Chevron etc uses the money you spend with them or are you just happy knowing that you spent your money and got a decent value in products? Like I have said many times over, I am perfectly happy with what I get for my 75.00. It enables me to attend as many events throughout the year which I find very enjoyable. Let's say I do 10 events a year. That is 7.50 per event and each event keeps me entertained for most of the day. Compare that to a trip to a movie theater. In my area that is 12.50 for 2 hours of entertainment. There is value there if you choose to see it. I realize though that I am a social person and you are not. Speaking of cost per value, I wonder how many guys in this thread spend 1,000.00 per year or more ruining their health with cigarettes but complain about 75.00 AMA membership not meeting their expectations?
My point all along is that there are some in AMA that believe that everyone eats lives and breaths model aviation. Unfortuantely, the EC is full of people like this, and they have a major blind spot in their thinking and decision making - namely that the vast majority of people they're trying to keep in the hobby and/or get to join are more like me ... take it or leave it hobbyists. If AMA can survive on folks like you, or the EC - folks who will pay anything to fly at AMA fields and/or for AMA membership, then more power to them. But I continue looking at their financials, and it's clear they can't survive on that. So I think the EC needs need a radical change in thinking, and need to start paying a lot more attention to guys like me ... the take it or leave it hobbyist.