Club Members

[Maurice Dyer]

Is it just us, or are other members finding it hard to keep members. ?

It seems after the uncertainty of the last two years, we are struggling to keep members of our model club. Whether its infirmity or apathy, our membership

looks certain to drop about 15% of its membership. No amount of talking, cajoling or any other means will help.

Disappointing to say the least. Dropped our membership fee to practically nothing as well.

Here's hoping (doubtful) for better times.

[SIMON CRAGG]

More or less the same situation, gained a couple lost about four. Despite our best efforts, been on the slide for a few years now.

[Chris Walby]

I suppose it depends on what the club has to offer for its membership fee? Cheap may not work if it offers little in return whereas a club that provides instructors, examiners, clubhouse, access for IC and electric at convenient times etc.

 

Some clubs to choose certain rules and policies to suit themselves, ultimately its short termism but it suits them so if you don't like it. Leave.

 

 

 

 

[Maurice Dyer]

29 minutes ago, Chris Walby said:

I suppose it depends on what the club has to offer for its membership fee? Cheap may not work if it offers little in return whereas a club that provides instructors, examiners, clubhouse, access for IC and electric at convenient times etc.

 

Some clubs to choose certain rules and policies to suit themselves, ultimately its short termism but it suits them so if you don't like it. Leave.

 

 

 

 

We seem to have a bad run. Been to 6 funerals of members in the past two years Predominantly older members club. covid hadn't helped, we offer training, i/C , electric and thermal. Just a bad time.Don't seem able to encourage/ keep young members.

[leccyflyer]

I'm a member of three clubs, memberships of ~35-ish, ~25-ish and 15-ish, with some new members joining in the past couple of years and sadly the loss of a few members who have passed away. Those member numbers seem fairly stable to me and in each of the clubs it's the same basic hard core which do most of the flying. In my previous club in England we set great store in trying to promote the hobby to youngsters, but I don't believe that is the demographic which can provide us with replacement members. The growth area for the hobby is in the middle aged male arena and there is real promise there, greatly aided by the technological learning aids which are available. That's certainly been my experience in two of the clubs I'm a member of.

 

It's difficult to attract youngsters, other than as lad-and-dad pairs, due to transport issues, time spent at the field and competing leisure activities. Most of the youngsters I've seen take up and succeed in the hobby have been as part of a family group and very often they drift away from the hobby, hopefully temporarily- to come back when they are the dad part of the equation, The trick is to retain the original dad as an active member.

 

One area that club secretaries could look at for new recruits are the Men's Shed organisations which are springing up all over the place - there's real benefits in cross-pollination there, with groups of generally tech and craft-savvy gents with a bit of time on their hands. The mental health benefits of both types of activity are very clear and mutual co-operation could really help both groups. That's the main demographic target for growth of traditional aeromodelling as far as I can see.

[PeterF]

Mortgage interest increases, gas and electricity increases, 10%+ inflation, modelling is a luxury / discretionary spend. My son runs a business supplying kits to the wargaming fraternity, sales have taken a significant hit over the past 6 months.

[Brian Cooper]

The major problem which our hobby has is it is predominantly pursued by elder members of the community. . . . And they are dying out. 

 

Regrettably, not enough youngsters seem to want to get involved in the game. 

Or, (sign of the times) if they DO  want to take up the hobby, their parents are reluctant to support them.  

Oh well, the child goes back to staring at a mind-numbing mobile phone....!! (The IQ reducer). 🤦‍♂️

 

Gone are the halcyon days when an intelligent child could cycle to a flying field on his own and happily engage with the adults for a few hours . . . Nowadays, it seems there has to be an obligatory parent on site too. 🙄 

[David Davis 2]

We've been lucky. Our numbers are pretty stable at about 30 each year. This year it's 33. We have a good reputation for helping beginners to build and fly, some of our members traveling thirty miles or more to our field even though there are clubs closer to where they live. The bulk of the membership are retired and of those who have recently joined the club, two have full-size pilots licences and two are returning to the hobby after a break of thirty years or more. We have only one junior member, the son of the best pilot in the club. Both father and son can out-fly the rest of us by a considerable margin! There are only five members of the club who are of working age. If we continue to attract recently retired members and those approaching retirement every year we'll be ok. That's where the interest seems to lie.

[SIMON CRAGG]

We have a good club trainer and buddy box set up, allow three "free" visits prior to joining, are part of the BMFA club finder set up, have a heated club house (warm space), and shop, a well maintained grass patch and tarmac circle, have club meetings at a local hall, table top sales, this year a "club model build" (eleven participants), just started indoor drone / helicopter flying with tea and buns, Xmas get together next week. Not sure there is much left that we could do. I will run the "Men's Shed" idea past the rest of the Committee though.

[kc]

Where is your club Maurice?    You should mention the area at least if you want people to join.........

 

 

[Robert Cracknell]

Do any clubs out there visit or invite cubs, scouts, ATC to their sites?

By virtue of the fact that these groups are populated by youth who are actively interested in things outside the home they might be a fertile recruiting ground.

In my days as a scout (50 years ago) we used to have winter indoor meetings with a talk or demo from various groups or individuals on something of interest.

[EarlyBird]

Advertise like this

 

Don Valley MFC | BMFA Classifieds

 

💡

 

Steve

[EarlyBird]

6 minutes ago, Robert Cracknell said:

Do any clubs out there visit or invite cubs, scouts, ATC to their sites?

Yes, and there was a lot of interest.

[Bruce Collinson]

We’re very fortunate with c. 60 members and slight pressure on the committee to restrict new members for the time being because of possible pressure of numbers at weekends.

 

possibly, there are some determinants.   We undoubtedly benefit from being adjacent to a large conurbation, in beautiful countryside and with a very prolific LMS.   There is an unwritten rule that if any passer by lingers at our gate, 15 yds from the pits, someone will engage with them and if there’s a whiff of interest they are welcomed in to see the models close up and to have a chat about what we do and why.   Once or twice a year, someone sticks and comes back to learn or to fly.

 

We continue to invest in the infrastructure, having added heat, light and charging to our building recently.   Charging is already being upgraded to cope with demand.

 

Training is paramount.   We have had pressure on trainers latterly, with the same handful of seasoned pilots shouldering most of the burden but it does pay off.

 

Proactive club communication is helpful, nudging members when there’s a fun fly, a bbq, Competency Certificate training or practice, etc.   We use Signal and the very efficient secretary fires messages out promptly and regularly.

 

My job takes me to within striking distance of the LMS regularly and I message several members prior to see if anyone needs anything bought or collected.   Maybe it makes little odds but if it keeps a clubmate in the air then it’s beneficial.

 

I think of it like this.   There are three types of members.   Some rarely appear; they subsidise the rest.   Some fly regularly and keep themselves to themselves and just get on with it, causing no issues to anyone.   The third type jumps up to help out, lend a prop or a spanner, grab an Osama if someone has an arrival to put the remains in, mucks in when the shed needs paint, attends the AGM and so on.   This group of a third provides most of the committee and the trainers and in my humble submission, gets more out of our hobby by putting more in.  NB this isn’t the same as six people doing the entire job of running the club, even though they occasionally grumble that it feels like it.

 

Food for thought?

 

BTC

ps Osama = Bin Liner.

 

 

[Don Fry]

16 minutes ago, Bruce Collinson said:

possibly, there are some determinants.   We undoubtedly benefit from being adjacent to a large conurbation, in beautiful countryside and with a very prolific LMS.   There is an unwritten rule that if any passer by lingers at our gate, 15 yds from the pits, someone will engage with them and if there’s a whiff of interest they are welcomed in to see the models close up and to have a chat about what we do and why.   Once or twice a year, someone sticks and comes back to learn or to fly.

Like a drug dealer hanging round the school gates.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

We had a membership recruitment/cost cutting talk at our recent AGM.

Websites changing and a new man running it, fresh ideas and enthusiasm to drive it forward.

Signage being made to encourage those who view from the gate, current (Private keep out) seems to deter them. 😉

More events next year and a better use of the various avenues to promote the club being looked at.

Don't understand the obsessions over Younger members ? A members a member, I couldn't care less who they are, as long as they're good company.

[leccyflyer]

3 hours ago, Robert Cracknell said:

Do any clubs out there visit or invite cubs, scouts, ATC to their sites?

By virtue of the fact that these groups are populated by youth who are actively interested in things outside the home they might be a fertile recruiting ground.

In my days as a scout (50 years ago) we used to have winter indoor meetings with a talk or demo from various groups or individuals on something of interest.

Yes, my old club used to have the Scouts along for a training session and I used to have chuck glider building events for Scouts, Cubs and Beavers. The youngsters are always very enthusiastic, but unfortunately it's that same issue of parental support and the notion of spending several hours at the club field at the weekend, fitting in with other pursuits is a real challenge.

 

 

[Frank Skilbeck]

4 hours ago, Robert Cracknell said:

Do any clubs out there visit or invite cubs, scouts, ATC to their sites?

By virtue of the fact that these groups are populated by youth who are actively interested in things outside the home they might be a fertile recruiting ground.

In my days as a scout (50 years ago) we used to have winter indoor meetings with a talk or demo from various groups or individuals on something of interest.

We host our local ATC squadrons twice a year, some quickly get the hang of it, but I can count the number of new members we have got from this on the fingers of one foot.

 

Also have had several newbies come down the field for trial flights on our buddy box with their parents, seem to have a great time on the day, but then don't take it any further. We actually get more new members from retirees who used to fly wanting to get back into the hobby.

[Engine Doctor]

Youngster if they join either learn to fly very quickly get bored and leave or if they cant do it staight away give up. If dad gets interested he usually stays. ATC and Scout groups are in my experience a waste of time for recruiting, cirtainly our local ATC and Scouts.

Membership at our club is currently falling a bit . From pre covid our membership has fallen 20% to now just under the 100 members . 

It's happened in the past and I have no doubt membership will recover if and when the financial situation gets better. 

Edited December 4, 2022 by Engine Doctor

[Brian Cooper]

4 hours ago, Robert Cracknell said:

Do any clubs out there visit or invite cubs, scouts, ATC to their sites?

 

Yes indeed.  The youngsters are always very keen and enthusiastic but they very rarely take it any further....and we never see them again. 

But we keep trying.  

 

[Denis Watkins]

Like you Brian, over many years and in future, twice per year we invite cubs and scouts who enjoy and show interest

But not one new member as a result of these efforts.

A family member needs to be involved for transport and supervision and may be the stumbling block.

[GrumpyGnome]

We're quite a small club - around 33-36 members typically.  The vast majority of our members are retired - some recently, some for many years.

 

We've had multiple articles in local papers/magazines, and stands at local events, but I think all new members in the last 5 years have come from word of mouth or via BMFA club finder.... a number are returnees to the hobby.  We've had many discussions about attracting new members but struggle.

 

Agree with comments re youngsters - we only have 3 juniors, 2 under 10 (1 an occasional flyer on his dad's buddy box), and one teenager who can rarely get to the field as he lives a fair distance away and is reliant on his father being willing to give up a day off work to stand in a field with people he has little in common with.... we have minimal facilities!

 

Also agree with comments re membership types.  I think in 4 1/2 years, I've only met about a dozen of our members - some of these only once.  It's a busy day at our field if there are 3 flying!  

[Cuban8]

Twenty years ago both of the clubs that I belong to had well over a hundred members each - 120 in the case of one and 147 in the case of the other. I'd guess that 2/3 were  and remain armchair flyers who we never see from one year to the next......a dangerous situation when most households are looking to cut down on unnecessary spending and many clubs are faced with field rents and running costs of several thousands of pounds annually. One club now  has zero juniors, the other only a couple of older teenagers. The decline since the millenium has been slow but definate, both clubs at around the 90 mark each now. Not so bad I suppose, but a fall nevertheless. My wife and I are also members of the local Geological Society where the average age is probably around 70, (my wife's interest - I just tag along) and they are struggling to keep up their numbers and find it impossible to attract new younger members - so time will gradually take its toll there.

I must say that both Aeromodelling clubs are far from moribund at the moment and financially secure,  but as we all age and have various health issues to contend with and the obvious degree of natural wastage that will continue to occur,  I wish that I could be more optimistic for what the next ten years will bring. What happens will happen, clubs can only try their best to promote and encourage new members of all ages, but despite the best efforts of the BMFA to show the hobby in a vital and positive light, we will see fixed wing flying and helicopters become less popular. Aviation (in model form at least )simply doesn't attract the excitement and wonder that it did when I was a kid in the 60s and has fallen out of favour terribly over the last 20 years. Look at the allied hobby of plastic modelling - Airfix and Revell etc - all mainly aimed at the more adult end of the market now and despite easy to snap together starter kits, I guess very few of our children or grandchildren involve themselves in what is also a great educational hobby. Maybe the drones will inherit the flying fields that survive?

Edited December 5, 2022 by Cuban8

[SIMON CRAGG]

We to have tried to recruit via Scouts / ATC / Fetes etc. A LOT of effort to organise and take our best models to various halls etc.

 

Result?

 

Nothing / Zero / Diddly / Total waste of time and energy. As a club we have decided its a total non starter.

 

However, not all doom and gloom on the modelling front.

 

At present we do not allow drone flying at our club site, but I recently thought it might be a good idea to try indoor drone flying. (I am a long standing club Sec. and also on the Committee of a local Hall which I can use for nothing).

 

After a slow start, I have 14 members who are going to show up at our first indoor session.

 

There have been rumblings about including drone flying at our club site, and I think this may be the way to go, if the indoor goes well.

 

The market is flooded with suitable drones, so it is a very cheap way of getting into "flying".

 

Early days yet, but I think it may well be the way forward, and attract more potential members.

 

Hope so anyway.

 

 

 

 

[Cuban8]

One of my clubs doesn't accept new members wishing to fly drones, although existing members are permitted providing sensible precautions are taken. This may well change as time goes on. A few members did turn up with camera drones regularly for a while and a small drone racing course was set up out of the way in a safe position. However, the novelty has worn off somewhat and we only tend to see a drone when it comes in handy when looking for a downed model in long grass or crops in the summer.