Well, I think the only way to describe this past winter is as “a winter to remember.” Living in the Northeast for most of my life, I’m pretty much used to the snow and cold temperatures and just “deal with it.” However, this recent winter pushed the boundaries of even that philosophy.
On the bright side, spring is here and with any luck we’ll be rewarded with a great flying season for having to endure what we have just gone through.
With the flying season ramping up, clubs will begin to prepare for their summer events. Fly-ins, contests, open houses, etc. are a big part of many clubs’ annual activities. As you make plans for your event, give some thought to doing a little community outreach and inviting your friends and neighbors to come out and take part. You might even want to set aside some time to let some of your visitors try their hand at flying a model.
Although it might take extra planning and effort, there is a huge upside to doing this. It’s always better for us when those in our communities have a clear understanding of what we do. With all of the media attention focused on the use of “drones,” it’s important that our neighbors are able to distinguish between a drone and what we fly as recreational model aviation enthusiasts. To those who are not overly familiar with what we do, the difference is sometimes hard to see.
Privacy issues continue to pop up in state legislatures across the country. Much of what we’re seeing is driven by public concern. In some cases, some of the proposed legislation AMA sees borders on the fringe of impacting recreational users. So far, we’ve been successful is working through these concerns.
We’ve found, in most cases, that it is not the intent of elected representatives to do something that would negatively impact model aviation. However, it is their intent to afford privacy protection to their constituents as it relates to the use of technology.
So, it’s all about educating—educating those in our communities and educating those who represent us in government. One of the best ways to do that is to invite the non-modeling public to your events. Help them understand the differences between what we do as modelers and some of the other uses of the technology that they read about in the newspaper or see on television. They’ll learn something and likely have a good time doing it.
There’s another good reason to build good relationships with your neighbors, and that has to do with acquiring and keeping good flying sites. It doesn’t matter how long you have been using a site, whether you own the site, rent it, or have a small or large number of members who fly from the site. The odds are better than even that someday that site will be at risk.
When that happens, a club will have to work to retain its current site or make an effort to acquire a new one. Either way, it’s always best to have your neighbors as advocates for you when faced with these challenges.
The best way to do that is to become an asset in your community. When your club hosts an event that supports a charity—or an event to introduce model aviation to the younger members of your community—the public sees that as a positive. The public recognizes this and is more likely to support a club that is giving something back than one that’s not engaged in such activities.
Elected representatives also like it because part of their job is to ensure that their community is an attractive place to live. There is no better activity for families than becoming involved in model aviation. The educational element is something that many other recreational activities may not have.
There is a serious concern in this country about where the next generation of aviation and aerospace engineers will come from. Model aviation has all the elements needed to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Clubs that get involved in building instructional programs for young people stand out in their communities as being important assets. Your elected representatives recognize this, respect and appreciate your efforts, and are more likely to support you and your club when you ask them for their help.
See you next time.
