Putting together a racing event (a little long)
11-26-2006, 09:13 PM
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Putting together a racing event (a little long)
Greetings to all,
I am in the process of trying to put together an event this spring in an effort to bring attention to our club. We have been trying to obtain a flying site in our area for several years and little by little we are getting closer. The biggest problem we are up against at the moment is that our area is experiencing explosive growth and land is at a premium. We have been working with the city, county, and BLM as well as other organizations to get a flying site, but it is a very slow process.
In the past, we have held what we affectionately called a “public welcome day”, where we would invite the public to come out and watch demonstrations and let them get on the buddy box with a trainer. These were received very well, but since we did not have a flying site and had to hold it in an out of the way place, it was hard to get people to come out. In the end all it showed to the organizations in the know as far as who was looking for a flying field was just a bunch of middle-aged men with flying toys, not a great argument for the need of a flying site. The last 2 years we have been able to piggy back on a hot air balloon event that has come to the area which has worked out very well and has taken the place of our public day, but once again it is not a great way to show what the sport of flying can offer and the diversity that comes with it as it is held in a small area in the middle of town. Not a great place to be able to show the big 3D machines or try to set-up even a small pylon course for a demonstration.
My thought is to try and bring a racing event that will show that we can bring in outside interest as well as put on a good show for the local population. It would seem that unless we can do something for the economy, even on a very small scale, it is hard to convince those in the know that a flying site can be beneficial to many different people of all ages and backgrounds.
On the RCPro site, Doug B. wrote a very good interpretation of how to re-vitalize the sport of racing. I agree whole hearted with a lot of what he says and want to grab the bull by the horns so to speak and do what I can to bring the excitement of racing to our area. My personal opinion is that to re-vitalize racing, one must go for what I liken to the Wal-Mart approach. That is, you don’t find many Wal-Mart’s in big commercial areas or around department stores in the middle of big cities, (although I know there are some). Where you find the majority of Wal-Mart stores is right next to a residential area and in smaller towns and suburbs. In otherwords, it may be much better to hold many smaller races in many different areas rather than just a few big races near metropolitan areas so the exposure is greater and more accessible to more people. Just a thought.
What I am asking is for some ideas and direction as to what types of events have worked best as a good starting point for other clubs. It is hard to try and put something together when there are few people around that can give a first person view on this type of thing. I have been conversing with a gentleman that just moved to the area that flies F1 and he has been very helpful, but I would like to get as much input as possible.
I am pointing toward more of a Club 40 type of event and/or a Q-500 sport event. Not to say we couldn’t do several different classes, even as a demonstration, but we are going to be a little limited as far as a site to hold an event so the faster classes may be out of the question.
Anyway, if anyone can give me some ideas as a good starting point, I would greatly appreciate it. I have read alot of the information on many sites and there are some good ideas, but I would like to get more input as well as be able to bounce some ideas off of others and see if they make sense. Keep in mind, I have only actually been to one race so my expertise is very limited.
Thanks in advance.
T.
I am in the process of trying to put together an event this spring in an effort to bring attention to our club. We have been trying to obtain a flying site in our area for several years and little by little we are getting closer. The biggest problem we are up against at the moment is that our area is experiencing explosive growth and land is at a premium. We have been working with the city, county, and BLM as well as other organizations to get a flying site, but it is a very slow process.
In the past, we have held what we affectionately called a “public welcome day”, where we would invite the public to come out and watch demonstrations and let them get on the buddy box with a trainer. These were received very well, but since we did not have a flying site and had to hold it in an out of the way place, it was hard to get people to come out. In the end all it showed to the organizations in the know as far as who was looking for a flying field was just a bunch of middle-aged men with flying toys, not a great argument for the need of a flying site. The last 2 years we have been able to piggy back on a hot air balloon event that has come to the area which has worked out very well and has taken the place of our public day, but once again it is not a great way to show what the sport of flying can offer and the diversity that comes with it as it is held in a small area in the middle of town. Not a great place to be able to show the big 3D machines or try to set-up even a small pylon course for a demonstration.
My thought is to try and bring a racing event that will show that we can bring in outside interest as well as put on a good show for the local population. It would seem that unless we can do something for the economy, even on a very small scale, it is hard to convince those in the know that a flying site can be beneficial to many different people of all ages and backgrounds.
On the RCPro site, Doug B. wrote a very good interpretation of how to re-vitalize the sport of racing. I agree whole hearted with a lot of what he says and want to grab the bull by the horns so to speak and do what I can to bring the excitement of racing to our area. My personal opinion is that to re-vitalize racing, one must go for what I liken to the Wal-Mart approach. That is, you don’t find many Wal-Mart’s in big commercial areas or around department stores in the middle of big cities, (although I know there are some). Where you find the majority of Wal-Mart stores is right next to a residential area and in smaller towns and suburbs. In otherwords, it may be much better to hold many smaller races in many different areas rather than just a few big races near metropolitan areas so the exposure is greater and more accessible to more people. Just a thought.
What I am asking is for some ideas and direction as to what types of events have worked best as a good starting point for other clubs. It is hard to try and put something together when there are few people around that can give a first person view on this type of thing. I have been conversing with a gentleman that just moved to the area that flies F1 and he has been very helpful, but I would like to get as much input as possible.
I am pointing toward more of a Club 40 type of event and/or a Q-500 sport event. Not to say we couldn’t do several different classes, even as a demonstration, but we are going to be a little limited as far as a site to hold an event so the faster classes may be out of the question.
Anyway, if anyone can give me some ideas as a good starting point, I would greatly appreciate it. I have read alot of the information on many sites and there are some good ideas, but I would like to get more input as well as be able to bounce some ideas off of others and see if they make sense. Keep in mind, I have only actually been to one race so my expertise is very limited.
Thanks in advance.
T.
11-27-2006, 02:29 AM
#2
RE: Putting together a racing event (a little long)
Racing...
I have only been at a race as a spectator but... A real race can get boring to a layman: there is certainly fast action but then there is a lot of time when nothing is happening. If it is for "the public", keep it as short demonstrations.
Racing planes can be pretty intimidating: fast and noisy. Unless your site is really ideal, it migh make "the public" think less about how cool it is and more about the noise and safety issues.
I do not want to discourage you from holding the event but maybe you should consider these negative points too.
I have only been at a race as a spectator but... A real race can get boring to a layman: there is certainly fast action but then there is a lot of time when nothing is happening. If it is for "the public", keep it as short demonstrations.
Racing planes can be pretty intimidating: fast and noisy. Unless your site is really ideal, it migh make "the public" think less about how cool it is and more about the noise and safety issues.
I do not want to discourage you from holding the event but maybe you should consider these negative points too.
11-27-2006, 06:16 AM
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RE: Putting together a racing event (a little long)
Different areas have dif. interest. What I would do is get a peace of paper and ask all the pilots in your area what they want to fly. Who knows you may wind up putting on a rocket event. The point I,m trying to make is that you can,t have a race if no one wants to race. Take it from me . We have some races down here in Texas where there may only be one racer show up to race in a event. Now thats sad. and a waste of my and your time. [
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