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duncan1574(at)gmail.com
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 Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:00 am Post subject: Barry's concerns |
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I have been a member since the first 7 ship fly-in at MTW & remain one to
this day. That said, I can see Barry's concerns are valid. We are now a
large organization that needs a restructuring. I joined to part of a group
of great people, who included me into their 'gang' even though I was not a
pilot nor owned a plane, my experience at MTW made me see that I could be a
pilot, and I came back the next year ticket in hand. Having been to several
of the recent OSH events, I don't think I would come back at all.
Here is what I see: the organization is large enough to make that one-on-one
contact difficult, we are world-wide and have members who pay they
membership and don't take part due partially to that focus on formation
flying. YAK-5xs don't particularly like straight and level, they are acro
planes and their owner, for the most part, buy them to bank & yank. We need
a presence for those pilots.
What I (& others) miss is the camaraderie that we had in the early days and
I have contemplated organizing a MTW fly-in during OSH 2012, to attempt to
recapture the 'good old days'. We as the RPA can make that happen that
small group feel in an organization of 400 or 4,000, by giving the directors
more power & money to run local events.
Can it be 'fixed'? I am not sure, I hope so.
Russ
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barryhancock
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Posts: 285
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:03 pm Post subject: Re: Barry's concerns |
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I remember that first MTW clinic. It remains one of my fondest flying memories. I still remember doing fly-bys between Bratwursts at the BBQ. I fell in love with formation flying and the camaraderie of guys that wanted to have fun with their planes at that event. I have been fortunate, especially as a civilian, to move through the ranks to a patched formation instructor. I have lead a 24 ship formation over Airventure, lead a 4-ship of F/A-18's in an L-39, and many other flying accomplishments that would not have happened without my involvement in this community. I am grateful for all of it and the selfless hard work of dedicated volunteers who helped me and countless others along the way. And I've tried to give back as best I can.
It is unfortunate that economic factors make MTW/OSH less appealing for those far away. Despite the tough economic times, however, the RPA has apparently grown to over 500 members, and has over $20k (nearly $30k?) in the kitty. That's terrific. But those kind of resources demand accountability to membership. It begs questions that we do not have answers to: What is happening with that money? Is it being used to fund regional events? Create training videos? Increase standardization through dedicated instructor clinics (not just formation)? Etc., etc. What? Why? Why not?
I'm told that there are approximately 130 current FAST cards in the association. For argument's sake let's suppose that it is actually double that. That still leaves 50% of the membership interested in things other than formation. Is the association giving them the same kind of support they are giving to the formation crowd? Not even close. Why? In my opinion it is due to both the culture that exists in leadership and by-laws that allows that culture to dominate (as Drew has pointed out elsewhere).
To me, this is a club running under the guise of an association. I think they either go back to calling it a club, or run it like an association.
Get involved, fellas, and at least make your voice heard. $45 may only cover a 20 minute acro hop, but the value and potential of your membership goes far beyond that. It's up to us to make it so.
Barry
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