Growing Indoor FF in general and at USIC (was Solutions for Indoor FF)

From: John Kagan <john_kagan_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:47:04 -0000

Don D, Let's start with the part where we do agree:

- We want more people participating in Indoor FF, especially contests like USIC where the facility rental depends on having enough people to cover the cost. Whether or not the "future of Indoor FF" depends on increased numbers, it is certainly more fun with more people involved.

I tried to think of a good way to discuss and evaluate our various "plans" for growing participation, and the best that I've come up with is for us to start with a separate thread for each plan. It is going to get messy, there will be overlap, and the separate threads will surely start to merge.

Also, based on past experience here, and in other communities, we won't reach an agreement on all – or probably even any – of the issues. But I think the exercise will be valuable to the people who choose to take on the challenge, forge ahead, and make change in a benevolent dictatorship kind of way.

BTW – since I'm presenting my own plan, I am going to feel warranted to say what I think is wrong with parts of the other plans.

The "Kagan" plan:

1) Continued effort on the "three ingredients":
   a. Make information available – so newcomers can get themselves going (Internet, youtube, magazines, books, TV, etc.)
   b. Obtain and retain flying sites – requires a special sales-guy personality (the "Places to fly" ingredient)
   c. Develop local critical-mass groups – requires a special leader personality (the "People to fly with" ingredient)

2) Give newcomers a feeling of accomplishment to keep them hooked. Specifically: a 5 and 10-minute medal/award/certificate for achieving a 5 and 10 minute flight with any model.

3) Make USIC back into an event-of-the-year
   a. Tune up the schedule to, for example, encourage the glider guys to invest in the trip (I'm working on that now)
   b. Keep a site record list and make it prestigious (Cat IV AMA records are not likely at ETSU)
   c. Banquet? (ugh.)
   d. Think of other reasons to make people *want* to come (not feel like they have to)
Received on Wed Jun 03 2009 - 13:52:40 CEST