Club memberships.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Well how are things looking at your club ?

After a tough few years, covid and dreadful weather, our clubs seeing an upturn in new memberships, also quite a few lapsed ones returning, long may it continue.

[Allan Bennett]

Ours is just holding its own numbers-wise, no noticeable post-COVID surge.  But there's been a notable lack of numbers at the field on our regular Sunday afternoons, probably partly due to the windy weather so far this year.

[John Stainforth]

What are the BMFA membership numbers looking like?

[PDB]

1 hour ago, Allan Bennett said:

Ours is just holding its own numbers-wise, no noticeable post-COVID surge.  But there's been a notable lack of numbers at the field on our regular Sunday afternoons, probably partly due to the windy weather so far this year.

At my main club same for us, numbers overall are fine but very quiet Sundays. Not helped I guess by the 6 month period of no flying due to a waterlogged strip and unsettled weather, the club are concerned numbers may drop next season.

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Ours is up for the 3rd year running 43 this year, although around 2008 we were around 75 the downtrend was my fault, in a nice way😇

Mostly a gang of 8 /10 in the week days with less at the week ends, now and again a Friday night BBQ, one this Friday, more of an excuse to have a chinwag and a few beers, we have a really good friendly ambiance, so I will get a few 'merguez' sausages for this Friday, and some sort of flying object.

 

After the disappearance of helicopters for a while, also my fault, they are back but the racing drones seem to have gone forever.

[leccyflyer]

All three of my clubs have showed a steady trickle of a few new members joining this year and I believe a smaller number have not re-joined, so the numbers are very slightly increasing. The number of active flyers isn't too different. On a good day at my local club we might get 8 flyers - which is ca 50% of the membership, whilst at my old club we can get up to just over a dozen, around 30% of the membership. A few weeks ago for the first time I can ever remember, we ran out of car parking spaces in the area where we park our cars, with a couple having to stack up two deep - that was 15 flyers, the most that I've seen there, other than for an event.

[Simon Burch 1]

Our club membership went from about 65 pre-covid to just shy of 100 now.  So far, numbers are holding firm.  Our flying site is open to the public, which certainly helped us to draw in some 'returners' and newcomers during the pandemic.  It's almost perfect for free flight, which is a big attraction, but we also have a strong contingent of RC beginners. 

 

A few of our young people have been attracted into RC flying by the current crop of small highly stabilised foamie warbirds, such as the Volantex P51, Spitfire etc; these are exciting aeroplanes which seem incredibly cheap and easy to fly.  Parents buying them as presents have encouraged their children to join the club - which is great.  Of course, we would ultimately aim to move them on to 'better' things but, as a way of bringing young people into the hobby, I think these models are hard to beat.

 

Actual participation is variable and, of course, weather dependent but, overall, I'd say we were doing pretty well.

Edited August 12, 2024 by Simon Burch 1

[Robin Colbourne]

Our club appears to be thriving.  We have one grass site which is seven day a week use with electric-only at the weekend, a weekends-only concrete runway for IC, Electric and EDFs, plus thermal comps  flown on the adjacent grass when it has been cut, a slope soaring site and a once a month evening site with a social club, where we fly small electrics and control line in the summer and have meetings indoors in the winter. 
Membership-wise we have a handful of junior members, plus a mix of older new members who have either moved into the area and are experienced fliers or are older beginners.   There was talk about having a cap on membership numbers, although it only seems to be an issue at our concrete weekends-only site, and even there most people leave before the end of our permitted flying hours.   We are fortunate that we all seem to get along.  Listening to older members talking there have been times when unruly members have made life difficult, but that is a thing of the past.
We have a club Facebook page and three Whatsapp groups which allow people to coordinate when and where they fly plus giving each other mutual help.  It all seems to work pretty well, largely thanks to some hard-working committee members and members who cut the grass etc.

[MattyB]

10 hours ago, Allan Bennett said:

Ours is just holding its own numbers-wise, no noticeable post-COVID surge.  But there's been a notable lack of numbers at the field on our regular Sunday afternoons, probably partly due to the windy weather so far this year.

Well I have had an excuse Alan!!! Whether I will ever be back rather depends on whether I  BC am ever approved to drive again sadly. 😢😢

Edited August 12, 2024 by MattyB

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

6 hours ago, Robin Colbourne said:

with electric-only at the weekend,

Oh dear, 80% + of our members would move to another club, but why this rule ?

 

Ps, maybe even 95%, and ALL the club 'Mowers' would be in there with them, so who would cut the grass, get some outside company to cut it, and with no members to pay them the club wouldn't last a year.

Edited August 13, 2024 by Paul De Tourtoulon
Ps

[Cuban8]

Both of my clubs seem to have stabilised around about 85 members - each from numbers well over 100 twenty years ago. The club for which I take care of the membership admin peaked at 147 just after 2000. A steady decline since then. Very little to no interest from teens or younger in the hobby and if they do, they give it a couple of years and then usually  move on. 

New joiners are mainly much older, say in their 40s -  either new to the hobby with some spare cash to spend after an abortive attempt to fly years ago, or even  older  flyers, post retirement,  moving clubs for a variety of reasons.

Both clubs face the problem of an ageing membership bringing health issues which curtails or limits being able to fly or travel to the field.

Having said that, both clubs do  remain active with plenty of new models coming along - fairly well attended flying sessions although the social side of the clubs has fallen away. My main club always has one good bash in the form of a family day and BBQ with a themed flying day - warbirds this year in a few weeks time. Flying sessions tend to be spread more evenly across the week as so many more of us are now retired -  the Sunday crush is a thing of the past.

Club nights, which were very popular back in the 1990s and before, are not viable now - even AGMs which used to be packed with members only attract two or three dozen now. 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2024 by Cuban8

[Brian Cooper]

I am a member of two clubs.

 

1). 

Membership in my local club is slowly declining. This is due to the older members dying and not being replaced by younger ones joining. 

We have no juniors. . . They have all grown up.  We have tried many initiatives to attract new juniors, and whilst they are keen to have a go at flying, none of them has been interested enough to get involved.   

Attendance at the field has been poor at the weekends, but this is mainly due to the horrid, wet and windy weather we have had until very recently.

We actually have a greater attendance of fliers during the week. 

We are slightly restricted in the types of aircraft we can fly there due to the size of the place. It tends to be nothing bigger than, say, an Acrowot. This too doesn't help to increase membership numbers. 

Nevertheless, we are always upbeat and we enjoy each other's company. 

 

2).  

The second club is 25 minutes away. It has a thriving membership and  has a waiting list of people wanting to join. This is due to the excellent flying field where it is possible to do a low pass for about a mile. 

We fly all sorts of models there, from novices to jet jockeys.... there is no "snobbery".  

There are several juniors and they are excellent pilots. One of them (who is 12) is now teaching his younger brother how to fly. 

Socially, it is a very active club and we have camping, barbecues, night flying, etc, which take place over an entire weekend.  

 

Onwards and upwards. 

[Allan Bennett]

8 hours ago, MattyB said:

Well I have had an excuse Alan!!! Whether I will ever be back rather depends on whether I  BC am ever approved to drive again sadly. 😢😢

I've PM'd you.

[Cuban8]

Thankfully, there are clubs that buck the trend that is becoming more prevalent, and that is an ageing membership leading to a steady decline in the dynamism and energy (quite literally) within a club. Clubs have always 'aged' but would sustain and even expand their numbers when we as a country were far more air-minded and youngsters were attracted to practical hobbies of all types. My wife is a member of the local geological and mineral society and I tag along in her wake - I give them no more than ten years before they too will pack up. Mrs C8 and myself are the club young folks, being in our mid 60s!

Field and flying restrictions are not helping us either, although I'm happy to say that my local club has only very minimal restrictions because of the fairly close proximity of a main road and sharing with other activities -  my main club is at the moment open to all types of models including turbines.

We all applaud the positive nature of the BMFA's various initiatives to keep the hobby going and long may their efforts bear fruit with younger folks or anybody else TBH, but sadly, we're up against it and longer term, I'm not at all confident that things will even remain as they are.

I'm not saying that aeromodelling will become extinct - I do worry that it'll become very much more of a niche and (by seen as many) nerdy activity even less attractive to the 'cooler' members of the population.

Quite how this all might be resisted (perhaps I overstate things?) is always material for debate.

[leccyflyer]

I was reading an old editorial by David Ashby the other day - I reread my RCM&E every day at the breakfast table , since they stopped printing "Cette sauce de haute qualite...." on the HP sauce bottles,  and this was a few years ago. I found myself in agreement with him that, whilst undoubtedly a lot of fun and nice to see, attracting juniors to the hobby has long been a challenge and that really isn't where the survival of the hobby lies, The most fertile recruiting area for our clubs seems to be middle aged returners to the hobby and occasionally you might get lucky and attract a lad and dad pairing. This is a cracking lad and dad hobby, and those times are the very best that I've had in the hobby, but they are fleeting.

 

As for being in multiple clubs, there are downsides, in terms of perhaps spreading yourself too thin, but sometimes facilities dictates that need. My local club has a small strip, only available for electric models of relatively modest size. I wouldn't be comfortable flying a 7lb model on 65" or above there, but that is possible at my old club, some 90 minutes away.  Foremost though it's about the people, that is what keeps me in the hobby. I've made some good flying pals since moving up to Scotland and received a marvellous welcome, which keeps me returning to my old club on a regular basis, as well as flying more often with my new pals, just ten minutes away.

[MattyB]

20 hours ago, John Stainforth said:

What are the BMFA membership numbers looking like?

~35k  - https://nationalcentre.bmfa.org/about-the-bmfa, but I seem to remember from the annual report last year it was in slow decline, and predicted to continue in the comng years, but that is a cloudy pre-stroke memory and i can't find the report now, sorry. 

Edited August 13, 2024 by MattyB

[MattyB]

3 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

Thankfully, there are clubs that buck the trend that is becoming more prevalent, and that is an ageing membership leading to a steady decline in the dynamism and energy (quite literally) within a club. Clubs have always 'aged' but would sustain and even expand their numbers when we as a country were far more air-minded and youngsters were attracted to practical hobbies of all types. My wife is a member of the local geological and mineral society and I tag along in her wake - I give them no more than ten years before they too will pack up. Mrs C8 and myself are the club young folks, being in our mid 60s!

Field and flying restrictions are not helping us either, although I'm happy to say that my local club has only very minimal restrictions because of the fairly close proximity of a main road and sharing with other activities -  my main club is at the moment open to all types of models including turbines.

We all applaud the positive nature of the BMFA's various initiatives to keep the hobby going and long may their efforts bear fruit with younger folks or anybody else TBH, but sadly, we're up against it and longer term, I'm not at all confident that things will even remain as they are.

I'm not saying that aeromodelling will become extinct - I do worry that it'll become very much more of a niche and (by seen as many) nerdy activity even less attractive to the 'cooler' members of the population.

Quite how this all might be resisted (perhaps I overstate things?) is always material for debate.

I think there is a lot of truth in your post, tbh I can't really see how the current trend can be resisted in the lonfer term, as you say, air mindedness is no longer a thing - aviation is no longer viewed as a magical, amazing and fascinating thing, and that will never revert now.

[Simon Burch 1]

3 hours ago, leccyflyer said:

'......... I found myself in agreement with him that, whilst undoubtedly a lot of fun and nice to see, attracting juniors to the hobby has long been a challenge and that really isn't where the survival of the hobby lies, The most fertile recruiting area for our clubs seems to be middle aged returners to the hobby and occasionally you might get lucky and attract a lad and dad pairing. This is a cracking lad and dad hobby, and those times are the very best that I've had in the hobby, but they are fleeting.....'

 

We're lucky enough to have a few active lad-and-dad pairings; however, I'd say that our largest source of interest from young people comes from parents who buy them a cheap lightweight RTF foamie or drone, and then look for somewhere to fly it.  BMFA membership fees can be a barrier, but our junior subscription is only £1 and it gives access to the club trainers.  This helps to maintain and develop their interest, although we have struggled to find experienced members prepared to instruct with a buddy-box.  

 

Sadly, despite their potential to attract people into the hobby, I suspect many purchasers of RTF foamies end up crashing them and losing interest.  

[Robin Colbourne]

16 hours ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

Oh dear, 80% + of our members would move to another club, but why this rule ?

 

Ps, maybe even 95%, and ALL the club 'Mowers' would be in there with them, so who would cut the grass, get some outside company to cut it, and with no members to pay them the club wouldn't last a year.

As I understand it, the 'Weekend electric only' rule is because of houses and holiday accommodation within earshot.  I guess they expect people to be more tolerant of engine noise in the week than at weekend.  As we have the other site for power flying at the weekend, and most members are retired, it doesn't  seem to be much of an issue with the members. 

With regard to getting new members, targetting the middle aged and newly retired is a much better bet than trying to get uyoungsters whose time is stretched between studying, other activities and part-time jobs.  As most clubs insist on a parent or guardian accompanying them, the impact of single parent families shouldn't be overlooked.

At the other end of the membership, I'm a firm believer that the buddy box should be regarded as a method for allowing older, experienced, fliers to keep flying safely, as their eyesight and other faculties deteriorate.  In full-size gliding it is normal for older pilots to fly in a two seater with the other guy (either an instructor or Silver 'C' pilot) there 'just in case'.  In many cases the younger pilot will still learn from the older one's greater experience.

In a good club, with good communications, no longer being able to drive shouldn't be an issue unless you are right out in the sticks compared to the rest of the membership.  I'm sure in our club a lift would be offered if transport was the issue preventing one's flying (obviously a different story these days if its a junior needing a lift 🙄 )  .

 

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

6 hours ago, Robin Colbourne said:

As we have the other site for power flying at the weekend,

So why do you keep 2 sites ?

[Brian Cooper]

I hate to be the "voice in the wilderness" but getting juniors involved is important on so many levels. 

 

Waiting until they turn into "people" at middle age, or older, is not always the best idea. . I have seen this age group struggle like mad to get past a basic "A" test. . Youngsters can master it very quickly, and their skills multiply thereafter. 

 

As an anecdote, I have been giving goes to kids at various shows, fetes, Cub Scout groups, etc., for many years. 

During yet another event, I was giving yet more goes to yet more youngsters when a gentleman handed over his son and then said, "I am amazed you are still doing this... you won't remember me but you gave me a go at this when I was 7. ."

 

To cut a long story short, he was inspired by the experience and went on to have a career flying full size aeroplanes. 

Hi current job was being a Red Arrows pilot. . It doesn't really get any better than that, eh.. 

 

You never know what ignites inside a child when you inspire their imagination. 

 

Don't be frightened of juniors.  . . They turn into real people one day. 🤫

 

 

[leccyflyer]

I agree that getting youngsters involved is important and I also used to do the aeromodelling evenings with the Beavers, Cubs and SCouts, during which they went through the stages of building, flying and trimming a simple free flight pod and boom glider, through a profile, rubber powered Spitfire to a catapult-launched depron F-16/Phantom hybrid. These sessions culminated with buddy box sessions with an electric trainer and one one occasion one of the lads even brought his own model to fly. Fitting all that into a series of two hours evening meetings was a bit of a challenge, but the lads did have a good time and hopefully generated some nascent memories that would come back to kindle their enthusiasm.

 

However, without direct and continued parental support it is always going to be rare for a lone youngster to be able to take as active a part in the hobby as we did in our youth. Airmindedness was very much a thing in the 50's, 60's and even 70's when the majority of members here would have been growing up. Our leisure time was probably more and will less diversity in the range of things to do, than youngsters nowadays. There certainly wasn't the huge range of formalised after school activities that are on offer nowadays and we certainly did not get ferried everywhere. Our transport was shank's pony, pushbike or bus for the most part and if we were modellers that was usually how we got to a flying site, which was much more local - typically just a field. That isn't the case nowadays. For whatever reason mostly responsible parents don't just give their younger children free rein to play out until it gets dark and the child actually has rather less freedom than many of us had when we were young. All of that conspires against the lone youngster being able to take part in club flying unless they are lucky enough to have a very local club - the onus is on the parents to get them there.

 

There is a glimmer of hope though in the provision of well sorted electric parkflyers which really can enable a beginner to fly a full house Spitfire on half of a football pitch at a very minimal cost and these can excite youngsters and encourage them to take part. The days when a beginner with a Spitfire was a guaranteed recipe for disaster are behind us - it's perfectly feasible for a youngster to get a wee Spitfire for £75 as a gift and be flying it safely and confidently within a few minutes. That is the sort of thing to get them interested, probably even better these days if it's a wee jet instead.

[Robin Colbourne]

3 hours ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

So why do you keep 2 sites ?

Paul, there are a number of reasons.

• The club is quite spread out with the largest concentrations of members near the two sites.
• The concrete runway site suits the larger models with higher landing speeds (F3A & medium size EDFs) plus its the only site suitable for a long bungee.  The other site is the seven day a week site.
• We have a plan B should we lose the use of either site temporarily or permanently.

[GBG]

Regarding the site Robin mentions IC models are not permitted on only 2 days out of 7 and on those 2 days another site is available. As for Paul's comment on members leaving the club this rule doesn't seem to affect our membership which has remained steady at over 100 for the last few years. In addition as one of the more regular fliers at this site which I normally use during the times when IC are allowed from memory I have only seen 2 IC models in the past 6 months and the owner of one of those normally flies electric.

[Cuban8]

2 hours ago, Brian Cooper said:

I hate to be the "voice in the wilderness" but getting juniors involved is important on so many levels. 

 

Waiting until they turn into "people" at middle age, or older, is not always the best idea. . I have seen this age group struggle like mad to get past a basic "A" test. . Youngsters can master it very quickly, and their skills multiply thereafter. 

 

As an anecdote, I have been giving goes to kids at various shows, fetes, Cub Scout groups, etc., for many years. 

During yet another event, I was giving yet more goes to yet more youngsters when a gentleman handed over his son and then said, "I am amazed you are still doing this... you won't remember me but you gave me a go at this when I was 7. ."

 

To cut a long story short, he was inspired by the experience and went on to have a career flying full size aeroplanes. 

Hi current job was being a Red Arrows pilot. . It doesn't really get any better than that, eh.. 

 

You never know what ignites inside a child when you inspire their imagination. 

 

Don't be frightened of juniors.  . . They turn into real people one day. 🤫

 

 

I doubt if any of us will disagree with any of your sentiments Brian. We live in a totally different world these days from that of our youth, so we need to adapt and change our way of working where needed - It's great to get kids involved and I take my hat of to those that put in a lot of time and effort into encouraging them, particularly with so many other distractions in terms of how youngsters entertain themselves with computer games and all the rest of it. I see it first hand myself with my own young grandchildren who are fully engaged with modern tech etc.