ORIGINAL: carwood444
You made my point completely. Your exact words (Columns alone average 5 for R/C and 2 for FF and maybe 3 for CL.) Is that not a 50/50 split? What do you think the percentage of flyers is out there? My point was simple and maybe I just did not state it clearly. Add the total of R/C and then add together CL and FF. Do you think that 50% of the people fly R/C and the other 50% fly CL and FF as one combined group?
Just to let you know I am not dogging you for your opinion. But the total split of R/C as one group and CL+FF as another group, can not be 50/50. It is probably more like 90% R/C and 10% CL+FF. My point to this is as I stated earlier, when was the last time you opened up any other Flying Type magazine and saw this much coverage of these two area's of flying on a continual basis. I don't want to demean the people that fly CL or FF, I think it is great they enjoy this part of the hobby.
My point to all this is not running down MA or the AMA. My point is that the AMA is stuck in some kind of time warp. They are living in the past and in order for the AMA to survive the AMA needs to change with the times. I was hoping that someone might pick up on the point I was trying to get across. The way these people that publish the AMA magazine proves the point. I don't care about how many advertisements are in the magazine, count the numbers of ad's for CL and FF and then count the number of ads for R/C.
I am not anti AMA I will always belong to the AMA as long as it is around. But maybe a little food for thought, how long do you think the AMA would survive if all flying clubs dropped the AMA requirement to fly at their fields. Hum 5 or 10 yrs. my guess is less than that. And if it did survive you would be looking at a completely different organization.
And I said; count the pages of the magazine devoted to R/C (advertizing, build articles, equipment reviews etc.) as opposed to the other aspects of Model Aviaition and then tell me the focus of the magazine is not R/C! All the columns you mention are such a small portion of the whole as to be almost meaningless in comparison! Better yet, forget your interest is R/C and and put on a different coat, now you are an advocate of FF or CL. Now, tell me how much of the magazine is devoted to what your interests are?
My opinion is the split is likely near your 90% for R/C and you must count the advertizing as it truly is reflective of the market! I get the same magazine as you do, however, what I see is a magazine that as far as content is concerned is fairly close to equitable coverage of the sport in it's many different facets.