Anyone getting fed up with this hobby?
 

It seems of late, I am getting kind of fed up with this hobby to some degree. I love building and researching, and flying my creations, But it is my relationships with other flyers, that is getting old. It seems as though I have nothing in common with any of the fellow club members in my club. It is as if nothing really excites them about airplanes anymore. Only the latest and greatest ARF, seems to excite them. I tried to organize a scale fun fly this year in my club, and while I had a lot of help to run it, only about 5 pilots from the club flew! We have 120 members and they voted to have the event. ARF's were allowed, as I ended up waiving any builder of model rule. I guess maybe I just needed to vent. I wonder if anyone else is experiencing these feelings. This hobby has really changed IMO.

"This hobby has really changed IMO"................couldn't agree more. BUT, it has always been that way :)

Any club contest that produces 10% of club members as entrants is RARE............but the old 10% rule does apply (10% do 90% of the work).....

Well, It is more than just my event that irritated me. That was just sort of the last straw for me mentally I guess. I honestly prefer, hope, nobody is at the field when I go to fly. Our club is facing some major issues, having been on the board this and previous years. There is nobody even in line to provide any leadership. There is a strong possibility we will not be able to secure a president, which is required for us to maintain our AMA status. I may just seek out a local sod farm, as my warbirds would prefer the grass anyway.

Bummer.....I know how you feel as I have been 'in' a club in the past but NOT "IN" if you know what I mean. What other major issues are going on there (other than lack of leadership)?

Most newer members do not realize what it takes to keep a club running effectively with 25 members or 125. They were not around in the old days when you built what you flew, appreciated the others craftsmanship and most of all camaraderie. When we would all roll up our sleeves to make that strip of grass the best there is and really care about the club in general. I see that with a lot of the newbies, not all but a large majority. We have some new members that are just geeked to be out there flying, asking questions of the old guard because they want to learn and be better pilots. It seems the situation you have is beginning to be the norm it seems...hang in there

The big issue we are facing is our runway. It is black top, and when it was laid down originally, no road base was put under it. We have a stipulation in the lease that nothing "permanent" could be placed on the land. Well, road base was deemed to be "permanent". The problem here is, the runway constantly cracks, and needs repair often.

Also, with the arrival of a big Warbird event at our club, were were asked to pay for and add 200' of runway, taking it out to 800'. Well, we have not realized, the revenue to pay for this, and never will most likely, and now we have even more runway to maintain. I do not want to get too long winded about this issue, I just wanted to give some perspective. We are now facing a complete replacement of the runway, which will be extremely expensive with the current price of oil.

So, the answer to the leaders is to just raise club dues. With declining membership. So fewer and fewer, will be paying more and more. It is kind of frustrating here. So that is our big issue. Maybe there are some options. Look for some funding somewhere, or maybe another material like concrete.

Rich,
How're you doing?? Other than being bummed out on the hobby of course!!!! ;)

Of course you know that I know quite a bit about your club location and the runway you guys have, so I know what challenges you are facing. And having WOR on top of normal club issues really puts a ton of pressure on a club of any size. So I hope you can work it out. Let me try to offer an option that you guys could consider. I know the size of your runway, so I know it's going to cost you a pretty penny to put in a paved runway, or more accurately a few tens of thousands of pennys!!!! :) When we lost your club on Ft. Sill Army Base the land we found to relocate to also told us no permanent structures or improvements on the property. The main reasons why is because the field was a cow pasture and if/when we leave it needs to go back to being a cow pasture, and also any improvements we make would change the taxes the owner pays on the property. So with that, and having almost no money to put down a runway we had to get creative. We wanted a paved runway, but that was out of the question for the reasons I stated. We got very very lucky. A club not too far from us had a permatex runway for their club and they had to so some modifications to the dirt work underneath, so they decided to go ahead and replace the runway material at the same time. Their old runway materials were still very usable and they were just piled in the corner of the property. They told us it was ours if we just come and get it. So that solved our problem. After putting the materials down and having flown on it for 6 years now I can tell you that it's really the best materials to fly off of that I've ever flown on. It's the best of both words, meaning grass and pavement. It's smooth like hard pavement but it's easy on your planes like grass is. The only real downside to the materials is prop strikes will cut it up, but those are easily repaired.

The material we got was 4 years old and we're now on our 6th year of flying off of it. We figure we have another 2-4 years before we will have to replace it. We looked into the costs to replace it and they are very reasonable. Our runway is 465'x 45' and we estimate the material costs to replace the runway are going to be just about $3,000-$4,000. Try paving for anywhere near that. The biggest deal with material is getting the ground work underneath done correctly. But seeing your area and knowing the people in your club I don't think you would have any issues getting the ground underneath prepped!!

Anyway, take a look into it. If you're interested let me know and I'll talk with you about it by PM and not clog up your thread here. If I had druthers I would fly off of this type of runway whenever I could.

Hope this helps

Ken

Personally I wish they would get rid of the paved runways and grow grass fields. As far as club members are concerned…what’s it in for me is the prevailing attitude. Your just lucky you’re not flying in the northeast when they are in your face when they don’t like you.

Northeast ???

Tell you one thing friend, change can be a good thing. I love flying but I wouldn't be in this hobby if they still had wide band AM radios, magneto engines, and servos with carbon pots.

your in the same boat as A LOT of clubs out there. When you need to , just take a break.. go fly, have fun.. when your ready try to change it.
Most clubs are not about just flying Airplanes. Some are highly political places. Small dictatorships, and KING of my ANT HILL mentality. some people fly model airplanes that is there hobby. other like controlling others and making rules.. that is there hobby.. don't most of those harldy fly when at the club? Take notice.. nature will take care of those.

Untill the old guard overcomes this, there will be a lot of flyers at the parks. Why do you think they sell so well? Even those of us that have been in a long time have a few.
Why? so i can fly without going to the field :)

GOOD LUCK. enjoy your flying.. don't let othesr take that from you

Good luck.

We would love to have grass, but that is not possible in CO, as it is just too dry. Water rights are a big issue up here, as there is a lot of farming. Not sure we cold pull that off.

I am not talking about technological changes, I am talking about people, and attitude changes.


We had a second field to the east (Ken would know this as it is where the BBQ truck is at the WBOTR :) , it was done with the Geotex. The problems we had with it were rodents getting under it and chewing holes.


Thanks for asking about me Ken. I just finished a new DR1 triplane to replace the one I crashed a couple of years ago. I am currently moving my airplane shop, and have so much going on with that, I will not even be attending the WBOTR this year.

My club decided to make improvements to the pits. Over done. In the spring when the rains hit, the pits stay muddy for about a month. There was one shelter and 2 covered spots with concrete floor. Now they have gone end to end with concrete. Now we have a concrete dam. Cat wait for spring. We will be able to stand dry and the models will be dry until you try to get to the runway. Iis going to be a lake. Every club I have been in once gone fancy pants, ends up having a schism. I liked my simple grass field. There are other problems too; just makes me mad. All the guys are good guys, but the guys running it think improvements are improvements.

You are so right here. I just need to step back and enjoy my hobby. It seems whenever I get in as an officer, I get disgruntled. Nature will take care of the club, good bad or indifferent. But I will still be building and enjoying my models. Where ever that may be.

RIch,
That's good to hear that you're replacing the DR1. I've started on my own kick of building WWI warbirds. I've got a SR Batteries Eindecker that I'm building and then I have a Balsa USA 1/4 Fokker D-VII. I plan on building both of them to schemes flown by Ernst Udet (who did fly both in the war). I more than likely won't be at Rockies this year either. Dealing with some personal issues right now that take priority. Good luck on your move of your shop, and I hope you get the RC fire back soon.

Ken

North East! Well I tell you we are having the same problem here as most clubs. We have a great grass runway, the Lee Miller fun Fly coming up the 21 and no one to put it on and no help. You talk about getting burned out, I started this club and have never seen it in worse shape in 30 years. Know one gets alone and getting some one to do something is impossible not even fly. Try to sell a built up plane and people offer you about 1/4 it's value they will buy a ARF for full price and never bat an eye. Well I don't think things are going to get any better. Just think , you have some of the guy's that used to be here up there.
Larry K

Well Larry, I have spent a lot of time at your field, and I always had a wonderful time. In fact, I am going to try to make your fun-fly. I flew at almost all of the combat meets you had back in the late 90's. Your grass would be very welcome for my new DR1.

Rich you really put on a nice fun fly event. Sometimes you just don’t get the recognition you deserve. I think of this hobby as more like a charity. It’s a sacrifice to organize and some people love it and others find it thankless. I personally had my worst rc event in my life today. I totaled my best friend’s plane when he let me fly it. I told him I’d buy him a new one whatever the cost and hope I don’t lose him as a friend.

Thanks Tom. I was just disapointed with the club entries.

Sorry about your day today. I have crashed other peoples planes. I do a lot of maiden flights for people. I have only put one in that was my fault though.

I think what seems to bother me most is the "toy out of the box" feeling I get with most of the planes at the field. It also seems like many are turned off by models that are really built. Like that is so out of their reach, it offends them. And so many pilots really need to get back on their trainers and learn how to land! And fly a right hand approach! I think our club has the most "left hand Charlies" I have ever been around. I actually had a guy wanting to see if everyone could fly their landing approach over the pit area, since there were "only a few of us" at the field! And blaming bad bouncy landings on the landing gear, when the plane is not close to stalled properly! OK, seriously venting now! lol Sorry

Well I am going to try and help! come on down Fun and Food the 21'st. Rain date the 22 so we will be there 2 day's depending on the weather, Sunday flying and clean up

If you're that fed up about it and if you have scale sailplanes, I'll take them off your hands for pennies on the dollar! :) And I'm very serious, also! :D

I am not even close to getting out of the hobby. Just maybe the club. I am in the middle of a project that has taken me 2 years to get where I am, It is going to see it's completion. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1918194http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1918195http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1918196

20 planes and not a sailor in the bunch. Have a Bob Dively Christen Eagle needs needs a home , local pick up no graphics decent offer!

I had left the hobby back in the 70's, started back again around 2000. First club I joined was super organized and had a membership over 125 each year. Only issue was several of their senior members had an view of "HE MAN SHE HATERS CLUB". One in fact openly stated one day that wife's and girl friends had no place there as it was a way for the MEN to escape day to day stress. I joined a smaller club that at first started off to be just what anyone would love to be part of. Runway over 600ft long 100 ft wide, super great people with exception of one or two. I was elected President because I missed a club meeting one night, but I accepted and did everything in my power to insure a good club and field. Time passed and due to health issues I had to take time away, and while I was out there was one or two newer members that made every effort to do away with anything that had rules. I wound up going to the field one last time and retrieved any tools or things I had left for the use of members and went home. Now the club is still there but I have not seen a single person at the field for over a year, and at its peak we almost needed an air controller due to the number of people on Sunday. In the beginning families would bring picnick lunchs, pop up canopies, drinks and everyone had a great time. But again to what happened to a great place went to pot because two or three didn't want to join the AMA or respect simple No Fly Zones. Now when I fly I just go in my back yard and enjoy the hobby with my grandson and maybe one of my dogs.

Always remember, RC Airplanes are 90% social 10% flying. I love building, and so do quite a number of my flying buddies, so it is still easy to talk with them about out latest projects for hours on end. Take that away and a conversation about the latest ARF could be quite short. Maybe organize an event by a topic, like Cubs Over Whatever (Who doesn't like a Cub?) . Or a Dawn Patrol etc. something were everyone is comfortable and enjoys the topic of the event.

An ARF still feels out of place at a scale meet but it may fit right in at something like a Cub fly-in or dawn patrol.


Just food for thought,


SunDevilPilot

VERY nice FW-190.

Thanks. It is actually a 1/5th scale TA 152. 118" wing.

Know what you mean. I was there 4-5 years ago. I needed to find something new in the hobby to re-energize me. Started flying jets. It's awesome, and EVERYONe is interested in talking about it!

I'm not a big fan of ARFs either. I have had a couple in the past, but I've found I really like building more than flying. It's sad that most of the kits that were available 10-15 years ago have been replaced by ARFs.

Hey Vert,
Don't feel bad about your turnout for your event. The same thing happens at our field also. If you say it's a fun-fly, that's a contest and our club members will leave the state to avoid coming out. Now if you call it a fly-in, we MAY get any where from 10 to 25 flyers IF we are lucky. This year I'm not going to WOTR eather. If your not one of the Big Woo's that come, you don't get the flying in for the big bucks you schell out for entry. So, saving the money for that and going up for the Jet rally two weeks later and have alot more flying and fun.

+1

In my area it seems there are not alot of new flyers. The problem with this is the current crowd is getting old (no hate). they've bee around together for awhile and arent real open to new people. To make it worse, everything they fly has a square wing and nearly 0 wing loading. So they can take off from a mountain if needed. I think a mountain may be smoother than the fields we have these days.

There are barely any EDFs in my area, just a few fomies like squalls. A few turbines, and the rest are square high wings. The extreme is a low wing piper cub. We do have a handful of large 3D planes I should not ignore but its not my thing.

So yes I know what you mean.

Upkeep of a field? One field is destroyed yearly by a large machine auction (tractors, tillers, combines) to it only gets worse. The other floods all the time. The final one has a runway with more crack than Los Angelos. Regardless, no one needs a nice runway as mentioned before, so even if I take it upon my self I dont have any support from the clubs. I and a couple others have tried.

EDIT:

I just want to say I dont go for social interaction. I am there to fly. Like the OP I odnt have much in common with 60-70 year olds. To make it worse I am one of 3 in my area with a turbine so the younger crowd disowns me for some reason since getting it. Probably because one of them acts like he is God's gift to RC because they have a turbine (give me a break).

While I agree with much in this thread, I have to say the constant bashing of ARFs is getting old. They are here to stay... just accept it and move on. If you like to build, GREAT! I hope builders never go away... I love seeing unique models and awesome craftsmanship. However, at the end of the day, I feel like it's the 'compact disk or vinyl' argument. Maybe vinyls do sound better... but they are gone... deal with it. There are cheap, crappy ARFs out there... and there are very good ones... straight, well glued, well covered. Unique, no... but in today's instant-gratification society, the market has spoken. Kits in large numbers are not coming back... so let's just stop complaining about ARFs. I built many kits when I started out... however now, working 45+ hours a week, taking care of things at home, etc, I don't want to spend 300 hours building something... what spare time I do have, I want to fly. I like building, but given a chance to build or fly, I want to fly. A lot of builders are retired... so there is a time-availability issue at play as well. Not really apples to apples.

In regard to attitudes, this is definitely a real problem. As more and more fields are being shut down (my local field just got shut down by a city council, because of one complaining neighbor with political connections), I really worry about the future of our hobby. I'm afraid in 10-15 years there will be no gas models anymore... all small electrics and park fliers. Look what happened to Cox.... the sold a bazillion of those .049 control line planes... now they are sold on ebay as a relic. Check out their site now... a couple of electric park fliers. Noise, no place to fly due to complaints and urban sprawl, injuries from ignorance, and the war on "drones" & FPV are all fighting against us. Also, since kids can go buy a ready built model and fly with little or no help, the camaraderie is going away as well. I am 35 and know of only two people younger than me flying actively. It is scary, and sad... goodbye Great Planes PT-40, Sig four star 40... hello Playstation 4. When I started flying at age 10, I LOVED the flying field... lived there during my summer breaks. All the guys welcomed me in, befriended me, helped me out... now on the rare occasion I see someone younger at the field, they are basically ignored. Too many of the 'old guard' as they are described in this thread want to play king of the hill, and don't even want new/young fliers. As time goes on, will there be enough new fliers/members to keep these fields and clubs going? I really don't think so.

Not really getting fed up with the hobby , but getting fed up with the ridiculous high prices . ARFS and parts have gone through the roof . Just not worth that much money ( to me ) Greed

Wow!! This is really nice work on the cockpit ... REALLY nice!!


http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...4&d=1378695469





This is the one BIG thing that always concerns me with these "lightening holes." While the concern is to lighten the weight of the model, I think these holes are unnecessary, or just too large. Whereby leaving very little wood for strength in critical places such as this in the wing root, and fuselage. For me, I'd rather have the strength than the ounce or two (or 4) taken off by these holes.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1918196

This statement fits me to a tee. If someone likes building, I am in total respect of that and I admire their work. I know some extremely polished builders and their planes are immaculate. For me, I fly and fly - I fly ARFs and I like them. They are a perfect fit for my budget and quick way for me to enjoy any spare time I have. Really don't care for any building. Granted I would like to attempt a build at some point when time allows, but it is not paramount for me at all. If it happens, it happens and if not, my ARFs are great for me.

I would imagine we have all seen club changes over time. I just recently saw one of the oddest things that I have seen at a club. One of the long standing members just up and left over silly nonsense! Membership declined dramatically (was around 20 members that had not paid dues at last count - around 20-25% drop) and the usual behind the back bickering going on. Reminds me of the old saying, "Life happens."

I think folks should try their best to get along and keep those snide statements about others to themselves. It is up to each of us to make the difference. I go to fly - not much into the social aspect at all. I do socialize when needed, yet I would rather spend the time flying. :cool:

I read all the post and what stands out is that this hobby is a social event. I gave up on clubs twenty years ago because of one incident. I belonged to a club that flew from a grass strip and naturally this required maintenance. With a club rooster of about twenty you would think this would be no problem but it was. Only a few individuals from the club offered to maintain the field and I was one of them. One day I was mowing the runway on a week day and was told to stop so another club member could fly. This particular person never offered to assist in the up keep of the field but felt entitled to all its' amities. I packed up my lawn mower and never returned. This event is all to common and is a major reason clubs eventually collapse.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1918364Yep, ....The hobby is quickly being consumed by Buttholes . i wish it was the other way but a butthole has only one direction. i'm going to get some t-shirts made say "drama free zone"

Well let me chime in on a possible solution to your runway. If there is a paper mill within 100 miles of your location you might give them a call to see if they will let you have one of their worn out DRYER FELTS. These are nylon type woven fabrics that are about 1/16th to1/8th thick and tough as a woodpecker's lips. They range from the machine width of usually 20 to 30 feet and anywhere from 200 to 700 feet long. They are obviously heavy at around 900 to 1200 lbs. These felts have no chemicals in them and when worn out they are usually sent to the dump. I work in a mill so I was able to get one for a former club and it was great. Weeds may grow on top but you just kick them off as the roots will not grow into the fabric. Anchor them down with ribbed deck nails at odd angles and never go over them with a lawn mower. It will last for about a century or two.