Recreational flying accessible?

[Guest burbles1]

"Recreational flying shall be affordable and accessible to the maximum number of Australians."

 

That is one of the values of RA-Aus. But I'm wondering how accessible it will be from now on. To be accessible to Australians, part of the argument is to promote RA to gain new members. Of course, being accessible also is linked in to affordable training costs, less stringent medical requirements, less bureaucracy - and we've done that pretty well so far.

 

But my argument in this post focuses on the fact that RA-Aus is likely to withdraw magazine sales through newsagents because it is not profitable. So where does that leave promotion of RA to the wider public? How do people find out what's involved in learning to fly? Even if they haven't considered flying, someone's imagination might be sparked by seeing an aircraft and having them wonder "how can I learn?"

 

In the absence of a publicly available magazine to attract new members, what do we do?:confused:

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I can't say I visit a newsagent on a regular basis, maybe once or twice a year. The internet is the best thing to happen to recreational aviation.

 

The other thing is grass roots activism: inviting friends and relatives that don't fly to go flying. I also donate my old RAA mags to my brother, who is a retired hang glider pilot and has 3 boys.

 

the EAA has the right idea, throw lots of money into the web: http://www.sportaviationonline.org/

 

 

[dazza 38]

When i used to fly at Caloundra back in the mid nineties(Skyfox Flight Training).They where realy proactive.They used to set up a Stall at the Nambour show and they used to go to the local shopping centres and hand out fliers.They got alot of business that way, people who have never realy thought of flying or learning to fly.Especialy at the Nambour Show.Having a Skyfox on a trailer parked in the show grounds.Drew people like bees to a honey Pot.People in General didnt know or heard of the AUF/RAA.Things have moved on a bit since then though.AUF/RAA is alot bigger now than it was back then.There are alot of people out there, who in the back of their minds have always though about learning to fly, sometimes it just take a bit of stimulation to get the started.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Rotary has a flying chapter to which Rotary members can also belong. I had been a Rotary member for years (and Apex before that) but there's no Rotary in Springsure and the only club in Emerald that accepts women as members is a Breakfast (Sunrise) club and I could only do the first 15 mins of a meeting before I had to leave to get back to Springsure for work (hour & half drive for 15 mins!). Did it for a while and gave up. Because I am no longer a Rotary member I can't also belong to the Flying Rotarians as it is not a "Club" but a chapter of a Club. But that said, some of those guys are RAA and may be quite happy to come to a Club meeting to promote flying. Especially if they could fly in....

 

Rotary is always on the look out for "good causes" so why not get a foot in the door to talk about GYFTS or AWPA scholarships, MAF's vital services to remote communities here and overseas and their dire need for pilots and LAME's? It all starts with a kid finding out about flying, and the cheapest, most accessible is RAA, especially as you can start learning and flying younger than GA.

 

Sue

 

 

[rdarby]

Is anyone trying hard to make money out of RA?

 

I read in the current Australian Flying that the new Piper LSA was at the Watts Bridge Festival of Flight. In fact they had two of them there. I was interested in buying one, actually had the process of getting the money started, but had never seen anything but a small advert for them. So there are two there, but no stand, no banners, no effort to attract someone with $150,000 in their pocket. There were other vendors there too, also minimal effort to attract people. And that was at a special event with a ready made audience.

 

So now I've decided to hold off and probably buy the plane my flight school is selling, or just keep hiring.

 

The point is that unless someone overcomes any obstacles they have such as fear and really goes to the trouble of contacting a school, nothing will draw them in. We should be encouraging, not waiting for them to come to us. I've at least got my friends into it and promised them flights when I have the passenger endorsement, hoping to get someone to progress with it.

 

Ryan

 

 

[kaz3g]

This site seems to be doing a fair job of getting people to think about recreational flying.

 

I just had a look at the "stats" and see there are currently 31 members and 28 guests online right now!

 

JOIN THE FUN ON THIS LIST YOU VISITORS... WE ARE ALL FRIENDLY HERE!!!

 

kaz

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

So now I've decided to hold off and probably buy the plane my flight school is selling, or just keep hiring.

I'd choose a new SportStar over the Piper any day of the week for one reason only: usable weight.

Oh, two reasons: and it costs a fair bit less too.

 

Yes, the Piper looks good, but I'd also like to go places and bring stuff...

 

The Piper is about as useless as the Cessna 162 to me.

 

 

[Guest turnbase]

Magazine sales have been on the decline for a while

 

Just to add credence to some more information on magazine sales they have been on the decline for a number of years. I work in the industry and it has been no surprise that the paying public are choosing the internet rather than printed material and if RAA are relying solely on magazine sales to bolster membership then we are in more trouble than first thought.

 

Just my two bobs worth anyway.

 

 

[Guest burbles1]

...perhaps an ezine version of the mag may be warranted?

 

 

[Guest burbles1]

Unfortunately, if you google "learn to fly" you will always get GA flying schools or commercial pilot training appearing first. RA schools aren't appearing because many don't have a website, or if they do then it's not designed for search engine optimisation and so won't appear in searches. Do we improve promotion by designing a website for every FTF?

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

Do we improve promotion by designing a website for every FTF?

FTFs having good websites would be great, but what makes them appear in search engines most, is other people linking to it. We can all start by posting links on our own websites named "learn to fly" or "flying school" to sites like this one!

 

 

[Admin]

Recreational Flying offers clubs free hosting and website development help...just gotta ask

 

 

[Methusala]

In my opinion, affordable flying is perhaps a victim of over expectation. I started flying in 1981 when I was 30. I decided that if I was going to learn to fly then better not leave it any longer. I joined the Canberra gliding club. Around that time Kitplanes (then called Homebuilt Aircraft) carried a front cover picture of Quicksilver ultralights in flight. Ah! A eureka moment. Aerial go-carts, one of our earliest dreams and now a reality! I made contact with someone and soon had acouple of boxes and a cardboard tube, 2.4m long full of al pipes with Pteradactyl stamped on it. Later I graduated to a Tyro and then in 1995 a Volksplane with 10 hrs for $10,000. 550 hrs completed including many trips totemora, holbrook Narromine, Moruya etc, etc. Nothing over 60 kts but if in a screaming hurry, why not go Boeing or Airbus? My most exilarating, exciting and awe inspiring Aerial adventures have been in afordable planes. At the moment my mate and I are half way to completion of a basic ultralight glider which, when finished will give soaring performance of the best hang gliders with 3 axis control and good protection against heavy landings for around $3,000. By the way, in spite of advertisements offering my VP-2 over 3yrs - no action. So how affordable do you want it? Regards, Don

 

 

[fly_tornado]

As a newcomer I have noticed, amongst people that I have told about my new hobby, that there is a real stigma still associated with flying ultralights. Maybe the problem is that the general public only reads about RAA and GA planes when they crash. I have also noticed that Australians seem interested in something when its competitive.

 

 

[Kenchhidu]

As a newcomer I have noticed, amongst people that I have told about my new hobby, that there is a real stigma still associated with flying ultralights.

When I told my tafe teacher I wanted to learn to fly ultralights he argued with me by trying to say they can't fly over 500 feet. That was the rules years and years ago. People only know what there told, and believe it until they are told otherwise.

 

And the press dont help.

 

 

[Admin]

The word Ultralights is no longer used in Australia for the very reason of the attached stigma...Recreational Aircraft is the term used and the media are slowly accepting this name. In a recent situation with our Tech Manual the word Ultralight was used and CASA picked us up on it saying they couldn't approve the term Ultralight as CASA even refers to them as Recreational Aircraft.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I think the yanks have the right idea: put the word sport in the title and it sounds a lot more dynamic and healthy. sport pilot, sport plane.

 

 

[facthunter]

SPORT pilot/plane is good. Has a dashing sort of connotation. Recreational aviation is more All-embracing. More generic. Probably a fairly cunning move if RAAus had expansionist ambitions. Nev

 

 

[Chrism]

Burbles,

 

Being 'accessible' must also mean that we have facilities that can be 'accessed'! As I'm sure you're aware, four us 4 Million+ who live in the the nation's largest population concentration, the Sydney 'basin' have only 1 or 2 airfields to access, and then they are at the absolute extremities. Ideally those airfields, to be accessible, would have schools or clubs with aircraft readily available for public use (not necessarily the case).

 

Also the same for available G-classed airspace. Does Richmond CTA really need to be that large? Perhaps some changes with CTA endorsements will help.

 

I agree with others who have posted saying the RA Board need to be investing time into assuring these facilities are available.

 

 

[Guest burbles1]

Probably a fairly cunning move if RAAus had expansionist ambitions. Nev

"Expansionist" - do you mean a name change?

 

 

[fly_tornado]

RAA web presence is terrible. their/our website looks like something from the 1990s. If I was going to fix the RAA I would start there.

 

 

[Guest burbles1]

What's wrong with the website? It gives all the relevant info. Looks aren't everything - are they?

 

 

[fly_tornado]

have a poke around http://www.EAA.org

 

It depends if you see the RAA's role as a regulator or a promoter really. I think the RAA needs to be more of a promoter

 

 

[Admin]

:popcorn:I will stay out of this...if anyone remembers I created a whole new web site for them using all the latest technologies even including video conferencing, streamlining form submissions and so much more BUT...

 

 

[Admin]

Actually, I do think RAAus should be more Administrative and political player to protect our freedoms and represent us better then to be into promotion...and separate the promotion, events etc into a separate arm...you have to look at the market that EAA operate in and the potential market the RAAus operate in...chalk and cheese which is why EAA can afford to employ full time people on events, promotion etc...heck they even have a complete IT dept staffed by full time employees...the funny thing though is even though EAA is 10+ times bigger then what RAAus will ever be, the EAA online forums are hardly used but at least they have the staff to manage them