RE: MAAC zone Re-org?
Zones based on Geography have never made much sense to me. Demographics makes more sense to me.
The issues surrounding clubs under stress from urban sprawl have very different needs from rural clubs and need different representation. Both have needs, just very different ones.
Those of you from rural clubs, consider the following:
I belong to two different clubs;
Both clubs have been forced to move in the last 5 years, one due to a government building (Juvenile detention), the other due to a highway (407).
Both clubs face the very real possibility of another move within the next 5 years (due to a new airport and further housing development).
If you've ever been through a move, you know the preparation of a new flying site is quite expensive (last move for one club cost $15K with a lot of donations and volunteer work).
Obviously the complexity of finding an appropriate field with a large enough safe flying zone in this area is high.
Both clubs are already a pretty distant drive from the majority of members, the last moves lost members simply because the drive was suddenly too far.
Costs incurred as a result of intentional damage are common enough to be considered a budgetary item. One club had the field torn up by some drunks on a stolen golf cart.....
Land in this area is pretty expensive ($200K for a 1/4 acre is common), leasing costs alone are high leading to the need for membership fees in the range of $80-$200 per year within a break even membership level of somewhere around 70.
Noise abatement (and enforcement) is a real issue in fact, one club I was planning to join lost their field last month for this very reason.
I'm told the situation is worse in some parts of BC, but more because of topography than population.
When I lived in a more rural area, none of these issues applied. We flew off a member's farm for free, the only costs were grass cutting.
Further, primary interest varies by area, for example S. Ontario seems to have sprouted a large interest in IMAC and Jets of recent, Toronto specifically has seen a large number of heli enthusiasts appear with heli only clubs sprouting up, same for electrics. etc. etc.