The times, they are a changin! Say it ain't so Joe?
I have thought this over for days and have finally decided to post on the subject. I got into rc airplanes in 2005 when I joined AMA and joined my first club. I simply loved meeting the pilots and watching them fly their airplanes and work on them! At the time there were at least a dozen people in my area that were building warbirds and flying them on the weekend and 40 to 50 more that were into anything from small nitro trainers up to 42%, 150cc giant scale aerobatic planes! I loved going to our local airshow that would bring in at least 100 rc pilots or more in late january, most being dedicated to larger aircraft. I slowly built up a large inventory of airplanes from .40 nitro planes up to my 36% 116cc katana! Slowly the winds of change blew into my hobby and every year there were less participants up to today where we are just about down to the bone as far as participating members go. Most weekends now I see on average 2 to 6 people coming to the fields that I am a member of and sometimes no one! I'm so tired of hearing of pilots "getting out of the hobby" because there isn't anyone to replace them and we are already down to the bone as far as people that come to fly! I get so tired of all the lame excuses as to why they can't come out to fly! I've heard them all, like it's too hot or too cold, too windy, have to stay home and hold the girlfriends hand, no time, gas is too high, changing interests and on and on! I remember one old timer that died a couple of years ago, probably around ninety years of age, that could hardly see and had to sit in a chair to fly, but if he was physically capable he would be out at the field on sunday. A few years before he passed on a couple of club do gooders wanted to make him fly on a buddy cord, but I knew if they tried he would have probably beat them over their heads with his transmitter! Why is it that there are hardly any passionate flyers left like this gentleman? I watch the buy and sell here on rcu and the owners of the giant scale aircraft, mainly 42% 150cc class, can't even sell their planes for less than 50% of what they got in them, in other words they can hardly give them away! I started my 36% katana up for the first time this fall and after doing so, I set down on the porch and gazed at it and I got a weird feeling that if I took it to the field, would there be anyone out there willing to hold it while I started it up before flying it! Say it ain't so Joe, please tell me things are much better in other area's of the USA!