Hossfly

Well, the Clubbers and the Independents are going after each other in both this forum and the AMA forum. However this incident is just too much to hide in all those other places.

Place -- Humble, TX, independent city on NE side of Houston. Main thoroughfares are US 59, eight lanes NNE and SSW with TX 1960, 8 lanes E/W. Just west of the intersection in this really urban area is a large SAM's store with a big Walmart a couple blocks farther west, on north side of 1960. Across 1960 from WM is a large Garden Ridge store and parking lot now closed.

Club President was exiting the SAM store on Tues. 02/21/06, windy and some showers, when that whine overhead caught his ear. He looked up to see a .40 sized Trainer turning to head back south. WOW! [X(] Of course he got to his car to follow, however a bit slow. He headed in the general direction. Looking around he saw a Pick-'em-up truck in the GR store parking lot. He went in and saw a young fellow, with a girl, picking up parts of the machine. [:-]

The CP said he saw the airplane and wondered what was happening. The guy said he had lost his aileron control servo. He had flown the model in a parking lot up in Dallas last week and could not understand the failure. CP was not sure if he hit the building or just the cement parking lot.

Man that guy has guts -- flying in bad weather over multi-lanes of highway, shops and parking lots in a city urban area of some 15,000 people surrounded by other large urban suburbs.

Needles to say, the CP did not mention the presence of a large club nearby that owns its own flying facility with many amenities. There are just some things that a Club should not have to instill in an individual.

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

Another viewpoint is the guy wanted to fly really bad. I think this is kinda of a self fulfilling prophecy. The dudes bad because of his judgement in flying out of a parking lot but isn't told where he could fly safely therefore he's bad. Great viewpoint Horace. NOT
John

Dr1Driver

"Man that guy has guts"

Let's see...tresspass, reckless endangerment, and a couple others I can't think of right now.

Guts? No. Stupid? YES!!! If his plane had come down on one of those cars, house, or, gawd forbid, a person....well, I don't have to tell ya.

It's people like him who lose flying fields for the righteous modelers.

Dr.1

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

So you shouldn't tell him where to fly safely? That's my point not that what he did showed any sense! It didn't.

Roby

Talk about safety issues. YIKES !!!!!!!

How about this one.

Woman talking on cell phone while driving during
rush hour traffic forces a tanker off the road . As he
tries to avoid a collision,the truck over turns,spills
the load and several other vehicles were also involved.
Lots of damage,some people shaken up but no one
got killed.

This sort of stuff happens every where all the time and
we think nothing of it. But "oh my god" if a model airplane
should ever fly out of a empty parking lot the world will
end for sure.

Roby

jettstarblue

You mean "self righteous" modelers, don't you?

JN got to it before I could, but yeah, don't tell anyone where to go to "fly safely" that would invade the fold of "true modellers". Right?

Not everyone who is an Indy would go to a parking lot to fly around traffic, but there are a few idiots everywhere as Roby pointed out. I've nearly been killed by a drunk driver, and had many close calls on my bike with A**H**E'S on the phone.

Hoss, we are talking about "Indy's" as people who know about the AMA ect. and choose to go fly on their own, where they know it to reasonably safe.

I would never go fly at a crowded park, especially with a glow job.

I would also never fly where there is a lot of traffic, but hey, aren't there roads that lead to all AMA fields? What's to keep someone from "loosing one" into the traffic there?

Maybe I should join the AMA and go to one of the local fields where they all drink beer and fly and then get in their cars and drive home.......

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

Huh? a club pPresident found someone flying on there own.... and did NOTHING to try and educate this person.. wouldn't invite them to a club... suggest instruction??

Wow...

He sounds like quite a guy...he should be proud[:@]

jettstarblue

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

jettstarblue
And that exactly the point he is convicted without even knowing there is a safe place to fly.

scottrc

I came to the same conclusion, that the CP is the idiot for not educating and helping the guy out, unless the kid was arrogant and had a high chip on his shoulder. However, those are qualifications for most clubs and should have fit right in.

Scott

Montague

It's almost irresponsible of the club president not to at least talk to the guy about the local club. If nothing else, telling the guy about the club may prevent him from trying to fly from a field close enough to the club to shoot somene down or get shot down. That's how I'd approach it. Not with a "you're dangerious" but with a "hey, you know, there's a club right over there. You may want to look in to joining, or if you don't wan to, you should know they are there so your plane doesn't crash due to someone at the club turning on a radio".

By making it about HIS gear, not the club member's gear, you show concern for him in a possitive way. Going on about how he might damage someone else's stuff might have no effect, a lot of folks seem to not care what happens to other people they don't know.

Dr1Driver

I went back and re-read the original post. There IS an idiot there, and it's the club president. He should have taken the opportunity to educate the young man on the dangers of flying in such a crowded area, and invited him to come out to his club and look it over. He might have gained a member, eliminated a potential problem, and generated a lot of goodwill.

Dr.1

micsrcfn

Well Hoss,
I would like to try to help that fella to fly better, but I DO NOT want that CP where I fly. Our club here, is small. Not because we do not tell people where we fly, we are just out in the boonies. More pastures out here than GR parking lots tho'.

Mic

the troll

Guys

Horseface has ulterior motives along with the apparent and usual motives.


Needles to CP...Hmmm... Horsehocky practicing voodoo? Or Doo-doo? Either way he is sticking it to him….

I would really like to hear the side of the club president. I would not give much credibility to Horseheads second hand rendition. We know he is biased!

___________________________

Anyway... got to go…the village needs my help. I hear that they are calling Horrace! Horrace! Horrace! but can’t find him.

Cyclic Hardover

My Feedback: (3)

You can come at this from many directions. Not the brightest move on theboard but maybe he just did not know where to go?

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

This is the problem brewing today that is going to hurt the model industry in the future. We have dealers who don't care about anything but selling planes and radios and engines. Hobby shops don't care where people fly, as long as they buy parts. I saw rebels flying right off I5 in seattle doing the same thing as in the post, and they crashed. We have a group of reblels here that fly anywhere and everywhere. I am not saying that is all bad, but when you put a newbie on a 40 size trainer flying off the street in front of his house, its just plain wreckless and dumb. A group of us fly in a few spots when we can't get to the field, but the places we fly are safe and away from others and we know how to fly. If someone looses it, it hits ground, not hiway or buildings.

People are going to fly where they want, but without learning to properly control the plane and check its setup, people are going to get hurt and the industry is going to get a huge black eye.

Meet a guy down the street the other day flying in his front yard. Who is to say that someone not far away isn't on the same freq?

I invited him to join us, but he has the same attitude as most rebels. He doesn't want to follow the safety rules and doesn't want others telling him where not to fly.

Dumb

Hossfly

Yep, the majority of these responses are just like I thought they would be. Well troops, I was very surprised that the Club Pres. (CP) did NOT invite the person to our flying field. He is much more liberal with the undisciplined than I am. That too kind of surprises me because of his background. Retired Airline Captain and ex F-4 driver including 'Nam.

OTOH there is just so much that a Club should take on. Is the club to be risked just because one demonstrated-Idiot wants to fly RC? Since we bought our property, a few people have bought, built, and moved into "country" homes in the area. SO FAR they are all very receptive of our being there. Now YOU expect the club officer to place the CORPORATION at risk and the 130 members at risk of losing the facility when someone gets their property rammed and files an injunction? Lack of discipline can cost any group the loss of their facility. Any person so stupid as to perform such a maneuver, as described in the original post, is not going to react favorably to flying in even a minimal disciplined manner.

The CP at this time was thinking of PROTECTING the CLUB, which is his primary responsibility. Telling the numb-nuts where the field is located is also a risk-factor. Being in farm country, we have our problems of those that learn to get up and down then don't join the club, but fly off of the several long straight paved roads in the area.

You go and do as you please. Since the guy obviously travels around, maybe he will come see one of you. Then YOU can take on the risk for your group. However, NOT HERE baby! [>:] The CP stood up for the Club's best interest, and it doesn't matter whether you approve or not. [sm=cool.gif]

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

Horace,
I really will guarantee you one thing. I will never again vote for you. A closed mind is a horrible thing to waste.

No one has any idea if this gentleman would follow the rules at your club because no one ever gave him the chance. You've prejudged him and convicted him of being guilty without a shred of proof. I'm unsubscribing because no further conversation is going to change your mind nor mine.
John

rsallen13

My Feedback: (1)

Horrace,

And if he decides to fly there next week what are you going to do? Send the cops after him? Have a guy named Vito have a "talk" with him? Oh yah get an injunction!

The CP had an opportunity to 1) help another flyer out 2) possibly gain a member to the club 3) which could mitigated possible future issues, but he decided to go the other way.

Do you know exactly who the flyer is? Why he was flying at that location? Attempt to show ANY goodwill or express any camaraderie of the hobby?

I do not agree with what the flyer did!

But the club pres missed the exact type of opportunity that could help their club in the future. Failure to do so placed his club in more danger because if this guy comes back, flies, and hurt someone the backlash will be on the club as they are the only identifiable organized flying group in the area. You can expect the “Ban all flying ordinance” and then what?

The club pres couldn’t taken a few minutes to educate the guy on safe flying and informed him that by joining the club you have organized field to fly off of with other who share the hobby.

Dr1Driver

Horace,

"You go and do as you please. Since the guy obviously travels around, maybe he will come see one of you. Then YOU can take on the risk for your group. However, NOT HERE baby! The CP stood up for the Club's best interest, and it doesn't matter whether you approve or not."

You just lost two votes here, Horace. What a backward attitude! It's the old "not in my backyard" syndrome. Go ahead and play ostrich, if you want to.

"Is the club to be risked just because one demonstrated-Idiot wants to fly RC?"
That's a big assumption. The young man may not have been an idiot, he just may not have realized the dangers of what he did. As for the risk to the club...most clubs have ways to remove members who refuse to follow club rules. I don't see the risk, unless the club members and officers allow him to fly recklessly after he joins.

If you, as a representative of the AMA, have such an isolationist attitude, then don't worry about renegages. Soon we will all be renegades, because the organized sport of R/C, INCLUDING the AMA and your job, will cease to exist.

Is the wheat to be thrown out with the chaff? If the young man in question was properly taught the responsibilities of R/C flying, he might have become a good club member. But we'll never know, will we?

Let me tell you this: the responsibility of the AMA and local clubs is to pull in new members, and teach them safe, responsible R/C flying, NOT to run them off with a "we're better than you" attitude. If your attitude is reflective of the rest of the AMA governing body, we're all in trouble. This attitude is the every reason we DO have so many park flyers, independents, and renegades. Ah...I believe the AMA is losing members, right?

Don't take yoursef too seriously, Horace, I guarantee you no one else does.

Dr.1
AMA 156202
Dist. V

PS I intend to copy and print this whole thread, and to have it read at the next meeting of the two clubs I belong to.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

I think you need to keep in mind the perspective of Horrace's club and how it differs from most of the experiances the rest of us have. They own the land which puts them in a much differant situation than the rest of us. Horrace is the one who put up the money and although he is retired from the board still has total control of what goes on. Add to that they they have Horrace as a member and must not only salute when they see him but must not out right laugh when he brings out planes with women pilots who Horrace has painstakenly painted the nipples on. All that probably leads to enough stress that asking them to try and bring in new members that would probably question Horrace's sanity and therefore rock the boat is just to much to ask.

Dr1Driver

"Horrace is the one who put up the money and although he is retired from the board still has total control of what goes on."

And therein lies the whole problem. The Golden Rule: "He who has the gold makes the rule."

Seig Heil, Horace.

Dr.1

Montague

I gotta say that I really agree with the three previous posts (17-19).

Hoss, if this guy is flying poorly in a bad area and hurts someone, it's almost a certainty that your neighbors that currently think you're ok will start to think about how dangerous your airplanes can be. They'll see your club in a whole new light. The fact that he's not a member of your club won't matter.

The clubs best bet is always to reach out and try to teach and inform with out offending. Your attitude SUCKS, and it's the wrong way to go for your club and the AMA.

Btw, reaching out to the local hobby stores can help as well. Once you convince the hobby stores that guys who join the local club are more likely to stick with the hobby and therefore buy more hobby supplies, you can get more support as far as directing guys to your club.

scottrc

It doesn't matter if "numb nuts" was a member of the club or not, if he is flying at Walmart, or wherever, and causes damage, the community is still going after the club because you guys are the ones who are visable.

I much rather have the guy in the club where I can keep an eye on him then flying out alone and causing issues that he may, or may not get caught creating.

Scott

Mutt

Horrace here this is for you

http://www.misplaced.net/~edward/