Traits of Successful RC Clubs
Assuming that there is a willingness to take steps to increase flying activity at your club, please don’t let perfect be the enemy of good! That is, just because you can’t do everything that has worked for other clubs doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do anything. Giving a few of these strategies a try is certainly better than doing nothing at all.
>All successful clubs promote a policy of never allowing a spectator to sit off to the side by themselves; rather, they encourage their members to introduce themselves and, if the spectator expresses an obvious interest, invite them to check out the planes and to sit with the members. Furthermore, it’s counterproductive to send a new visitor/potential member home with instructions to search for the information they’ll need to get started in the sport. Newbies don’t yet know what questions to ask, so have all the printed forms needed to join the club and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (and, if possible, a printout of an RTF basic trainer) ready to hand out to interested spectators before they leave.
>When talking with a potential member, current club members refrain from airing dirty laundry and discussing tales of failure. Instead, they accentuate the positives of how technology is making it easier than ever before to fly and that, by joining the club, he or she will have access to a dedicated flying site and experienced pilots who can offer advice when needed.
>As long as a person’s equipment is airworthy, leaders of clubs with high retention rates hold off on pointing out everything they would change or improve upon, and do their best to help that person experience as soon as possible the thrill of seeing his or her airplane in the air.
>Unless it’s appropriate, leaders of active clubs avoid framing a member’s equipment as inferior and trying to persuade him or her to purchase ever more complex/expensive equipment under the guise that it will make that person a better flier. Instead, they emphasize that the main things are to have fun within the flier’s comfort zone and that, while good equipment is important, correct practice is a lot more important.
>Rather than promoting 3D flying and complex 3D equipment setups as thebe all and end all after learning to fly, leaders of successful clubs give practical recommendations based on what they feel gives each member the greatest likelihood of success based on that person’s immediate skills and interests. That is, effective leaders correct the impression that the route to becoming a better pilot is to mold oneself after the club’s best 3D flier; they, instead, hype the fact that the awesome (unique) thing about the hobby is that there are so many different options available to pilots and that they can change their interests any time they want.
BYDAVE SCOTT / R/C Flight School
