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Well, I'll start out by pointing to the track record of how well the current program is working to bring in new people over the past umpty-ump years. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results . . (see Washington D.C.) I know that guys love to compare pattern to IMAC. Chicks dig big gas airplanes . . .pattern planes - not so much.
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Last spring I put on a pattern primer at my club. 23 guys (normal Sport Flyers) showed up at 9 a.m. all eager to learn the ins and outs of pattern flying. All went well until I hit the part about turnaround maneuvers - then their eyes went glassy and all scattered to the winds . . . . And I can guarantee that none of those 23 pilots are going to IMAC any time soon, either.
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Take a look at the F3C / AMA helicopter events. They used to have a large Nats until they upped the difficulty of their patterns. Now they have maybe 10-12 guys show up across all classes. . . Then look at the IRCHA event that happens the following week on the same Muncie site - 1049 registered pilots this last summer.
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Like clockwork, this subject raises its ugly head every six months. We get on here and the mailing list, grumble about it for a couple weeks, then go back to what we were doing before.
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The bottom line is that participating in competition is something that a very small percentage of guys want to do, and no amount of marketing, cajoling, begging, or whatever is going to change that. As long as we leave the current bar where it is, then that percentage is going to be even smaller.
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