Robby

My Feedback: (18)

Dave, First off thank you for coming to US, the members via this forum..
I have two questions..
One is your stance on proposals of reducing the weight & size limitations from the
current specs.. There has been talk of reducing the weight from 55 to 35 pounds..
Another way of reducing plane size was instituting a max prop size..

Second is district VP's.. These people get reinbursed for attending various meetings,
club meetings, events, etc.. However it seems many do not visit much further than
their 'home area' unless it is figured into their own personal agenda..
My thought on this coincides similar to your proposal of instituting terms with the
addition of the dis VP required to visit various locations thru out their district and not
just a few selected favorite locations.. If a VP is unable to do this then perhaps they
are unable to be VP..

Thank you for taking the time to address both of these, as well as everything else
put out thru this forum..

Robby Newton ... # 42600

Dave Mathewson

Hi Robby,
I’ve haven’t heard of any proposal to reduce size/weight limits. I’ll let you know what I think if you can give me a little more info. And, I sure don’t know that the size of a prop equates to some sort of limit on size and weight of an airframe. Can you tell us how the proposal is worded?

Just FYI, each VP has a budget to conduct district business. That includes things like phone, fax, website fees, postage, etc. The budget also covers travel expenses. Mine is unrealistically low (in case anybody from the budget committee is reading this). District budgets are based on a formula that includes the number of members and the area (size) of the district. The theory being that the largest expense is normally travel expenses, and VPs in the larger districts need more funds to do the same job as those in smaller districts.

I understand your concern but I’m not sure I have a solution. I can only speak for myself here but my district is relatively small compared to some others. I travel somewhere literally every weekend from Memorial Day to the end of the flying season. I accept invitations to wherever I’m invited (if the day is open) and fill in the rest as I go. I try to hit two events a weekend and sometimes three. Right now I’m scheduled to be somewhere every weekend through October 9&10. In the winter my wife and I usually attend a couple club functions a month. Even doing this I haven’t even come close to visiting all the clubs in my district. The guys in the larger districts are at even more of a disadvantage.

I have a top-notch group of AVP’s in my district that are a big help. Many of them also travel every weekend. The larger the district, the more AVP’s. Invite your local AVP to one of your events. Add him to your club’s newsletter list. But I also know every once in a while guys like to see their VP. I’d suggest sending a personal invitation, maybe even make a phone call, inviting yours to a function. I see you live in IL. Charlie Bauer is as dedicated as any of us. I know he’s out in his district regularly.

Let me know about the size/weight thing.
Dave

Robby

My Feedback: (18)

Dave,
Thank you for the fast reply....
Perhaps it may be time to re-map out the districts to better serve the members..
Dunno,, just a thought..

The current admin has stated they would like to see weight reduction.. I know in a conversation
I had with Mr. Dave brown he is for it and wants it.. Some people at Toledo also have said
that they had heard similar from Mr. Brown and one of the Dis VP's.. I was not a part of those
conversations so really cannot account to the actual context..

All this, as well as Rule #9, is being done under the guise of safety.. Yet is seems the people
who are flying heavier planes and doing tail touches are the more competent flyers..
This is a good reason to have VP's or AVP's who are out, seeing the members, going to events,
so AMA can have an insight to much of what they are making rules for, or against..

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Dave, do the larger districts have more than one VP, if not why not?

Dave Mathewson

Hi Robby,
Interesting. I think I can recall only one time hearing the president make that comment. I'm sure, at the time, he made it out of frustration, and probably half under his breath. I can only speak for myself but even if I was in favor of such a proposal, which I'm not, I don't know how it ever could be implemented.
Dave

Dave Mathewson

Hi rc,
No, each of the eleven districts have one VP. This is mostly speculation on my part but I imagine when AMA first created district boundaries the number of members in each district was similar. My theory of why some districts have grown so large is due in part to our aging membership. As members grow older and move into their retirement years many prefer to move to a warmer climate. Our warm climate districts are by far our largest, while districts like mine continue to shrink, albeit at slow rate. I think this has created some inequity in the layout of the districts. At some point I would imagine, if the trend continues, this will have to be addressed. There's no question in my mind that the effort required by the VPs in the larger districts is greater than what I have to deal with in District 2.
Dave