acerc

rotflmao!!!

warbird_1

My Feedback: (61)

give'm Hell ken and that's not swearing... it's in the bible countless times

FireBee

My Feedback: (34)

ARUP, Love the attitude. My wife tells me how self centered I am. For our club, the new and exciting area was not just Warbirds ( mostly WW-2 focus past 8 years ) but especially WW-1 birds past 2 years. They are small, 1/4 or 1/3 scale and very low stress.

You need to check out our Mid-Atlantic Dawn Patrol Oct 3-6. Virginia Beach. Http://www.flytrc.com


Last year I met 20 guys from all over this great country (Ohio, Texas, Georga, Penn, NJ, NY, north Carolina, and west. Va) who just love to fly or talk about airplanes. It really added enthusiasm back into our club.

abufletcher

Field maintenance, Japanese style. First, there's the "club meeting" with just the usual suspects standing around for a few minutes. No gavels, no calling things to order, no minutes. Then virtually everyone jumps to it, doing what they can, even the guys in the wheelchairs. To mow the strip the guys line up in relay-like teams and took turns running the lawn-mover up and down. You almost had to fight to get your turn. Then when it was all done everyone sat down to enjoy some well-deserved, ice-cold green tea.

henschel

My Feedback: (47)

I am in agreement with the older guy. Been scratch building and building kits for 40+ years. Got tired of the same old arf's at flying field. I got out of building planes about a year ago and got into gas boats and nitro choppers. About 2 years ago I asked the lord what plane he wanted me to scratch build as the grand finale. This is what he told me to build. B-58 is heading to Dallas Texas in about 2 weeks and will be for sale at Mike's Hobbies in Carrollton, Tx

abufletcher

Good call.

jetmaven

ARF's offer little or no skin in the game other than writing a check . It makes for transient interest in the hobby and no club should bank on their continued membership of their owners .
My club is made up of about 100 members , 20% are alleged " junior" members that get a free ride and once their foamy takes a dump , they're never to be seen again . Another 50% will buy and fly whatever ARF is on special and the balance may actually be able to glue a few sticks together. At best , maybe 5-10% of those are willing and able to build something from a kit or, God forbid , a set of plans .

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

That is a great project and it looks to have come out very nice. It is always great to see something not often modeled. Great job!

mike31

My Feedback: (67)

It is what you make it!

cherokeenut

My Feedback: (1)

Hi all, thought I'd post my .02 about getting out of the hobby. As some saw I had a garage sale for my planes this last weekend, and suprisingly sold quite a few. I'm stepping back from the hobby purely because of two reasons. One, my business is booming and if I want it to move forward to the level I desire then I need to set aside my hobby and get single minded about what I want, you just can't have multiple goals and achieve them with great success. Second, I was becoming obsessed with having to get the newest "find" on Graigs or other forums, my garage was busting with planes I'd never really probably ever fly, it became downright depressing. After the sale I am amazed at how much better I feel, and after making the decision to put flying where it belongs (as a hobby instead of an obsession) I find that my focus on what's important has only gotten clearer. Sorry if I've offered no support to the obsessed flyers, but after all they are only toys.

abufletcher

There's a lot of truth in that. A lot of truth.

Chris P. Bacon

My Feedback: (4)

With the hobby, no. With the people in it, yes, it can be very challenging at times. Based on my own experience (17 years in the hobby) what you describe seems common in most clubs today. What I mean by that is that for any given club size 20-25% of the members are actively flying. 10-20% go to the meetings, and 10-15% actually care about the club. Getting anyone to volunteer to do anything is nearly impossible, even simple tasks that may only take a few minutes to a few hours.

Sure people have a lot going on their lives today. Family and work aren't what the used to be. There are no easy answers. Does anyone remember roller rinks and bowling alleys? Sure they're still around, but it seems like they're getting harder and harder to come by. I wish there was an easy answer, but no one solution will work for everyone.

What I really wish is that the AMA would provide club officers with better guidance running and administering a club. Running a successful club is no easy task. It requires people skills, communication skills, planning and coordination skills, compassion, understanding, delegation, and good listening skills. These skills take years to hone and master.

The best and worst thing abut this hobby is clubs.

abufletcher

Ten years ago when I first got into RC flying, I attended meetings for two different clubs. The first group didn't seem to have much going for it at all. The second meeting (held in a senior citizen center) was for a much larger, and better known, club, but both my son and I were completely turned off by the procedural formality. When I asked I was told that before we could start learning to fly, we'd have to go through a two month "ground school."

The very next weekend, my son and I took our ARF trainer and our AMA cards to another club's field and within half and hour of arriving we were being given our first (buddy box) flying lessons. That was the club we joined. The field wasn't much more than a patch of graded dirt, but it was all we needed.

bogbeagle

I'd probably quit model flying if I had to drink cold tea ... out of a bottle!

That aside, the only problems I ever encounter, begin and end with people.

abufletcher

I've had my fair share of problems with engines also. And that's cold (unsweetened, of course) GREEN tea!

Rob2160

True in any aspect of life...

as for RC...

1. Enjoy this hobby your way.
2. Let others enjoy this hobby their way
3. Don't criticise others for doing things differently.
4. Offer advice constructively or not at all..

Wouldn't that be great!.

Tarasdad

Where I live we have three clubs within 45 minutes of each other. I visited all three before joining one, as is my preference. I like to meet folks at the field, get a feel for how they mesh in our "natural habitat" so to speak. One I never saw anyone at to talk to. The second is what you might call the "top dog" among the area clubs, but every time I went there to visit I was ignored at best, given looks that made me feel like an intruder and very much unwelcome at worst. At the third club I was greeted with handshakes and smiles and invited to come out and fly with them and attend their next club meeting. Take a wild guess which one I ended up joining. I'll give you a hint, It's the smallest of the three and the one that doesn't have a permanent field - yet. We do require AMA to fly as that's a requirement to be able to use the city property we fly from. I don't expect it to change when we do finally find a permanent site though, and I personally would vote against any such change were it proposed.

We're fortunate in that everyone gets along. I think that's one of the benefits of a small club like ours. Basically you just can't afford the antagonism and elitism that seems to be an inevitable part of really large clubs. Sure, we have some of the same issues, such as a few doing the majority of the work, but that's pretty much the norm from what I've seen. And hey, us old farts have earned those Grumpy Old Fogey stripes! BUT...we can always learn from others, even the younger generations, as they can learn from the older.

bogbeagle

In that case, I'd have to both quit the hobby and top myself!

It's the only honourable response.

Granpooba

My Feedback: (5)

Going on 71 years old and have been in the hobby since 8 years old. Now you have me wondering, what are the other options ? LOL

blhollo2

My Feedback: (278)

Here I'll make it easy, This hobby is supposed to be fun for YOU! If your unhappy with your club,leave it! try another or start your own! My club fits my needs and is run like a golf course, No silly meetings,politics or over bearing safety officers. just follow common sense & the AMA safety rules, basic field rules and enjoy! you get a combo to the airfield gate, come as you please anytime. you crash it, do the dreaded walk of shame and collect your balsa wood and close the gate. I LOVE IT! We have one club cookout a year, bring your family/friends and come as you are. Our club has about 45-55 members.

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

Ever notice how the best run groups have few rules, yet follow the golden rule? When folks spend more time making rules than there are people to follow the rules you certainly will have issues. Isn't it all about power and ego with the power hungry?

I am glad you found a nice place to attend. To me, it is not the age of the person but the attitude that is the problem. There are jerks young and old. Too many power hungry cheifs will always cause problems.

I am in two clubs and the one that is the best is the smallest club with the fewest rules. Not surprising either and that pretty much follows the pattern. I do find that in the larger club the older guys do little to help and more things that cause issues. If I paid any mind to the silliness my degree of fun would certainly be dwindled. I enjoy myself and let that stuff slide into oblivion.

Chris P. Bacon

My Feedback: (4)

+1 On small clubs. I've been a member of both large (160+ member) and small (30-40 member) clubs and I find the smaller clubs much more enjoyable.

koastrc

All have some pretty good points. The Hobby, the sport, the clubs, the AMA all appear to have some short comings. Why? This club does this, that club does that, we have this problem, they have that problem. I also belong to two clubs. One it appears, is always in a struggle to survive and the other has Everything. The one that has everything has it all. I mean all. Powered stalls, air conditioned club house, great runway, and a clean restroom. The works. It has everything but happy people. There is this never ending line of bull. Dues are low and the place is great. All the things many have said they would love to have. Yes it is a great place. The trouble with this club is about the same as the rest of the clubs. There is people that have no clue how to be HAPPY.
One other thing. The membership is down. The flying site is great, Some of the attitudes are not that great. A new bunch will take over. Correct some of the problems. Membership will go up, again, and the cycle will start all over.

Chris P. Bacon

My Feedback: (4)

It all boils down to people. People make things happen. Those impressive facilities didn't happen by accident and they didn't happen without a lot of effort by some visionary people who took the time to pave the way and make it happen. Not all new members/officers have the same visionary or leadership skills and things change. Not intentionally, but not everyone has the same skills.

Sometimes people never appreciate what they have until it's gone. I don't know any clubs in area with those kinds of facilities.

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

Hey Jerry, is this my internet RC buddy from Biloxi? If clubs were made up from guys of your caliber they would all be bursting at the seams with happy members. As far as those with no clue as to how to be happy, it seems it is their goal in life to make sure others as unhappy as possible. Regardless, we have to just hang in there and keep smiling (it drives them nuts). My club is suffering the same as others seem to be. The movers and shakers that built the clubs have difficulty in moving much anymore not to mention the shaking. The greatest generation is gradually dying off so I wish the "now" generation the best of luck. They will probably never know the joys and camaraderie we experienced in our club environment.