I'm no retail expert, but I do know at least one thing from working in retail computer stores for 3-4 years.

Get people to hang out at your store and stay there. At one of the computer stores I worked in the owner set up a couple nice chairs with a small table between them. People would sit there for hours some days.

If I owned an RC hobby store, I would do the following:

Set aside an area about the size of a den or small living room and put a couple of old couches in a L or U shape around a decent sized TV. I would have a VCR and DVD that constantly showed flying videos, instruction videos, and the sort.

I would a have soft drink machine with drinks at or around cost. (25 cents probably) Of course, there would be a coffee pot with free coffee. I would put out cookies for snacks on a regular basis. (from Sam's Club)

Around my glass counter tops, I would have stools so that people could sit down and chat. Oh, and in today's age --- Wireless Internet Access. Of course I would figure out how to blacklist Tower and Horizon's Check Out page on my firewall. The can look, but not buy.

Basically, I would do everything I could to make people feel welcome and encourage people to hang out.

You will be surprised at the extra sales force you gain from the people that hang out in the store. Of course, you're not asking them to do it and you're not paying them. They do it because they like you and the store.

Also, for the people who hang out a lot, I would occasionally give them stuff for free. Not radios and stuff, but smaller stuff. (under $20 but over $10 - like a gallon of fuel) Generally, it would be merchandise that is not moving or I would have to eat anyway. Like an old version of something.

just my 2 cents