Robotech

My Feedback: (9)

Did you ask?

Ummm....just an observation but,...well,.... could it have been the way you approached them or the attitude you gave them? Did you bring coffee and donuts? That seems to be the be all end all in conflict resolution according to some who post here.


You're up to three people including yourself. Maybe you could be the start of that splinter group? Find some open land, ask for permission from the landowner. Start a new club. Approach some of the members from the other clubs that may have an interest in a second site.

JeffH

My Feedback: (43)

>>>I keep being told that women are welcomed at AMA fields but my personal experinece tells me otherwise.

We had a woman and her husband join a couple of years ago and she went on to run and win the seat of Secretary/Treasurer. Our club certainly does not have a problem with females joining.

Rufcut

The first time I showed up at my club I brought a big thermos of coffee and a dozen donuts. Makes a good ice breaker. Show respect - get respect. Besides, it's hard to grumble with a mouth full of bear claw.

Jonriley56

Hi,

I am just getting in to the sport as a 45 year old, when I mentioned this fact to a a guy I work with who has on frequent occasion visited a flying field close to his summer home on Cape Cod, his comment was "You are about 30 years to young"................

IMHO the advent of the RC helicopter, 3D flying and Jets are quite likely the only reason that some "younger folks" get involved. I am not interested in those at all and would love to learn to build, particularly moving towards giant scale in the future.

There really is no easy way in to this hobby for people. I have visited sites and had similar "standoffish" receptions. I have even been to local hobby shops and witnessed the group of "old timers" sitting around talking and ignoring the younger guys who are trying to make some sense of what to buy, what to build etc.

It is a shame that the craftmanship and artistry and in some cases "pure mechanical genius" is facing the risk of extinction. It is easy to say "There will always be guys who build" but I am afraid that the "throw away" airplane is what people are turning to because they either dont have the skill set, or cant afford the potential loss if they "screw up", or just cant find a way to learn the process. I just bought my first radio and went with 2.4 deliberately so that I wont interfere with anyone. I am now building a SPAD and am hoping to get some help in learning to fly it, but have already resigned myself to destroying severla of them b4 I get the basics down.

I am sure that many will take exception to my comments, I do not mean to offend. I hope to get out to a major event this summer, perhaps in Muncie, to have the opportunity to learn more and hopefully get involved.

jon

Muroc1

Jon,

There is no easier way to get into the hobby than this right here:

http://www.mountainmodels.com/produc...roducts_id=222

Frank

fliers1

Jon,
Just thought I would add a little more information I acquired over the years. I am quite certain that the main reason there are so many ARFs on the market goes back to the old hand mind set. For the life of me I cannot understand how the old timer seem to loves to guarantee that all newcomers will crash almost immediately. So why spend several months building a kit when the "experts" claim that crashing is all but certain? What I do is give everyone sticktime on my trainer and have them, with assistance, takeoff, fly very smoothly and land, most of the time on their very first ever RC flying experience.



Take care,
Clarence

Gremlin Castle

My Feedback: (14)

ARTICFLYER, the same thing has endangered our future since before the Wright brothers, our collective inability to act in concert.
We have all sorts of reasons for not joining clubs, national organizations etc but the bottom line is we are easy pickings and easily dismissed because we are a very small number compared to other activities. Plus,we are willing to settle for less and go our own ways rather than band together and present a united front.

Probably our biggest issue truly is the overall small number engaged in any type of flying model activity. Were the numbers several times as great, then there most likely would be enough that would band together and fight to get more dedicated flying sites nationwide

qldviking

I have to agree with caltrop, there are many out there who discourage women from flying, and I have seen it first hand twice now, first was my daughter, and now my lady. My lady went several clubs with the intention to join and learn to fly rc, the rception she got at 2 clubs was aboninable to say the least with unprintable comments included. Fortunately she found another club and is getting a lot of help with setting her plane up etc. I should note That I am currently in Australia and she ins in the mid west US. The 2nd issue happened here, I had enjoyed have my daughter as a flying buddy for 18 months, and she loved it and was progressing really well and was seriously looking into flying Pattern. One day after I had finished a flight I went back to the pits and my daughter was missing and everyone was very quiet, I fueled my plane, checked my batteries etc, and she still hadnt returned so I asked where she was and was told she ran out. I went to my car to see her absolutely devastated. One stone age cretin cretin had abused her for interfering with his hobby and told her rudely and crudely where he thought she belonged (she was 14 at the time). Needless to say I went back to the pits and had words and blood was spilt, (the viking in my used id is my heritage, y temper matches once set off) resulting in him being kicked out of the club, and I quit. that sad part is that my daughter never ever flew again. niether my lady nor my daughter are Lady Mucky types, and are very sociable type people, so why the aggro? are most guys here still living with a caveman type mentallity? I have met and flown with a number of ladies, and all have been a pleasure to b around. I have absolutely no objection to ladies joining our hobby

navee8or

[sm=72_72.gif]Just as respect and civil behavior is the standard in buisness in the military in government, in any type of sports, in just about any social group, why ca't we ALL FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES????Just as I learned in my military service, you might not like the guy next to you but you darn well had better show respect for whoever they may be. It may be this person at one time or another that person may save your butt. I'm not sure but I do believe that in any organization it's rules do not distinguish differances in who can be a member of what ever, my own opinion is that is only one requirement in our group. That rule is having the common interest in building designing and teatching and last but not least flying model aircraft. PERIOD!!!!!! AND NOTHING ELSE. The rest is just what provisions we need to meet those ends. At rhe group I fly with there is just one rule and that is don't bring your personal problems with you hang them on the gatepost and come and have fun and SHARE our common interest. The world right now is way too complicated to have a bunch of "spoiled" kids make it more so. But truely, I believe for the most part all of the organised flying is regulated to keep civility and mutual respect for each other, regardless of any "DIFFERANCES' navee8or

Jim Thomerson

I fly control line. There are so few of us that we are generally congenial and welcoming to anyone. Even so, I have heard old farts like myself make insenstitive comments to young fliers of both sexes. I think they ment no harm, but just had not been raised quite right. I expect the problem is more common in RC. It has been said that there are more a##holes flying RC than there are people of any stripe flying CL.

qldviking

is there enough control liners to have an a**hole amongst them? [sm=confused.gif] seriously tho, its a given that in any large group there will always be a percentage of them, its all a matter of educating them or ditching them[:'(] sadly its those few that give any group a bad name and rep, we just have work some more on our various groups PR somehow

ZebraOne

My Feedback: (8)

Caltrop
j
Just wandering throught this thread and came across your note abt the AMA and it's sexist attitude.[&o] I taught my daughter to fly, my neighbors grand daughters also Here in the west(NV) there are more women flyers than back east. Why? I dunno! Puritan attitude?
When passing through Fallon, NV, give me a ring and we'll go fly on the worlds biggest pool table....A big wide open alkai flat!
M Zorger
AMA129570

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Devil's advocate time. Well the pilots with an "air" about them could be showing a frustration with dealing with wannabes. I could see a club tiring of having newbies showing up, the club members taking the time to show them the ropes, only to have em quit after a few weeks or months. If that was the case. Then again the club could miss out on a jewel out there that way.

If it's a situation of how many members a club can have or wants to have, a simple explanation would go a long way to eliminating incorrect thoughts of the club having an "air" by someone stopping/calling about joining. And it would go a lot further if said club could point the person to another local club that they may want to check out, that is taking new members.

Guys and girls it's up to us to make this hobby. Positive way of doing things and the same attitude when dealing with a new person will get us further then blowing them off with little or no explanation.

ZebraOne

My Feedback: (8)

Glacier Girl

Luftwaffe Oberst

Here is a shocker... I agree to a degree with what everyone said in this Thread so far.

Now here is my 2 cents.

The thing about the Tier argument I don't have a clue so I'm not going to comment on it further.

People, we all know that physical age has nothing to do if a person is mature or not. I know plenty who don't act their age, and you know what? I let them be miserable... I know that I'm not.

My club welcomes everyone as well, and we have a 13 year old boy that just joined our club. His father died when he was younger and his mother hasn't been with another fellow, so the boy really doesn't have a father figure... so he comes to our club with his mother in tow.

The older people in my club don't really spend a lot of time with him at the field because I think there's a age gap. The older people are usually flying, talking politics or they're to busy talking about what Ford Model A they're going to restore next... or how this summer might effect their next years harvest. ( I live in a farming town )

Besides me, there is a guy ( Name I will not mention) who spends a lot of time with him showing him the ropes of electric flight and Glow so I'm not the only person who cares about new people... young or old.

It seems I get more stupid wise cracks from the old people than the young people or new members. Some people have that attitude that " I've been on this earth longer than you, so there isn't much you can tell us." It's mentality that does go on in some clubs that I've seen. If there's a young child present I tell them to just ignore them, that not all people are like that.

When I fly at regular full size airshows, the kids follow me everywhere constantly asking questions... and I love it, and so does my wife.

Their is a club at my LHS that's called "The Jr Hawks" with many young children and older adults as members who want to learn how to build ( ARF and Kits ) and learn how to fly.

We must set a example for new members... children, men and woman for our AMA clubs to exist in the future. Basicly, I would like to see clubs and AMA grow way after I'm gone from this green earth... SO I DON'T TEACH BAD BEHAVIOR NOW.

This is what I believe and I'm sorry if anyone thinks I'm wrong.

Enough said.

qldviking

we had a young fellow who used to come and sit and watch, he too lost his dad some time prior. He used to just sit out of the way and watch. I got up to talk to him one day, just to talk with him, found out his story, got permission to take him to the pitts to show him up close my planes. I could see he was deadset keen so after he left I spoke with most of the guys, the end result was I resurrected my old trainer, with an OS46, another guy brought in a hitec 5ch tx, and some of us chipped in to pay his membership. The look on his face was more than worth the effort when he showed up next. To give the young guy his due, he offered to help with whatever he could in return and helps with groundwork etc, and he is a little worker and has since picked up a bit of work here and there as well. We now have a very happy member, and have a helper any time something needs doing at the club, a win win situation all round

Robotech

My Feedback: (9)

Nice story. One that is repeated many times in many clubs. Good for you guys.

Luftwaffe Oberst

That's fantastic! I agree with you qldviking... I feel that all clubs should be this way no matter if we as individuals are having a bad day or not. I've been in sales all my life and if I'm not having a good day, I make sure no one knows I'm having a bad day and I don't take it out on anyone. I always look at it this way... It takes a friend to make a friend no matter where we are, or who we are.

I talked about this Thread with the owner of my LHS today. All he did was shake his head in disgust after I told him about your story qldviking. I don't know if I would have handled it the same way, but I know I would have been very angry. I have a 11 month Son who I love to death and all children should be protected even if it was my child or not. If I was there I would have yelled at those people who was rude to your Daughter, and I would have definately known where she ran off too when you didn't know where she was. That's just common sence and basic kindness. Right?

qldviking

one thing I have noticed in my travels across this great country, is thgat every club has its group of opinionated, arrogant and antisocial members, usually numbering 3-6 depending on club size. these will always be sitting by themselves in a seperate little group, occasionally offering advise in an insulting manner and butting into other conversations with unasked and often unwarranted comments. It was one of these specimens that insulted my daughter, and whilst I was making sure my thoughts were sinking in I let him know precisely what I thought of him and his buddies, nd tld him he was a sorry excuse for a human. I have found over the years that if there is trouble at a club you usually dont have look past this same group. While I will freely admit I shouldnt have gone as far as I did, I will admit to more than just a fleeting sense of satisfaction as well. its these clowns that do a lot of damage to the image of our hobby, and any other for that matter, and I have seen a number of prospective members turned away by these clowns. while they arent the whole problem they are a notable part of it

Luftwaffe Oberst

Exactly! I agree and I'm with you on this subject. You have a good point and we need more people like you in this hobby. It's been a pleasure reading your Posts here at RCU.

qldviking

I read in this thread that these "old timers" are sick of wasting time with newbies etc, That may be, but there is no reason for the rude comments, the shouted out advice that is incomplete and confusing to inexperienced people and other 'antics'. what I have also noticed is this usually fly some clapped out model, and are usually the type that will fuss and fart around with tuning etc before any flight. My old instructor taught me that if your motor starts easy, transitions smoothly and leaves a nice clean clear slick its all good and if it aint broke dont fix it. This has been my way now for years too, and I now fly with YS or ST glo engines, the ST's in the larger sizes. Apart from a click or 2 on hi end 1st start I rarely touch my motors, and rarely have a deadstick, uless I run dry, which bothers me not in the least. I laugh quietly to myself at 2 old farts at my current club, they are forever fiddling and tuning often taking 10 min to get to taxiing out and then to have the motor die, and if they do get in the air they often have a deastick coz they burned all thier fuel on the stand. They would also be lost with out thier electric starters, which I find amusing, all my motors flip start easily and at the moment I am not even sure where my electric starter is. This same group poopoo'd my simitar wise guy tail-less, saying it will never fly etc. Its a 54"ws with a rossi 60 on a pipe, and I didnt say a word, just flipped her to life, took off and did my best to turn it inside out. when I got back to the pits not a word was said, but several were smiling widely, including myself we all got a good laugh though when a newby asked if those clowns knew what they were talking about. sadly these same clowns have a way of making themselves known to any prospective learner/member

OkadaKeisuke

My Feedback: (1)

Wow.

This thread is very interesting.

I am disgusted at some of the stories I have read.

Thankfully I have had a very positive experiance so far (4 months) in this hobby. The guys at the local club are great and very friendly. A few of them were very persistant and kept saying things like: "Anything I can do to help, let me know. You can contact any time if you have any questions". They wish none other than sucess for beginers like myself. And like I said before in another thread, This friendlyness and helpfulness mirrors what I have seen in the here on RCU.

I haven't even flown yet...ever. I am still waiting for a decent day to hook up with the gentleman at the club so I can maiden my Trainer plane. But as far as I know, several planes down the road, and a lot more experiance under my belt, I would be more than willing to help out a beginer. The generosity I have recieved is contagious, and I won't forget this. Most all of the people, in this hobby, had mentors and we must not forget this. For I am a newbie learning the ropes now, and will most likely be the Veteran teaching the ropes later on.

Noah