Modeling Spoken Here - 2004/10
Bob Hunt, Aeromodeling Editor
It's been a while since MA conducted a reader survey. In fact, the last one was done in 1996, and a lot has happened in our hobby/sport since then. We commissioned the firm Research USA, Inc. to conduct a new survey. The results are in, and after studying the data there are some surprises and some predictable findings.
Survey methodology
- Recipients were scientifically selected from the MA circulation list; 1,000 members were chosen.
- On January 20, 2004, those members were mailed an alert postcard informing them of the survey and asking for cooperation.
- We received 704 responses to a net effective mailing of 991 (some undelivered cards, incomplete responses, and late returns), for a 71% response rate — an excellent result.
Key findings
- Strong interest areas: RC Scale, RC Scale Aerobatics, RC Electrics, and RC Giants.
- Electrics have grown substantially since 1996 — interest up more than 20%.
- Construction preference: about 50% of readers still prefer to build models from scratch or from kits; the other half prefers ARFs or RTFs.
- Value of the magazine: 91% of AMA members who receive MA consider it a "very valuable" or "somewhat valuable" part of their AMA membership.
- Reading habits: members spend more than two hours reading the magazine each month; MA averages 1.6 readers per copy.
- Favorite content types: how-to articles, product reviews, construction articles, and technical features.
- Product reviews are largely seen as "very" or "somewhat" objective and help readers make purchase decisions.
- Web usage: nearly half of members visit the MA Web site regularly — meaning half do not take full advantage of the online resources.
- Demographics: the average member’s age is 57.5 years, highlighting the need to attract younger participants.
- Safety and flying-site issues are high priorities for many modelers. To address safety, we’ve added safety columnist David Gee (monthly column starts this issue). The monthly "AMA News" column "Flying Site Assistance" (authored alternately by Joe Beshar and Wes DeCou) covers flying-site procurement, development, and retainment. MA also publishes occasional "Finding and Keeping Flying Fields" articles.
- Discipline distribution: 93.5% of members fly RC models; 10.9% fly FF; 9.5% fly CL. We will continue publishing FF and CL articles but need to consider appropriate balance.
- Format preference: 90.5% of members still prefer to receive modeling information from print publications rather than online.
There is an abundance of information in this survey that may influence your hobby purchases or the direction you take in modeling. It may help you understand where the hobby/sport is heading and why.
Where to see the full results
MA would like to know what you think about the survey. Please access it on our Web site at www.modelaircraft.org/login.aspx and study it carefully. If you have comments about the data or conclusions we may have missed, inform us — we’ll consider the best letters for our "Letters to the Editor" section.
Abbreviated profile of the average modeler
(There is far too much information for a detailed profile here, so this is a short version.)
- Gender: overwhelmingly male (only 0.4% of respondents were women).
- Age: 57.5 years old.
- Magazine use: receives MA as part of membership; reads each issue about 2 hours and 4 minutes.
- Opinion of MA: feels level of AMA coverage is about right and that MA is a valuable part of membership.
- Interests: most likely an RC enthusiast with strong to moderate interest in RC Scale, Scale Aerobatics, RC Giants, and RC Electrics.
- Concerns: very concerned about safety and flying-site issues.
- Experience and activity: involved in modeling for 26.8 years; goes out to fly about 5.7 times per month.
- Building and purchases: builds some models from scratch and assembles ARF-type models; spends about $1,039 per year on modeling, making roughly half of purchases at hobby shops and the rest from mail-order houses or Web sites.
- Reading habits: interested in new products, construction articles, event reports, how-to articles, technical features, and beginner-oriented content; saves issues of MA and other model magazines and refers to them often.
That is the short version. To find out more, please visit the MA Web site and study the full survey.
The survey didn’t show that I can be reached at (610) 614-1747, that my E-mail address is [email protected], or even that my address is Box 68, Stockertown PA 18083. See you next month! MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
