Flying Site Assistance - 2010/12

AS I WRITE this column, it is early
October. There is a hint of fall in the air,
and the temperature is going be wonderful
for spending afternoons at the flying field!
I hope you can enjoy these mild
temperatures before Old Man Winter starts
blowing!
For many, the fall means it is time to
order that new kit and get the building
season started. I have a project on my bench
as well!
Last month I discussed being proactive in
working to keep your flying site. If you
remember, I wrote about one of AMA’s
club programs: the Leader Club awards. I
hope you took some time to visit the AMA
Web site and gather more information.
This is a great project that all of our
clubs should embrace! I hope your club
will.
I also wrote a little about the types of
flying sites most clubs enjoy. If your club
is leasing property from a private
individual or company, is your club
actively working to ensure that it will be
able to continue leasing in the future?
What can you do?
You need to put yourself in the property
owner’s shoes and look at things from his
or her perspective. What would make you
want to lease property to people to fly
model airplanes?
In some cases, it might be that the
owner has a love of aircraft and enjoys
your presence. This can often be true with
clubs that are flying on small, privately
owned airports or crop duster sites. These
are usually located in rural areas and can
be great venues for model fliers, especially
RC fliers.
Spend time with the site owners to let
them see what you do and interact with
them so that they can enjoy your airplanes.
This can sometimes achieve lifelong
relationships that will ensure that the club
members have a place to fly for many
years.
Have you ever thought about having a
field party for your site owner? I even
know of a club that gave the landowners a
nice weekend getaway in a nearby tourist
area. It only cost the club a couple nights
in a nice hotel and a gift card for a dinner
for two at an Olive Garden restaurant,
probably $300 total club investment. You
can bet that those landowners really felt
good about that club!
I hear that the club now does this
annually, and it is a much-anticipated
vacation for the landowners! Doesn’t it
sound as though that is probably the best
$300 that club ever spent? Now that is what
I call a great relationship between a club
and landowner!
What if your landowner is a business? I
bet you can think of some things that the
club could do for it as well. Perhaps the
club could assist the company with a
fundraiser for its favorite charity or special
project that it is working on.
How about partnering with the
landowner and helping with a community
goal or project? Maybe you could cut its
grass and clean up the business’s parking
lot once a month.
The bottom line is that money is not the
important thing here. It is relationships!
Down south we have a saying: “If momma
ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”
Sure, you are paying for use of the
property. That is fine. What you want is
more than property, it is a relationship.
What can you do to make the landowner
happy? Put yourself in his or her shoes and
give it some serious thought. What you
come up with might be worth more than the
money you pay for the use of the site.
What could you do if your site owner is
the US government or a local or state
government? Here again, think about it
from the government officials’ perspective.
They receive many requests. What is it they
want?
For many, it is to be re-elected! For
some, they want to improve their
community and bring economic
improvement into the area. Show them that
your club is fulfilling their goals.
Work to have events that bring in
modelers who spend money at gas stations
and restaurants and hotels. That will
usually put a smile on the face of any
county commissioner! Invite that county
commissioner to a local event or club
meeting and have him or her give out an
award.
Get involved with local kids in
community programs and schools, and
make sure you let the news media know
about it so you can get publicity. Work
with the owners during special events that
the county hosts.
Many clubs offer demonstration booths
at county fairs and parades. Show people
that your club is part of the community.
Think creatively and you can come up with
some ideas that will put a positive light on
your club in front of the local officials who
make the decisions to allow you to be
there.
When was the last time your club
contacted its neighbors and invited them to
a club picnic at the field? Sure, some may
not attend, but those who do should be
given the “royal treatment” so that when
they go home and talk about it, the other
neighbors will want to come next time.
I know of a club that has done this every
year and it attracts new club members as a
result! That is really a win-win situation!
Some clubs give free memberships to
neighbors and their kids. The members
provide flying lessons and some even work
with the kids to help them build and
become modelers themselves. If the
neighbors get involved with you in a sport
that you both enjoy, they will be much
more interested in your club staying
around.
Why is all this important? Because if
you start now, working to build
relationships, then you are protecting
yourself from receiving letters in the mail
notifying you that your lease has been
terminated for no apparent reason. If you
are an asset, they will most likely try to
protect your right to fly, or at least work to
find a suitable replacement flying site for
the club.
It is easy to sit around and not be
involved. That is one of the many reasons
that we lose flying sites and good AMA
members.
Work to create an environment that
protects your flying site and privilege to fly
there. Be good neighbors and good tenants.
Show them you care about your
relationships with them and the
community.
Your flying site is asking, “What have
you done for me lately?”
You can do it!
Tony Stillman | [email protected]
Tony Stillman
Flying Site
Assistance
Coordinator
102 Cherrywood Ct., Brunswick GA 31525
(912) 242-2407; [email protected]
Work to create an environment that protects
your flying site and privilege to fly there.
Flying Site Assistance
December 2010 167