View from HQ - 201209

Editor-in-Chief Dennis McFarlane is
a longtime model aviation enthusiast
and his wife, Cindy, is the proprietor
of a well-known hobby shop in the
Chicago area.
I share this background because I’ve
known Dennis for a while and he has a
good handle on what’s occurring in the
model aviation community. He sees
things from a perspective that comes
from the industry side of the table, and
I respect his opinion.
What follows is an excerpt from
Dennis’ editorial in the July 2012 issue
of Hobby Merchandiser, reprinted with
his permission.
“I have always been a strong
proponent of the social aspect of radio
control aviation. The claim of selfinstructing
trainer aircraft is nothing
new, but I’ve never been a fan. I’ve
always felt dealers should direct
potential students to a club and have
a knowledgeable individual provide
proper instruction.
“Then a series of awakenings
happened, entirely by accident, and it
has me completely rethinking many
of my views. One day I was working
with a good friend who had requested
some old-school thoughts on tuning
his helicopter engine. While tuning
and chatting the thought of joining
an alternate club became part of the
conversation.
“It was immediately brought to light
that the club in question required
a ‘test’ before applicants would be
accepted. We had a riot with this.
“We agreed the written and oral
would be a piece of cake, adding the
physical dexterity should be easy as
well. I chimed in that the psychological
can be tough, even for a young liberal
fresh out of college, but we both
felt we should be able to snake our
way through testing and pass the
membership requirements.
“On the way home from the flying
field I was chuckling as I remembered
our conversation, then the flash went
off. As hobby dealers and industry
leaders we’ve been pushing the idea
of club membership to potential
radio control customers, but what
sane person would even want to be a
member of the type of organization
I have just described, and we have
allowed many of our flying clubs to
become?
“All one has to do is travel to
any club that is within his store’s
demographics. What you are going to
see posted everywhere is the word ‘no.’
No pets, children, smoking, language,
the list goes on and on. None of the
clubs, at least in our area, has a sign as
simple as: Visitors Welcome.
“Every club has them and we all
know a few. Their real name isn’t
important, but they are the pilots
with bad attitudes. They can’t wait to
rip a new member for an accidental
violation of club rules, and are the
first to walk up to a visitor and let him
know he’s not welcome and under no
circumstances will he be allowed to fly.
“Unconsciously we have moved our
flying clubs from inclusive to exclusive
and this has helped destroy model
aviation as we once knew it. Store
owners should make an attempt to
attend club meetings and when the
‘No!’ is heard, suggest an alternative
approach.
“It took years for this to happen and
it’s not going to be fixed overnight, but
we have to begin somewhere, and now
is as good a time as any.”
What a message! Frankly, I was more
than slightly surprised when I read this.
I spent time analyzing what Dennis
wrote and thought about hundreds of
club fields I’ve visited, trying to decide
for myself if there’s any validity to
what he wrote. I think there may be.
The majority of AMA clubs are
outgoing, welcoming, and helpful to
potential new modelers and members;
however, I’ve visited a few and seen
some of what Dennis has witnessed.
Sometimes there are valid reasons for
clubs to be more particular, especially
if the club is dealing with flying site
concerns. But, maybe we can all take a
look at our particular circumstance and
ask ourselves if we are being the best
ambassadors for our club and for model
aviation that we can be.
New people generally show up at
our fields because they have an interest
in what we do. Remember, sometimes
they may be slightly apprehensive
about asking too many questions (Can
there ever be too many questions?), for
fear of being a bother.
Maybe it should be we who
approach our visitors with a smile
and a warm welcome. It only takes
a minute and you might have just
introduced yourself to the next new
modeler, the next new club member,
and maybe even a new friend.
See you next time …