The loss of hobby shops got me to thinking that if clubs have the room and are are set up with parts available - maybe a limit of parts or maybe more than just fuel,starters,battery,oil and things that support the field are in stock. Many people that need to go get something will not need to leave to get items that they need to keep flying. I was also starting to think about plane kits for walk- ins. Something like a mini hobby store, not for profit as much as support for the hobby. Use the hobby forums to show what parts can be at each field ect.

Parts of the topic from the AMA site

With the overseas market the way it is, having a store" Freight Container with shelves" set up to sell parts.
If it is "non- profit", maybe the AMA can help by purchasing the parts at cost plus shipping and handling fees.
When shows are going on, maybe adding plane kits, batterys ect to the ads for the event.

Having parts " plane sizes" per field could be the best way to keep members stocked as stores are getting thin.
Many of the guys I talk to don't use the internet, dont like driving 2 hours to see whats at the shops (that are still open) and they don't see anything they like. Maybe it will be helpful to ask the shops that are still holding on to talk to the clubs about the supplies they can move a month and see if it can work.
This whole thing just stuck in my head, after my local shop just closed and it got me thinking.
How many of us get to the field and forgot something. or loose a glow plug on the first flight?
This is just something to think about and kick around.</p>

Hobby shops in the area.. you may be in the best place to see if this will work. something like a snap on truck going from shop to shop. talk to the club and see when they will have an event. see if the event is electic or fuel. bring a parts list that can support the even + a few toys for the kids. add what you think is ok for markup for dragging it to the field and leave it with the day.
If someone in the club can look after the stock leave it with them. it adds trust.
at the end of the day the fuel they used, starter thats not doing very good ect ect.
The week I was at my field having a very bad day had any 50 cc enginge I would have bin very happy to pay him.
This needs a lot of thinking but it can fit in with just about any field. knowing we have a stock of fuel at the field we can get when we get there removes a trip and the cost of fuel for just picking up small needed things.
be the vender at the field.
if you have seen a fireworks stand made from a container thats 1 way to try this.
Load the box at your shop, us a roll back to take it to the field and set up.</p>

Anything you can do with a house you can do with a container.
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</p>

If you have a flea market in your area on weekends maybe this will help.
I'll tell you the short story.
I put a very big plane at a vender at a local flea market that rents a box from me. not to sell the plane but just to see how many would stop to ask him about it.
I was not ready to do anything at that point so I ask him just to say the guy building them may bring more to me if it looks like they will sell. he had good number show up to ask about them every weekend.
selling at the flea market is pointless but the number of new guys that the first group brought to see the planes was unreal and kept growing till he put it away.
I am thinking this was a good test for the point of talking. maybe this is a good starting point to get more trafic to your shop. if you have the time you can also tell the guys at the flea market to tell anyone looking at your product that you will be at the field later that same day and drop in on the weekends or what day you can do it to help support the field.
I do understand the "private field" thinking when the guys that fly there dont like the idea but if you are just sitting at the field start talking. see if they need anything. let them know you can bring things to the field if it will help them. do what you got to do to be that guy that will help them and let it build.
I know its a pain but its how the field chat get started. from my test at the flea market it will only take 3 or 4 weeks to have everyone talking. show up at the field and just see if it will grow.
Getting people from the flea market to go to the airfield or your shop may show if this will work for you.
This is also what I was thinking to promote a show. if just one boy scout leader starts talking I can tell you, they can run you over with moms/dads and kids if they like what they see.
Trout

ps I may not have the time to stay withthis thread as time is getting thin.</p>

Well....

I don't think I'll invest in this scheme. Nor would I endorse investment by the AMA.

But thanks for expressing your thoughts. Maybe you could put all this in play on your own, and let us know how it works out.

Best wishes,
Dave Olson

This thread are made from parts of the topic from the AMA site and 1 other site. I did a copy/paste after another attemp to post links "I did not know I could not do that"


Grabbing extra fuel /gluw plugs/ starter/ to keep at the site for resale to other members is What again?
your the only one at this point with that view.
nice bait attempt though.

I have bin selling stoage containers for this use for 25 +years.
AKA Dolphin SeaContainers.
its what I do for a living.
trout

Back when I took a break from planes and was heavy into rc off-road racing I thought it would be great to have a trailer loaded with commonly needed replacement parts to sell at the track.

After doing some research I found there just was no money in it. 95% of guys bring their own replacement parts/hardware. The few sales per week just wouldn't justify the large cash investment. Another major issue is most of the distributers wont sell to a club or individual at a "dealer" price, you need to have a brick and mortar store in order to order stuff and make a slim profit. Now if you had a store owner in your club that could have a satellite store???

Now all that said,, if a group of guys or a club just had a bunch of cash laying around,, why not stock up and have some stuff on hand,, In spirit it sounds like a good idea. The biggest downside to the idea is who is going to manage it?? It's already hard enough to get people involved,, but to maintain a store of products just for the fun of it?? I think you'd find very few who would want the responsibility.

I see lots of issues with this. First off the 2 larger distributors in the US will only sell to somone who has a retail business license in thier state/county and a retail store front. Second is there are alot of flying sites that are operated on county/city/state property and are only able to operate as a non-profit. Selling hobby goods onsite would be a conflict of interest. And lastly. We need to start supporting our local hobby shops before they are a thing of the past.

Non-profits sell swag all the time, our little AMA.ORG here is a perfect example,, they sell all kinds a stuff

Selling as a non profit is perfectly legal,, what matters is what you do with the proceeds or profits,, if they go back into the cost of operating the Org. it's perfectly legal

I hate to break it to you,, the LHS is a thing of the past,, just a few dinosaurs hanging on

Agreed. but as the hobby shops close, flights at the fields may thin out more then they are now.
its something to think about..



delayed post.
got stuck on the phone srry

if flights at the field are thinning out because of hobby shops locally disappearing, then, there is likely something else much more serious wrong with the hobby in your area. no hobby shops within 110 miles(one way) has made no difference at all in participation here.

As hobbys are an impulse to us as snowball stands are an impulse .
Useless to field with no traffic. getting something out to the fields before we lose the last of them.
For growth to continue what would you try?

There is not really going to be a single answer to that question. We are at a really unique point with the hobby. While it is easier then ever to get into R/C now then ever before, we have much more to distract our youth then ever as well. The single income family is gone so kids are left to almost parent themselves. It is rare to see a parent and child going to the hobby shop, bike shop, skate shop........and the list goes on. The internet shopping is a double edge sword as well. Very easy to buy and the costs are down but what if you have an issue? How many are turned off by having an issue and not being able to get support from where you ordered? How many quit because of that? No matter where you purchased your IPhone or I Pad, you can carry it into any Apple store and get help. Thats what people expect. I have seen people walk into a store, take up time from an employee asking questions about a product just to go home and order it online to save a few bucks. Am I the only person who thinks this is wrong? I support my LHS because I want him there when I need something in a hurry. If he dosen't have it he can get it in a few days and I never have to pay shipping. I bought my last radio from him and when I had programming questions rather then refer me to Hitec, he had his father call me as he flys the same TX. IMOif the AMA is actually suggesting that we bypass our LHS then I have a huge gripe with that. As a hobby shop employee in my youth Imust have sent thousands to the AMA and the local club and now the AMA wants to jab yet another knife into the back of the hobby shop owners? What is a better way to promote the hobby or get the youth involved other then taking them to a hobby shop and showing them first hand? Letting them hold a TX fly a sim that most shops have set up now. How can sitting at a computer and surfing web sites compare to that?

Your lucky to have a hobby shop to go to Speed. its the fields that are losing them I think that need to think about this.

Speed This is not an AMA thing.

One thing we agree is that a lot of thought DOES need to be made. I never brought this up before in the other forum, however one post up above here gets close to the main point and that is just how this on-field and/or portable Hobby Shop will handle the permits, licenses and the local sales tax distributions, and just what clubmember will take/have that task and responsibility.

Local Sales Taxes will have to be accounted for in the county, city, etc. as well as the state where the purchase is completed. That could be a nightmare. Lots of paperwork AND time.
What kind of business will it be and who will be the owners, the directors, etc.?What level of business, sole proprietor, partnership, Limited Partnership, sub-chapter S, C-Corp., or WHAT? Who bears the brunt when the stock is burglarized, or provides far less return than the investment/s?

How will the stock be accounted for in the real-world situation. I did own a Hobby Shop on Northwest Highway in Mt. prospect during the '70s. The heart-burn really came when employees performed such tasks as releaving the cash register every so often, then far too frequently, customers I considered friends walked out with merchandise they had no intention of paying for. MODELERS, folks that I always thought were the cream-of-the-crop in reference to honesty and character just seemed to be dwindling in those quality traits. Sadly to say, but in my learned opinion, RC brought a different group of persons into the older aeromodeling group/s.

My main Club has a very nice air-conditioned kitchen and sitting room. We have a cold-drink refrigerator always fully stocked with soft drinks and bottled water. We pay about 6-7 dollars for a case of soft drinks and have an "Honor System" (???) for payment at 50 cents each. That should provide at least $5 profit per case. IIRC, we have never made any appreciable profit on those soft drinks. Oh the garbage cans are full of empty cans, especially when a few of us pick them off the field, off the floors, and the partials left sitting around on the tables. Just how will small or large parts of model airplane accessories be treated by these same people? WHO will be responsible?

Therefore I certainly will not be associated with such an attempt to provide for those folks that can't handle their parts problems. OTOH, I have no problem with GIVING a newbie, or anyone a prop or two, a glow plug or two, and I also have a couple nice trainers that I will supply a beginner with some stick time if he wishes. This is NOT a problem. But when I am expected to support that old "I'll pay you next week," (and next week never comes) well count me out.

Therefore I vote NO to supporting a club with my $$ when I have no idea of who, what, or when is receiving that support from a source that can only bring considerable hurt to a club's financial position.

I'm relieved to see that at least one on this thread has a grasp of reality when it comes to hobby shop at club fields. When it is difficult for clubs to even get people to serve in the required offices, President, VP, Sect. Treas. newsletter editor, how many are going to have someone to take on the responsibilities Horrace covers.

It is seldom that anyone is grounded by lack of parts at our field. Someone always seems to have a spare to offer. Now with 2.4 GHz even a transmitter can be loaned if one is forgotten.

Horace did hit on the biggest negative to the idea- someone to run it. I don't know of many guys who would forego their flying time to maintain a miniature store, especially just to sell maybe $20 worth of stuff on a typical day. The sort that would do that is either nuts or wants to steal from the stockpile, which isn't exactly what we would want. A better solution for the lack of LHS's in some areas, IMO, would be for a club or multiple clubs to get with a hobby shop or distributor and do bulk buys of the most often needed items a couple times a year. Cases of fuel, fasteners, tanks, wheels, fuel line, batteries, etc are items we all use and generally buy locally if we can. For areas with no LHS nearby, it could make sense for one person to manage a bulk order and work out a way to distribute everything.

I just dont think the average club member is going to spend enough $$ to make such a venture profitable . Big , established hobbyshops in my area are "dropping like flies" due to being pummeled by internet competition . Alot of my fellow flier's already complain about how their shrinking incomes have cut into their hobby spending , and most just want to go to the field to FLY , and not BUY , when money is so tight . Sure , ya may sell the occasional prop or glowplug , but anything bigger is usually a planned purchase these days .............

Re: Mini-hobby shop at club fields.

Tragedy is what happens when a beautiful theory collides with fact.

Don't let the naysayers get you down. Our club's policy supports those willing to do positive things with one caveat... the one bringing in the idea must oversee/spearhead it... It will either succeed or fail on its own worthwhile merits... pretty simple that way... No endless BOD meetings here. Less talk...more do.

Well, I would have to disagree, the nearest decent LHS that stocks any airplane stuff is 60 miles away from me,, hasn't slow me or our club down a bit,, actually we have record membership this year,, the hobby is strong even while the LHSs have gone away.

Guys want to point out availability of fuel, parts, etc. as a reason to support even the most dysfunctional and over priced LHS, I think this one of the many reasons small gas engines have become more and more popular, it's becoming hard to give a glow motor away. Guys will always adapt.

yup. the hard core bring everything. And the sport pilot that did not came back did so why?
Without asking why newer pilots stop going to the field, this may not make a darn bit of sence.
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that is an answer, you may not be willing to hear.

btw,  What would it take to start a snowball stand to see if it can get customers ?  some of you are going off the top for just attemptingg to support model aircraft.
If the idea is to keep anyone from trying it your doing a good job.
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A wonderful idea if you put your heart and sole into it. What is stopping you from trying it?

Not sure what you mean, we go out of our way to help each other and especially the new guys at our club, If someone looses interest and gives up on the hobby because they have to order parts via the internet then they're not very committed to the hobby in the first place now are they. Time to face facts, the LHS just can't be counted on like in years past. The few that are still open very rarely have inventory like they once did.

When I first started in this hobby at age 12, I had to ride my bike over 10 miles to the not so Local Hobby Shop, It wasn't easy but I did it because that was the only way to get the parts I needed to fly. If I broke a prop or needed glue I had to save up money and ride that bike again,,,You're telling me guys are going to give up because they have to go online and click a few buttons and wait for the Mail Man. What a bunch of wusses this country has bread.

Like I stated before, the on site parts depot/shop is a Great Idea in spirit, executing it may be difficult.