President’s Perspective
Without new blood, we will run out of friends
“Hey, Grandpa! Can you take me and my dad out to the local flying field to fly my airplane?”
For some of us, this would be the sweetest music we could hear: a grandson is interested in flying model airplanes and his dad is willing to go with him. Unfortunately, I heard from a few people that this was the start of a nightmare brought about by the actions of the local club.
How would your club react to an AMA-member grandpa from some far-away city arriving with his grandson and the boy’s father at your flying field? Let’s assume that the youngster and his dad have become AMA members in preparation for this first outing with their new model airplane, and have been waiting for grandpa to arrive to take them flying. I had this scenario presented to me by an extremely disappointed grandpa when he experienced a complete rejection by a club near where his grandson lived. To say he—and I’m sure the kid—was heartbroken would be an understatement.
Most of us who have been involved in aeromodeling for a lifetime got help starting out from other aeromodelers. As kids, we were transported to the field and club meetings and encouraged through the rough spots that all beginners experience.
For some of us, it was our lack of ability to fly and crashing was just horrible. For others, it was our lack of craftsmanship that needed help. (I can remember needing help to sharpen my axe when I first started building models.) Regardless of our experience levels or our ages, the other modelers were there to help and support our efforts.
The longer we are involved in the sport, the more we become attached to the people involved in it. How many of us have spent a day at the field without ever getting around to flying our airplanes? Heck, I know a few guys who plan to spend the day at the field and they don’t even bring a model with them! All of the friends you have in aeromodeling got their start somehow and their enthusiasm was cultivated by the modelers they encountered on that first trip to a flying site. How many of them would have become your friends if they had been shunned the first time they showed up at a club flying site?
I have heard many excuses for why some people don’t want to welcome those newcomers. They range from “I don’t have the time” to “I raised my kids; I don’t want to raise any more.” I’ve heard all about the crowded flying site and the limited club membership. In reality, I have seen very few flying sites that were utilized to their capacity, and very few clubs that had overflow crowds at the meetings.
Obviously, greeting newcomers with enthusiasm isn’t something I would expect every club member to embrace. It wasn’t when I was a kid and it will never be something at which everyone excels. Some people are not so good at this, so we need to identify those who are willing and able to be the club’s welcoming committee for potential new modelers. If a possible newcomer to the hobby shows up at the field, those members who have no interest in mentoring that person should be able to refer them to someone else. We cannot afford to turn away too many of those first-time visitors. Without new blood, we will run out of friends.
Dave Brown AMA President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
