Originally Posted by
combatpigg
Howdy Franklin..!
Your situation seems pretty clear and what a nice one you have.
When I first got into RC the club fields provided a level of entertainment that the parks, school yards and vacant lots were lacking.
A main attraction [for me] were the builders, designers, competitors and aerodynamicists.
Many of these guys were WWII, Korea and Vietnam era aviators too.
On any given day, you never knew who was going to roll out a recently built, hand crafted show stopping creation.
Before the internet, these guys were also your GO TO source for all the technical expertise not just for sport flying but also for competition.
Many of the WWII guys grew up together, went to school together here and were a very fun group.
The scene at the local club field has changed. "inspiring, creative, daring and unusual" are not words to describe what goes on there any more.
In my case, it has made more sense to save the $100 club fee since the local AMA field has lost it's luster.
Times change, so do people's interest. There are still amazing things that folks bring out the club, not always a scratch built war-bird or J3 Cub. We have a more senior member who for the last 5 years has been building some of the most fantastic aircraft with blue core foam and playing with programing functions on his radio to make his aircraft do some amazing things. He recently rigged carbon fiber tubes to take in thrust from the EDF unit and run them off the end of the jet's wings so it can do slow high alpha passes. I see plenty of opportunity for the more senior or "traditional" modeler to still be inspiring and creative, and share their info with the newer folks, even if they do fly ARFs and foamies. I'm glad to see them stick around our local clubs, otherwise they quit and then complain about the sad state of affairs at clubs. I never thought quitting was the best option to an issue, but it might be for some.