ORIGINAL: IronZ
I still have to wonder how an indoor flying site would help aeromodeling? It seems to me that what we need are greater numbers and a more positive attitude from the public. Again, HOW will an indoor site, that will be used mostly by the locals, advance aeromodeling? You want to help aeromodeling? Run some commercials, get everybody you can on the aeromodeling bandwagon. That's just an example off the top of my head. The closest thing I've seen to an advertisement for aeromodeling was the Navy commercial that showed it for about 10 seconds. That's more than I've seen from the AMA. Kind of sad actually.
IronZ-
Indoor flying sites are venues of opportunity. Where they can be had, modelers put them to use, especially in the northern climes that have a long 'building season.' As for purpose-built indoor sits, your preaching to the choir - it doesn't look like anybody is taking the notion seriously.
As for running commercials, I think you are presuming that aeromodeling is in a slump and needs heavy promotion to keep it alive. I don't think that is the case. Aeromodeling is doing very nicely these days, growing at a pace I haven't seen in the several decades I've been involved with it. The technology of electric power has improved vastly over just the past few years, and it has made aeromodeling accessible to wannabe modelers, primarily by multiplying the useable venues by orders of magnitude over the numbers of 'conventional' model flying sites which continue to dwindle. AMA is heavily dependent on the AMA charted club, practically to the exclusion of aeromodeling that is pursued in any other venues. Chartered clubs don't exist without flying sites of minimum requirements that are getting harder to obtain all the time.
Aeromodeling is alive, healthy and growing very nicely. It doesn't need help. It's just that it has done an end-around on AMA; it's AMA that needs help.
Abel