ORIGINAL: can773
Necessity is the mother of invention (or survival)....MAAC was formed by competitors for competitors. If MAAC today were to cease its involvement in competition (or fold altogether), competitors would form another organization within Canada.....we do so because we would need to. MAAC would most likely cease to be the "official" model aviation body in Canada at that point as they have no affiliation with the international governing body of model aviation....what that would do to their relationship with insurance brokers and Industry Canada I have no idea.
Nobody is suggesting any of this, nor is it likely for any of the above to come true. For one thing, it's transport Canada we need to keep on side. They ultimately govern what we do and really don't care about the different interests within. They only want someone to look after the toys so they don't have to.
You know as well as I that the very few FAI competitors that you allude to need the numbers to make things work and pay the bills. If MAAC folded, so does the ACC because they need us ................. and then what?
ORIGINAL: can773
MAAC priorities....
Frequencies - I see this today as semi-important today and of decreasing value in the years to come as tech improves. I beleive that JR's next high end radio will be of the spread spectrum variety and have little use for our 72 MHz we use today. Futaba's R149DP receiver has such high signal rejection that unless someone is standing right next to you with a fully extended antenna you have almost zero chance of being shot down (I have personally tested this).
good, the sooner the better, but we ain't there yet and just try and force everyone to discard their old systems quickly. We are still seeing wide-band stuff out there.............you must be realistic.
ORIGINAL: can773
Insurance - I can easily beleive that we will be on a second payer system as per the AMA in the near future as the costs continue to rise. What the fallout of that will be I dont know, the AMA seems to have had little issue with it. Personally I beleive this is a good thing as it places more onus on the individual to be smart about safety as its their personal insurance on the line first.
maybe some day, but hopefully not soon. The absolute VAST majority do fly safe already or we would have had more accidents. The second payer will only add another layer of complication in the event of an accident.
ORIGINAL: can773
Fields - I dont think much can be done on this within our geographical/demographical size range without significant time and resources spent....comparing us to other countries is apples to oranges in most cases.
Fields essentially come down to each individual club. It would be nice to have some major program for assistance, but it's not likely. That's one I have to conceed. However, that does not mean you ignore those clubs and create unecessary restrictive rules that make it difficult to keep or get a new field. It goes back to insurance because most depend on on it to keep what they have.
ORIGINAL: can773
Those are commonly the most referred to things that MAAC should be focusing on.....
What else...?
-Maintaining Insurance
-Maintaining close Government contact (RABC, Transport Can.)
-Assisting with National communication. (Mag/Internet)
What more do you want??
Face Facts;
MAAC, "the Administrative/Board Animal", that is, is not going to get more members interested in any particular interest area. It's not going to get you more pattern or scale flyers. That is YOUR job. If you cannot attract more interest in your specialty areas, don't look to the "government"(aka MAAC) to do it for you. If your area of interst dies out, look to evolution of the hobby or at yourself for not bringing more interest in. THe AMA prez also speaks a similar line.........but a little more politically correct.
What do you Expect from MAAC?
None of that politically correct bites about "foster and enhance", "formed by competitors for competitors".. bla, bla.... that means zip. It may sound very nice and official, but it means zip to most.