On Sat, 4 Dec 2004 23:27:30 -0500, "JohnWN in Burke, VA"
wrote:

I think IMAGE is the key.

Soaring is in decline for a lot of reasons, some from without, some
from within. Declining real incomes, unsure futures, so called
"global economy" that looks to me like it might go ashcan, these don't
just effect soaring they effect most leisure actibities. Hobby supply
companies are going under daily, US machinery manufacturing is on the
skids, (Which were a lot of the higher paying jobs) more and more of
the auto industry is not in the US. Not much anyone can do about
those, but when you see very old names in the hobby industry
disappear, it's a pretty good sign that the expendable income isn't
there. Another indicator, when a new company does come up in the
hobby industry, it's almost always "high end", aimed at the limited
few that can afford the product, not at any mass market.

There is no one key, you're sitting at a 5 manual organ with AGO
pedalboard and trying to figure out which one will be the "key".
There ain't no magic bullet. Most people get their introduction to
flight today in the passenger compartment of a 747, a lot of them
don't even look out the window. Flying, for them, consists of getting
from one coast to the other before their competitor company does.

Kids, younger people, forget it. The kids might have a few bucks to
play with, but the early 20 to late 30 bracket is more interested in
keeping home and family in the same place. With no chance that you
won't be forced to find another job, don't look for them to jump into
something that's a constant drain on their income, it won't happen.
The three families nearest me, all of them, are having a pretty bad
time keeping going, one halfway down the block is being "relocated",
with the normal cut in income. No stability whatsoever, that's pretty
hard to overcome. But it's still only one reason, and not the only
one.