I would echo the sentiment that you shouldn't automatically assume that veteran flyers are intentionally trying to freeze you out. Some of the best flyers at the clubs I belong to are simply not all that social. They love to fly, but they're not so great with people. They hang out and do their own thing, and they don't often take the time to mix with folks they don't really know.

If your frequency is open and the club's airfield isn't closed for a special event, you have every right to fly. Everyone has a responsibility to watch out for the other guy, and as long as everyone is flying the same pattern, it's pretty easy to avoid one another. I have flown on training nights when we've had eight planes in the air at once, nobody hit anybody else, and it was a ton of fun. Mid-airs often occur when there are only two planes in the air, ironically enough.

The trouble occurs when different styles of flight take place at the same time. Trainer flight, sport flying, and pattern flying can co-exist quite peacefully. Helicopters and 3D flyers can take to the sky together with nary an issue. Trying to combine hovering flyers with folks flying ovals is when the tension normally mounts. If the hoverers stick to one half of the field, the oval flyers can try to stick to the other half of the sky and still co-mingle without any incidents.

If I were flying at a field where I pay dues and folks were taking up the whole field and I felt a bit crowded, I'd probably go ahead and take off while flying in "my" area of my own designation. I'd trust that the other folks who flew through that area felt comfortable that they could avoid me, while folks who weren't comfortable that they could avoid me would naturally migrate away toward the other end of the field. Is it possible that some irrational ass could come over and yell at me for poaching a piece of his sky? Maybe, but it would be pretty funny to hear their explanation for why they can fly but I'm not supposed to.

The simple truth is that the sky is a pretty big place. Two pilots could spend all day playing "tag" and never hit each other. Mid-air collisions happen, but they are usually flukes of random chance. As long as all of the pilots are aware of one another and fly safely by avoiding the flight line and pit area as well as calling out take-offs and landings, you can run a lot of different planes flying different styles in the same air space without any trouble.

Last but not least, if the worst does occur, I always take comfort in the knowledge that I never fly a plane that I can't afford to lose. Hopefully these thoughts are of some help.