It is also possible that the IMAA has served it's purpose in that larger aircraft have become self sustaining in the hobby world. With enough dollars it is possible to go fly a plug and play big bird and never have to build or create a single component in it.
As someone here has already pointed out the AMA has usurped most of the value that the SIG had to offer. Politics, infighting,and pictures of fat old men with their planes are already nicely handled by the current AMA offerings.
The generation that would most closely fit the demographic of the earlier membership spends too much of their time defending their flying style to the previous generation of big bird fliers.
I have been a member of IMAA since the mid 90s and a modeler since the beginning of the 50s. I maintain my membership soley to fly at a few IMAA required fly ins each year.
Maybe the big bird concept has successfully flown from the nest and will continue to prosper without the benefit of the parent.
ORIGINAL: frankp
As most of you know, the IMAA is the largest SIG within the AMA. Over the past eight years, the membership of the IMAA has dwindled and is now hovering around 6000 members. At the current rate of decline, the membership will fall to the mid 1980's level. Unfortunately, the Officers and Directors have done nothing to stem the tide of falling membership.
With the changing times in our hobby, the management of the IMAA has done nothing to update and modernize the IMAA mission statement or define what unique part the IMAA plays, or would like to play, in todays model aviation enviorment.
It is my opinion that unless the core membership of the IMAA becomes involved, the IMAA will go the way of the QSAA. If you feel as I do that the IMAA is in need of a new direction, please e-mail your thoughts and recomendations to me.
Frank V. Ponteri