ORIGINAL: tinner1
One has to know where the hobby shops, distributors, manufacturers, clubs, flight instructors and flying fields are. How do they that? Advertise.
fliers1
First off let me complement you on your efforts teaching new people to fly, and offering the planes and time to do so. I am not criticising you but commenting as to how to find information on modeling. I have been in the hobby of modeling, NOT just RC, for over 50 years, and worked in hobby shops over the years. Now with the internet, it is even easier to find out modeling information. When I travel I ALWAYS look up local hobby shops and visit them to find out where the locals fly. I find it quite relaxing and enjoyable to meet new friends (flyers) and watch them fly. My AMA card shows I am ''one of the group'' who flies, and I am quite often offered a plane to fly by a ''new friend''. In todays world far too many people want someone else to do the work FOR them, be it building (ARFs), cutting the grass at the field, field maintainance, etc. As I stated in my first post anyone who wants to enjoy modeling will find it, it won't have to be brought to them. Besides it has been my finding with the younger generation today, that if you show modeling to them, they will mostly continue until you stop doing the work for them. Todays youth, in general, are the generation of entitlement and don't ''work'' for anything. They are so used to mommy and daddy ''giving it to them'' they won't put in the effort. REAL modeling enthusiasts will continue on their own, and will accept your help and guidence without advertising...
No problem. Thing is, you and I see things from different points of view. As they say, it's not what you sell, but how you sell it. I have had many kids who I trained who paid for their own equipment from paper routes, Christmas and birthday money, any money that they managed to save. Or if mom and dad paid for it, there was stipulations that if they didn't get good grades or didn't do their chores, etc. they couldn't keep or fly their planes.
Unlike most clubs, I am only a phone call away to give on-demand instruction. This usually only takes 2 or 3 hours/sessions, then they can fly on their own. In my part of the world, many of my customers have their own property to fly on, plus they can fly on mostly deserted club run fields, owned by the county.
In my 40 years in the hobby/sport, I've seen how things are run in other clubs, but unfortunately, you are unable to see how productive my promotion systems works. Not meaning to insult you or anyone else, but because I've been unable to give the modeling world a undeniable demonstration of my promotion methods, it is apparently beyond anyone's comprehension just how well it does works. I have presented several testimonials but apparently, that wasn't good enough proof.
Sometimes I wonder if it's because some don't believe it's that good, or for self serving reasons, don't want it to be that good. (flight line population control)
In short, there is a better way, but I keep getting in trouble for daring to make such a statement.
fliers1