Fergus Russell 1 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 At the age of 23 i am in an unfortunate position of being the youngest member in my club. There hasn't been any new members join for about 3 years and its beginning to worry me. Has anyone here had any experience of recruitment drives in clubs and any experience of youth engagement with either scouts, ATC, ACF etc. One thing i think we should be doing is advertising our big fly ins in the local paper to try and at least get some of the public aware of it. Again does anyone have experience of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Oh yes ! I'm one of the middle aged group on our club..50...there's about 4 of us. The youngest is around 40 !!!!!!!! The average age is probably around 65-70. Our club has tried everything to get new members. We have the AirScouts over, we tried getting the Cadets involved ( the leader wasn't interested! Can you believe that !). I regularly post about my club here and in the BMFA magazine. We have just put a permanent add in the " what's on " column of the local free paper. Maybe we have one new member every couple or three years. Trouble is, it's getting to the stage when the club members are giving up to due old age and health issues faster that we can recruit new ones. I think anyone who wants to learn model flying needs to have a fascination and interest about planes and/or how they fly. Todays generation see a plane as a means to go on holiday...not marvel on the size and the physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 9 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 In my experience trying to recruit under 18's is a wasted effort. not because they are not interested or because somehow "todays generation" are different. it is because they don't have the means to go flying at a club. ie first you pretty much need a car to get you and your model to the flying site (there are exceptions but these are rare). the only under 18's I have seen at a club are those who have an adult in the family that is already a member. for parents that are non flyers is a rc club an attractive option? it would be a bit like taking your child to a crown green bowls club it is adults you first need to attract to a club the youngsters follow the adults Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Approaching Scouts, ATC etc is fraught with issues as you, technically, need to be DBS checked first. (The new name for CRB) Without it those running the local Scout troop, for example, may not allow you anywhere near. Targetting children might not be the best way to get membership though. Flying model aircraft needs committment and discipline, which is hard, or rare, to get from kids. Yes, there are examples but, in general, getting kids involved long term is not easy especially with the costs involved and transport issues. The idea of a local newspaper advertising the Fly in would be great and, I think, a better target to advertise what you do, although persuading the Club to fork out for the advert might be like asking for their personal bank details. Putting boards up along the roads nearer to the time of the Fly In would help to spread the word too. If the Club has any multi rotor fliers who can do a display that might help to get the kids more interested as they are fashionable and might appeal more but, after the Fly In and subsequent possible member increase, you might still be the youngest but at least you won't be the rookie anymore. Edited By John F on 23/10/2015 07:27:36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 hello fergus...if people young and old aren't interested in flying radio control models ...no amount of trying to get them on board will get your club new members.....what i've seen in my 27 years of flying is dad's join their sons to learn and one of two things happen the the son's learn and move on/stay...or the son's leave and the dad's carry on...... consider maybe making the club fee's free for youngster's.......only paying to join the bmfa insurance until they reach say 18years old... ken anderson...ne...1 where's the young blood dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 We have had two new members this year and one last years. One was comparitively young for a club with the yougest member about 50. Oh an one enquiry by PM from someone who never even read my replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Our membership is currently full and I have to turn away on average 20 to 30 people a year, sometimes more . I guess we are lucky listening to the experiences of some clubs . Our clubs average age is getting higher though like most clubs and most new applicants are at least middle aged . We currently have 3 junior members but rarely see them now as they are at "That age" when motorbikes ,cars and girls have much more to offer . We still try to keep our profile out there by attending fetes shows etc but get virtually no feedback or follow up contact .In the past when we have had vacancies the ATC and Scouts proved a complete waste of time for recruiting as did the village magazine and a local business add booklet that was is distributed to all the houses in the area. So I'm with most of the other on this one as no amount of cajoling or recruiting drives will tempt youngsters if they are not interested. Definitely the best way to recruit a youngster is to get his dad into the hobby . It usually ends up with the dad staying and the youngster drifting away when they reach "that age" but we generally keep the dad and their children occasionally come back later . But why is being 23 and the youngest member an unfortunate position ? Older people have a lot of experience to offer and life doesn't end at 30 . Enjoy the older members and learn or improve on their hard won experience , and above all enjoy the hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area 51 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I was once one of the yournger members in our club in my 50's! I can echo most of the comments on here, there does seem to be a poor take up.. Fergus, do you have any friends outside of modelling who maybe interested in the sport? As many have said, dont see the age thing as disadvantage.. I'm sure your fellow club members still remember being your age and will be only to happy to pass on information/tales of daring do.. both on and off the field.. Does your club have a pie and pint night? a few of us do this and it helps to get to know people; especially on short winter days.. Good for a natter about your latest project and all sorts.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Geezer Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Fergus, the first line of Ken's reply said it all. We have always been a minority interest, and undoubtedly always will remain such. All any club can do is welcome newcomers and particularly to encourage and support novices until that magic moment when they suddenly "get it". That describes our club to a tee, and we remain comfortably up to strength. Anyone with Internet access who genuinely wants to start RC flying can find a club in moments via the BMFA site, so we're mainly talking motivation and transport here - dealt with above. Look on the bright side, we're a self-selecting minority, the blokes you meet at the field ( & the AGM ) all want much the same things as you do. What more do you want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtom39 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Hello Fergus. Our club has a very good relationship with both the local ATC squadron and school (aged 10-16) We attend/give demo's and also allow (with attendance by parents/ATC officers) trial flights on buddy boxes on our club trainer. This hopefully instills an interest in the hobby. We have been fortunate to attract not just young members but also their Fathers and Grandfathers. We also have a some female members too. As with any hobby, interest tends to ebb and flow . We have some who stay on - case in point is chap that joined at 12 and still is a member at 26. In my case I have returned to model flying after a very long break. . Your enthusiasm will hopefully rub off and attract other people to enjoy what you do. PS Quad flying/racing has really opened up interest and a number of new members that joined to do this have moved onto our club fixed wing training prog and have subsequently bought their own.(Our youngest member is 10 and the oldest 87). Our biggest problem is weather! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus Russell 1 Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 Thank you all for this. It's certainly a mixed bag, hopefully the recent quad copter fashion can bring us some new members. I feel that some public engagement could do us no harm in trying to get people in. Our town used to have an annual Wings and Wheels event which was great for public engagement as getting into the show ground was a paid for event but coming over to our flying site was free, sadly the event fell by the wayside but not due to lack of public support. I feel the newspaper and billboard approach may help our cause and wouldn't do any harm. The Montrose club is fortunate enough to have one of the original 1913 wooden huts from RAF Montrose as a club premises where there are meetings every Tuesday and Thursday during the day and we have a meeting on Friday nights as well with flying taking place on these days and on Sundays. We fly off what used to be the main runway of RAF Montrose, to see what was the first RAF airfield in Scotland and the Second in the UK no longer have any active flying on it would be a sad state of affairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iqon Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I never even knew there was clubs till i was 50.....so much for advertising....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 It's the age old problem unfortunately. I'm in my mid thirties and in my club of 85 I'm one of about 10 under 40. We have four under 16s. For the reasons many have said it often comes down to location,cost and ability to build, repair etc.We've tried to recruit over the year's and generally only attract people from other clubs who are of older year's.Most young people get into flying by their relatives be it dad's, uncles, grandads etc. Approaching youth groups has its pitfalls of health and safety etc and tends to be shortlived. It's a never ending issue. We've recently found that members of all age join,learn, stay for a few years and leave to take up fishing etc.As for youngsters there isn't an easy answer. I started flying at the age of 11,was the youngest there by at least 30 year's,but that didn't fuss me really,I just got on with it and 23years later I carry on.Just enjoy the flying and the club Fergus. But be careful of how you advertise especially locally as it can have negative consequences in terms of local voices and local knuckle draggers.CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtom39 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Best of luck Fergus. I'm aware of another club that has written to a local paper about "drones/multi copters " and the advantages of flying in a club environment and this had a positive effect for them. Happy to help if you want to PM me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I can understand that the club treasurer having concerns with respect to membership numbers. As a club member my primary concern is enjoying flying and general club membership. Age profiles do not worry me beyond, that I am steadily moving up it. As to having very young members, it is something that many aeromodelling clubs, are wary of. Our club has no members with CAB clearance, with a membership that as individuals have no interest in seeking approval. Our solution is to require all young members to be accompanied by a parent or grandparent. Considering the apparent general low interest in modelling is understandable. The open spaces where my mates and I would fly models, no longer exists in the same numbers, now vanishing small in numbers. As a youngster I did not fly models in a club environment, nor did my mates. Locations such as parks have become heavily regulated, to the extent very few would think of flying a model in one. If you did it probably would not be long before you were told that it was not allowed, if true or not. Where my granddaughters live, even kite flying is banned by by-law on the beach, within 50m of the promenade. There are other reasons as to why there is little interest with the young. It will not change anything by fretting about them. I accept that my age group enjoys modelling and welcomes anybody into the hobby, whatever the age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtom39 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Well said Erflog , As a club we have a similar attitude. It doesn't matter re age etc (we have gone down the DBS route for a couple of the Instructors - bit of a chore but not as bad as the old CRB) however we do insist that parents/guardians accompany minors or vulnerable adults (in case of any one over sixty should I ask for them to be accompanied by a grandchild so not to show any sign of age related prejudice!) Nearly got me on my soap box as I'm having an interesting discussion with the local council who have updated local bye- laws to stop the use of common land in my area for any form model flying. I got attracted to Modelling watching free flight at the common in my village , many, many , many years ago! Its about exposure and getting people stimulated to want to give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 It's an interesting theme that seems to be developing here in terms of local authorities banning flying through the use of bylaws And planning authorities heavily regulating flying sites. Football, tennis, golf, cycling and athlethics to name a few are apparently acceptable to most people in most areas, mainly due to the media and others. How can we as a hobby influence the powers that be including the media to become more acceptable to society. I'm always amazed how many people attend RIAT,lets say 200k for example who ooh and ahh over planes looping the loop yet very few would want to live near a light aircraft field or military base. That I find bizarre.Do show organisers inform the local tv,radio and paper about their public events,such as Weston park,long marston,cosford Nats etc. What is the BMFA doing to raise the positive profile of the hobby amongst those in power? As clubs it can be a challenge to 'go public' but as a larger organization or show it can be easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtom39 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Hello Chris. I think the BMFA are trying to get more media exposure. I'm aware that some our younger club members have applied to take part in the Joint BMFA/CBBC show Airmageddon. I understand that the TJD team took part at the recent Biggin Hill airshow and also aware that models have been flown at other airshows such as Shoreham. We do have one bit of common land where no ball games are allowed either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I don't think comparing RIAT with living near a light airfield is really an example of establishing where people like to live. As an aside I live under the flight path of Cranfield and the village of Cranfield itself is always a sought after place in terms of housing. It is also much, much more nice to live, in terms of noise, than where I used to live as a kid a quarter mile away from Leigh Centurions ground. The noise was incredible some days! A military base is the complete opposite, it is totally understandable to not wish to live next door to Marham, for example. Unless you're already deaf. With regards to flying bye laws I don't think a broad brush works Erf; my local park has no such restrictions at all and restricting kite flying within 50m of the promenade is totally understandable. Edited By John F on 23/10/2015 16:47:43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Oh John! That is why i did write "if true or not". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.