There is a bunch of interesting observations in this thread.


The club of which Evan speaks where I live just below the traffic pattern IS fantastic but doesn't hold a candle to itself in its heyday. When I began soaring a few decades back, PMSC was a complete social hub. Entire families came to the strip and hung out. Kids drove golf carts, significant others sat in a sunscreen house and chewed the fat, some sort of gathering when the ships were put away (yes, you guys still do this which is super cool). People would arrive at the strip even if the family pilot wasn't there so they were able to socialize. We moved the operation as an encampment at least once each month, etc. XC has always been encouraged and retrieves were more common and anticipated. My daughter would be all bummed out of everyone made it home because she loved the adventure of a retrieve. PMSC still has the adventurous spirit and the volunteerism is unmatched. Point being, and others have touched upon this, the airport was an enjoyable place to hang out. Still is and the kids ask to head down to check it out and drive golf carts to move gliders around. While I am not actively flying, my family still enjoys seeing the friends we've made over the years and we regularly get together outside of the soaring environment. Besides flying, soaring has enhanced all aspects of our lives. And in case you are wondering, there are extremely aesthetic individuals who are members. Eye candy for all.

Someone also mentioned improving the product. Not the flying but the entire package regardless of the activity at the strip. This is key to retaining membership in soaring and improving the overall brand.

How does the soaring community, not just some SSA committee, do this?

We can start by being more open in our communication. There have been many mentions of success by unnamed individuals and organizations at unnamed airports. Help each other out. Who, what, where, why; fill us in on the successes. There are too many mistakes to make in a lifetime so let's educate each other on how we overcame the obstacles to achieving success.

It'd be great if the internal bickering would go away; forever. Who cares if the winch or the towplane gets people into the air. What is important is people are flying. The partisanship just kills creativity. It doesn't matter who is correct as long as the brand is improved and people are flying. Help the community find the best solution to the location to help make an operation a success. Winch; towplane; bungee; balloon drop? Doesn't matter as long as the operation works.

If the brand needs a makeover to improve the image then let's figure out how to do this. What does it cost to recover the and install a new interior into the 2-33? To most new-commers the difference between a 2-33 and DG-1000 is the color. Maybe the clubs set in a barren dessert can benefit from having a screenhouse to provide shade for pilots, families and interested parties. Not much but it gives the impression the organization cares about the comfort of people who stop by.

Are these good ideas? I have no idea but we need to put these bits out there so others can tap into them and see if they work at all. Will this all require effort? YES but if we spend as much effort improving the brand as we do cutting each other up we have the problem solved.

Will this take money. Hell yes. Where will we get it? Big question. Liability, tax, and commerce law does get into the way for corporate donations like cars and beer (got to reward the volunteers). 501(c)(3) status helps but setting up individual clubs has shown to be a lot of work. Can one mega club be set up to receive and distribute the cash for brand improvement? It seems like the SSA should be able to do this but if they cannot, skip over them and don't let them be an impediment. I stand on the platform there is a ton of money available in the US. What can we do to improve the brand by not having to throw money at it? What improvements to the brand can we make? This goes well beyond the flying. Before you can land the fish you need to set the hook. Most of the conversations are about what to do with the fish once it is in the boat.