Hill202

My Feedback: (24)

I pay 250.00 a year. The Cub split apart and most moved on to a new field. That left just a small handful at the original field. If we could boost membership the dues would go way down. We have a 400ft paved runway with restroom facilities and a covered pavillion. Its a great field. Most days I'm there alone or maybe one or two others.

The land owner wants 400.00 a month ( I'll bet he could be talked down) and if we don't hurry and get some members we are gonna lose this great field. It's the old Flying Griffin's field.

drbenz

My Feedback: (11)

i wonder how many of you that complain about the dues actually attend the meetings and listen to the treasurers report to see where the money goes?

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

$100.00 the first year $50.00 each year afterwards. AMA required. I would estimate that having freinds help me check out and solve problems saves me AT LEAST that much
every year. Besides the guys take turns bring out food to cook on the grills... mmmm brats!!!

600 x 50+ grass with nice covered table area, very nice cement floor out house. 60" diesel Toro Grounds Master mower. Shade after 4pm great bunch of guys too.
located about 10 minutes from my house.

acdii

Right now I'm in a 2 person club, hope to gain some more members, but that is up to them. No dues, just help out with the big plane when you can. We fly off a grass strip behind his barn, provided the grass is short enough.  The only rule, you crash it, you hike out into the field to find it.  This year its soybeans, next year will probably be corn, soybeans are easier to search through. If your plane winds up in the gravel pit, well, you were too far out to begin with.  

Harold Staats

I pay $100 per year for our club membership. All my engines cost more than that.
I also work with the mowing crew along with about 8 other members.
I love this hobby and would consider $200 per year for the use of our field a bargin.
We run around 200 members in our club.

I thought it interesting that there is no place to vote "I would pay a lot more".

jwrich

My Feedback: (17)

Our club yearly dues are $75.00. This amount just pays the operating cost, lease, mowing fees, port-a-potty and AMA charter with little extra. Our club has grown in members in the last three years, currently we have 46 members. We live in farm country, wheat is the money crop and a small plot of land is very hard to come by, to buy or lease. I think we are thankful to have the 3 acres we have leased for more than 25 yrs.

Flying field is just part of the cost of this hobby, same as airplanes/helis, radios, etc. If that is too much for you then go golf or fishing/hunting and see what that cost you.


Rich

This is our field

HellcatAce

My Feedback: (6)

Our club dues are $60/ year with an initial $75 field assesment. We require full AMA membership as required by our charter and lease. We pay less than $1500/year for the land, but we also have 650' of asphalt runway, 100' of concrete runway, numerous tables, porty potty and about 5 acres of land we are required to maintain due to our proximity to the local forest and wildfire prone terrain.

Being in sunny So. Cal gives us more flying days than other areas, and even though we get taxed out the wazoo to live here, we have a reasonable expectation that our site won't become a strip mall very soon.

Sure, there is a free place to fly about 20 miles south of us. Perhaps you've heard of the Sepulveda Basin or "the basin" for short. No AMA of any kind is required, and it's a great field to fly at, but it can also turn in the Wild Freekin West out there on some days. Our members are happy to spend $60 to have a private, controlled, civilized, and safe facility to fly our often expensive aircraft at.

Hey, I just wish we had a 40 foot shaded area to go with the few trees we have to hide under!

Oberst

Always. Because it's only once a year and at the same night and location where I pay my dues. To me, listening to old news and hearing the treasurers report is very boring and I just attend to drink the donuts and eat the coffee, pay my dues, show my card, talk about projects and airplanes, then go home until the field is open for the new season.

I really hate the politics of it all and I'd rather welcome the new person and get to know them, fly, build, help others in RCU and at shows. I think the politics is more for the old guys that sit around and like to criticize and talk about everything but flying, or fly themselves.

Any one else have those kind of people at the club?

Kind of reminds me of these guys in many ways.





Pete

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

Flying Gators MAC, http://www.flying-gators-mac.com/ $50 a year, manicured 600 X 300 grass field, unlimited treeless flyover area, shelter, set up tables, fenced pit area, porta-john, AMA or MAAC required, vistors welcome. Dues set to cover expenses, with a modest emergency fund set aside should we ever lose the leased field we fly from.

When it comes to modelers and money I would like to share this written a few years ago by a modeler.

Modeler's, gotta love'em!
by Dick Burkhalter

As to the cheapness of R/C flyer's in comparison to golfers, fishermen and others who engage in expensive hobbies, I have some rather interesting psychological theories about that... Golf, fishing, owning and racing horses or cars, hunting or skeet shooting and a number of other expensive hobbies have always been regarded as adult hobbies to which kids might aspire.
The general attitude regarding spending money on those hobbies is that of "I've earned it as a part of the growing up and becoming a man process, therefore I deserve to spend whatever I want on this hobby, which by the way I use to further my business “Contacts�. On the other hand, building and flying model airplanes has traditionally been looked at as a juvenile hobby, which we're supposed to outgrow when we become men. The only men for whom model building and flying is considered a valid pastime are those who are somehow connected with doing it for business reasons. Hobby shop owners, model distributors, professional R/C competitors, special effects flyers for the movie or TV industry. Those guys are excused from criticism because, after all, they're making money at it and supplying all those toys we buy for our kids at Christmas. You may notice that even when there's a story in the popular press about some famous person who happens to be a modeler, it's almost always "and he used to build models as a kid," not "he has built models since he was a kid and continues to do so today."
How this affects modeler’s ability or willingness to spend money on his hobby and himself is quite obvious. Many of us still think we have to get permission from Daddy (or most accurately, Mommy) to spend some bucks on this "childish" pursuit we engage in, or we feel guilty if we spend more than our "allowance� on it. It's especially devastating to us to have to spend money to replace a model we crashed, because it's admitting we didn't know what we were doing. After all, "real men" don’t build their own shotguns, bass boats, horses, golf clubs or whatever, and for sure they don't crash them and wreck them half the time they go out and enjoy their hobby. (Car racers are exceptions which prove the rule; they’re considered only slightly more adult than us - we're pre-pubescent and they're teenagers, none of us has grown up anyway).
If you're out with some of your friends and they're all talking about their hobbies, boasting of their golf scores or the fish they caught or how much money they won at the track last week, do you pipe up with news about your latest R/C success?
Everyone who does, I'll give a buck. Everyone who doesn't, give me a buck. I'll have enough in a week to buy that new plane I've been lusting after. Even those who do, what kind of a reaction do you get? Sneers or laughter, I'll bet. Ribbing about still playing with kiddies toys and jokes about what's going to happen to you when you notice girls. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have had guys say to me upon seeing my models or hearing me talk about them, "Oh, yeah, I built those when I was a kid! I had this B-29 with six motors in it and full radio control and was flying it out of the baseball field when a bird hit it and it crashed!" Or some such story. I'll bet it's happened to everyone in here. If it's something that happens while you're in a group of guys, they'll all laugh and try to top each other’s lies. What do you do? Do you stand up and say, "Hey, you guys, cut the B. S.! There's not a one of you who could a cut two sticks of balsa and make a straight spar! You were screw-up’s when you were kids and you're still screw-up’s now!" No, most likely you sit there and just try to ignore them, or you make some crack that indicates to all that you know they're fibbing and then turn the conversation to something else.
So what it boils down to for many adult modeler's is that they're embarrassed about their hobby and don't want to call attention to themselves, so they don't pony up to buy and maintain a nice field where they can be proud to go. So they fly off garbage dumps and wonder why nobody wants to come out and play with them but the flies.

opjose

You owe me a ten spot.

opjose

"Those guys" tend to be the people you can thank for having a field in the first place.... ( yes we have them, though they tend to be just as funny too... )

If you find them cranky and *****y, try dealing with County Governements, permits, insurance, etc. etc. etc required to keep a club field running, for a while.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, but in spite of that, there is no reason not to be civil to new folks. Even an old crotchity type was new at one time.

CGr.

mike31

My Feedback: (67)

You didn't include $20 or less. I can't vote!

joebahl

My Feedback: (2)

My club dues are 65 a year and we rent the land , we bought our own mowers but we still pay to maintain them. Our toillet is a out house that we move from time to time when the old hole is full ( its called giving back ) lol There are only 100 members and only about 40 that fly ,the rest of the old farts just sit in their lawn chairs and yell stuff at us. I fly off water most of the summer so i dont get to the field much unless its our club cookout . We dont have big bird flyins or any ama contests ,just relaxed flying on any day.

Oberst

Now you know, it's kind of like going to the N.E.A.T with a glow plane. I feel your pain Brother!

So true. What I mean by what I said is just a few weeks ago the owner of my club told a newbie that he talked too much and had to tone it down because 1 or 2 people complained to him about the new guy. The new person was only excited about being a member and building airplanes. He had no one else to talk too about airplanes and flying and they took what he did as being rude.

The guy no longer goes to the field now because of it and to me it was uncalled for. They had no right to judge him and I gave them H$ll for it. What really pinched my nerve is they weren't men enough to pull him aside and find out why he was always excited. But no, they did it behind his back and had the owner do their dirty work by embarrassing him and his wife.

It's that kind of thing that some members do- they put down other to make themselves feel important. Not Cool!

What gives the right for anyone to release his or her stress on others? Aren't we all there to fly, enjoy aviation so we don't have to deal with stress that life hands out to us on a daily bases? I get too busy to think about the world when I'm in control of a $1,000 airplane and it's windy out and other planes are in the pattern and I have no spotter.

To the Moderators I apologize, I think I messed up by getting this whole thing off topic. I was sharing how I felt and wasn't directing it at anyone here. If I offended anyone I'd like to say sorry and it wasn't my intention.

What ever we pay for club membership it is up to each and every individual to determine if the prices are reasonable. To me it depends on what the club has to offer, not just a place to fly my very expensive aircraft. I believe that many clubs are just way over priced for what they offer, and seems like they are in this hobby more to make a profit off us pilots

Sometimes I just like to fly off water. For me it's free and I always get a chance to promote this hobby to children, boaters and good looking female sunbathers!!

I'll stay off the soapbox now with my opinion.

Pete

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Pete.. your opinion is always valued here. Don't shut down.

Hey, we have a few of those at our club too, unfortunately. But, there are enough of us that tend to keep things moving along. But again, we also have a few that really think that they are the only ones on the field. One in particular would start his plane, walk it out without announcing he was going out, then plays with his tuning for a minute or two while still in the middle of the runway, then walks back.. his engine quits, so he walks back, trys to restart in the middle of the field, can't, so he picks up the plane and walks back to the flight line.

When he finally gets it running he walks out to the middle of the field and it all starts again. If he manages to get it airborne, two maybe three orbits then he just lands without announcing that he is landing. Real PITA.

So, unfortunately or not, we all have them and we deal with them as best as we can.

We also have some folks that show up and, by their actions and reputation, seem to dominate the field and no one will fly with them in the air. I'm sure we all know of that type.

When I was in competition pistol shooting, way back when, we had a guy that would show up and want to shoot our hand-guns, then proceed to tell us how he could improve our hand guns and how good he was with his. One thing we learned, though, he hated magnums. So, when he showed up, out would come my Colt Python with a full load .357 magnum. When I fired it, his gun box would jump about three inches off the bench. He would immediately pack up and leave.

I'm still trying to figure out what I could use in place of a Colt Python at the field.

CGr.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

I'm still trying to figure out what I could use in place of a Colt Python at the field.
CGRetired: We had a guy just like you describe ... We cured him of his bad habbits by doing what he did when ever he tried to fly ... Didn't take him long to figure it out either.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Darkbird

My Feedback: (7)

$75 a year, $20 fee to join(or if your outside the 2 or 3 month grace period to renew). Dues just cover operating expenses here, so anyone saying that a certain amount is too much is being a bit foolish. Our dues had to be raised when the state changed the gaming laws so that we no longer qualify as a "non-profit" group under the new rules, and hence could not get the license for the yearly raffle(which the local mall required when we do our display there and wanted to sell tickets). That was a loss of about 2k income for us; we have also seen a decline in membership over the last few years(almost 90 to a little over 60) without any loss in operating costs. So unfortunately, fewer members have to pay more to cover the same bills. Still quite happy to pay, its not like i can fly my 32% extra at the local park!

Maximilionalpha

I pay only $40, per year at my club and there's not really much to it, but, I've met a new member with a substantial amount of open land where he and I go flying pretty regularly.

Charlie P.

I've been secretary four terms running so Ialso record the treas report. ;-)

We also have to keep AMA and IMAA - does that count in the total? $60 club + $58 AMA + $25 IMAA

clarkj

My Feedback: (26)

$35 and that's too cheap

hudmun

$120 a year, Good field, I have only been flying a couple of years , meet some really good people, i'm having a blast. Check it out.

http://www.sccmas.org/index.php

MetallicaJunkie

http://images.rcuniverse.com/forum/u...46/Nh12043.jpg is that a Rossi with a tuned pipe on a float plane?

engine size, prop, rpm? just curious

jester_s1

The post below illustrates exactly the entitlement mentality that makes it so hard for a club to keep going and squelches any generosity that the "haves" might show to the "have nots." Landowners should give clubs land just for tax costs? Really? How about you let me come live in your house and you only charge me for the taxes? That's the same as what you're saying the landowner should do. And you think that clubs should lower prices so an unemployed person can still enjoy the hobby? Flying isn't a basic life need. If you aren't working and can't afford the basics in life, then flying model airplanes should be low on your agenda. Club costs don't go down because you're in a tight spot, so why should dues? As for AMA cost, they have done far more work on your behalf even in the last 4-5 decades than your dues could ever pay for, and they continue to advocate for the hobby. So many think that's all supposed to be free, but it's not.

If you still think that you're getting ripped off at $50 a year for club dues, ask to see the club's financials. As a member you're entitled to know how the money is handled and I'd expect the treasurer would be happy that someone actually cares. I think you'll find that no one is getting rich off of membership dues. In fact, you'll probably find that the club is barely making expenses and would be in the red if it weren't for generous people who donate their time and sometimes material things to the club. If you haven't even contributed in that way yet, you certainly have no right to complain because others are doing part of your work for you.

I enjoy this hobby and I don't spend a lot on it compared to what I see some others do. But I do expect to pay my own way and am very appreciative for what my club provides. For $100 a year, I have a smooth runway, nothing in the way, a covered pit area, good parking, and electrical hookups. If I need to tighten my belt, I skip the new plane I've wanted or let the repair job wait for a while.