Originally Posted by
big_G
Nothing will bring new pilots into pattern more that old fashioned being nice. Forget all the gizmos and be a good ambassador to the hobby. Make them feel welcome, and help them get started. I know when we head to the field we are concentrating on getting in some quality practice time, but find some time to answer questions and maybe have them watch you go thru a sequence on the line. If they are a good pilot, let them try your ship...they will be surprised at how easy it is to fly.
Once they enter competition, if the new pilots are having fun (most will), it won't matter that they are flying a Kaos and some other Sportsman pilots are flying 2 meter ships. If they have fun and learn, they will move up and be a regular competitor. It's up to US.
While I do 100% agree with this, it unfortunately does not work in all cases. The last 2 guys that I tried to help out just simply did not want to put forth the required amount effort to see any success. The last guy I was unable to get him to put in any amount of time trimming his airplane and after his second contest he looked at his round two scores, pitched a fit and bad mouthed the judges because of a few 2-3 point differences between the two judges fornthe same maneuver then packed up and left the contest. Haven't seen him fly his pattern airplane since.
I will spend any amount of time with someone who genuinely wants to learn and will accept the information. Unfortunately those guys are very few and far between which brings me back to my original statement. If anyone genuinely wants to fly Pattern, they will.