What are the other 90% of our members doing?

[barrie burton]

This is meant as a little more than asking a simple question.If shows like cosford and our web site are the two main access pointsto our association,then the average club member and Mr public must think that we all build mega multi jets,1/3rd scale WW1 aircraft and museum scale WW2 warbirds.This is obviously not true.The pilots at Cosford and the regular web contributors may add up to 100 (although I doubt it).That leaves 900 members that are not seen or heard of by the outside world.
Stewart Clifford and his Peoples Projects has tried to communicate with the hidden majority,but the early response is from the usual regulars,with their stunning creations.Do the wonderful models seen at the shows and on the web,discourage people from displaying their models.My latest is a 1/4scale Cessna Airmaster,built during the Summer,but who is interested in a Cessna when they can see Vulcans,FW 190 and the like.
I do not know the answer,but I can see why the average club member thinks that all LMA members have fat wallets and fly from dissused airfields.
The asking price of a part finished model on the forum was more than I paid for my first house,but I was on only £1000 PA.This year I have built a 1/4scale glider and a 1/4 scale Airmaster for a materials cost of less than £50 for the two plus the part contents of my scrap box.
What I am trying to say is that 90% of our membership are silent,are they being frightened off by the abilities of the remaining 10%,or is it that only 10% of members are active moellers.
How about a simple questionnaire in the journal ? Dave P has time on his hands.

Bi Barrie Burton LMA no 23

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

I would not think that 35.000 members of the bmfa invade their flying fields every week, Nor do i think that club members use the club facilities every week, there is always a silent membership in any sort of club structure, or organisation, folk just like being a member of a group/organisation/club,

[stewart clifford]

Hi Barrie

What you've said is kind of my point too, I also wondered if some are put off by those things. They really shouldn't be though, thats a shame if thats the case. Although many put a great deal of effort and expense into "LMA" models they are still t'he same guys who play about at their local fields with more modest sport models. Also I'm pretty sure many of t'he larger models are done on a shoestring budget and perhaps theres room on this forum for people to give out their less expensive modelling tips. I'm willing to bet that you can build a Ziroli type design for the same cost as doing a 75" Yt model. As for your models Barrie, put a little bit up about them and see what t'he response is. Again I'm sure theres plenty of people out there who will be interested. Everyone should remember that no matter the size, cost, complexity or appearance of t'he models, they are still just toys and these toys are for us to play with and have fun, thats what it should all be about. On top of that we are all members of the same organisation and should therefore help each other out, encourage/support each other though the bad days and the good ones too.

Stewart

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

that would be a 72inch YT model, i doubt if you could get all the bits, build it, and finish it to the same standard for 250quid ish

[Charlie Cox]

Could it be that many members are like me.

I have some nice 80 to 89 " models, mainly ARTF's but I don't feel that they are "LMA" Show type models so therefore, in the main, keep myself to myself and attend fly-ins.

Just a thought.

Charlie

[stuart cotgrove]

Could it be that many members are like me.

I have some nice 80 to 89 " models, mainly ARTF's but I don't feel that they are "LMA" Show type models so therefore, in the main, keep myself to myself and attend fly-ins.

Just a thought.

Charlie

...and have a real good laugh too!

[Simon Wright]

I understand and agree with some of the points made here. The LMA is by definition about LARGE models but the definition of a large model has changed massively over the years.

Today most flying clubs around the country see a selection of models around the 30 to 50cc size each weekend, twenty years ago this size of model would have been considered extremely large. Today 30 to 50cc is a club size model.

There does seem to be a break point at the many shows where the MEGA models, which i dare say are owned by perhaps 5% or less of the memmbership dominate the flying time. indeed I seem to remember a discussion at the AGM a few years ago where it was stated that the mega models are of far more interest to the paying public than the more usual large models and therefore would dominate the flying schedules.

I think that the majority of members would like to fly at shows but feel somewhat pushed out by the Mega models, at most shows it is almost a bun fight to get a couple of flying slots per day. It hardly seems worth the effort sometimes.

There is a commonly held conception amongst most of the flyers that i meet that the LMA is about Large Models, flown by Old Farts, With big Ego's, Large wallets and low ability. This is an opinion with which I do not agree.

To me , the best events that the LMA throws are the fly ins where models of all sizes get lots of flying.

[barrie burton]

Hi Simon
I am one of those OLD FARTS,I was flying at LMA events when John Greenfield and Richard Rawle wore shorts.The first large model rally was at Middle Wallop,about 30 years ago,the star of the show was a 1/2 size Jungmeister,just like the one in the current journal. You confirm my views,the majority of our members do not fly at the public shows or contribute to the web site or journal.The image of the association is that portraided by the 10% or less minority.Mind you if all 1000 of us wanted to fly at Cosford ,I susspect that Dave J would want resuscitating,not by me however.


Barrie Burton LMA 23

[Cary Bailey]

Hi, I joined the LMA earlier this year as I have a 1/3rd Scale Fokker DVI. At present I have viewed the forum on many occasion & added minor posts. Therefore "fully" contributing as yet has not been my forte as I'm settling back into flying after a 35+ year sabattical! Yes I flew what were deemed as large models in the 70's when a Twin Otter powered by 2 Merco 61's was classed as being big, plus almost popping a certain Mr Lever's nose out of joint when he deadstick landed his large size (I won't say scale) Spitfire over the crowd, coming no more than 3 feet over my head! I was an organiser with Denis Martin's Mini-Nats & was in the crowd talking to a few of my club colleagues at Hixon! I was about 18 yrs old at the time & very feisty about proper flying!!
Now with the advent of ARTF Large Scale models being available I don't feel I'm experienced enough to pass comment, but I do marvel at the information you guys provide plus even remember some of you from eon's ago! Even the name Pete Neate came up on Saturday in a conversation I was having! (Gives my age away somewhat)!
I do have a project on the go at the moment but once I have my full details as to where I'm going with it, I will be posting it on the "People's Build" part of the forum. It's only a 1/5 Scale P51D but there is quite a bit of history surrounding the build. I do look forward to posting it but as yet I don't feel worthy enough to compete with the "Brethren"!!
I shall be attending Gaydon as I attended Weston Park & Cosford. I do thank you guys for keeping the LMA operational as it is one of the reasons I decided at my time in life that in my latter days I would return to Model Flying!
Cary

[sean smith]

Hi, i've been a member LMA for a few years now and i go to some fly-in's only to watch normally as my planes are too large to fit in my car. I currently fly a Meister Scale P47 ,Greenly,Lowley and a host of smaller sports models (building a 100" Meister Me 109 G-10). I'm very lucky to have a small airstrip on the farm where i live. Sometimes i'm amazed at the amount some people spend on their models but if they can afford it why not.

Sean.

[Dave Hayfield]

There are modellers and model flyers. As far as I am concerned an aeromodeller is someone who actually builds a model from a laid out plan, whittling bits of wood, metal and fibreglass and then goes out to have the most fantastic high of flying his/her creation. This need not cost a fortune but ready built models straight out of a box do cost an arm and a leg. Not knocking this because some of the spectacular flying at displays is provided by the shiny finished jobs. This probably why spectators think that LMA flyers are all millionaires. The fact that many of our more interesting creations are scratch built is not put over to the general public strongly enough. A case in point was a discussion overheard on the spectator line when Greg Hayfield was flying his big Pitts, ok that is a little bit more than average modelling, someone commented "that was no-way built in someones workshop, it must have been made in a factory with all those fibreglass mouldings and metalwork". Well it needed someone to say that build was entirely home grown and the same goes for so many more of our display models.

[David Whiteley]

I am an LMA member, but I don't know if I will ever build a "Large" model. I am happy doing traditional builds of smaller models from plans or kits. I am a trainee pilot, so there is no way in which I would risk a load of time, effort and cash on a larger model at the moment.

Why am I a member of the LMA then?

We (my wife and I) thoroughly enjoy the shows, or what we see of them, because we help at them which keeps us away from the flightline. We like what the LMA does. We just enjoy supporting it.

Dave Whiteley