ORIGINAL: klhoard
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.
The data would indicate otherwise. IMAC seems able to attract, and retain, new pilots. Their Basic class is all turnaround (as are all classes) AND it has a spin in it. Their Sportsman has a spin and a snap roll on a 45 downline!. So fear of the dreaded turnaround has not stopped IMAC.
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.
In some respects I think this goes more to how few people are actually interested in competition, regardless of the specialty. Look at the IMAC NATS. 50 or so pilots. Then look at Joe Nall, over 1,000 pilots. Largely the same planes too.
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.
I agree with this in large part. But other areas seem to be better able to attract and retain pilots in their competitive areas (IMAC, soaring). My point remains that perhaps there is some utility in looking at what others are doing to attract those pilots predisposed to competition.
Sorry if I got lost in the quote levels too.