Money Matters
ENJOYING FLYING AGAIN
By Keith Sessions, AMA Chief Financial Officer | keithse sessions@hotmail.com
The pause. Anytime you stop doing something for an extended period of time, it can be difficult to restart. During the pause, you have learned new habits, formed new patterns, gone in different directions, and moved away from what you were doing before. This can be true with all facets of life, including work, exercise, religion, and yes, even hobbies.
The hobby of model aviation is similar to many other hobbies in this way. We all know that for model aviation to survive, we have to gain new participants. The easiest solution is to focus on attracting youth. We have many programs that focus on youth in our hobby. I feel that we are missing an important next step, which is to reengage our youth of the past after the pause.
Our youth members range from elementary age through high school. During this time, they usually have a lot of extracurricular activities, with model aviation being only one of them. A successful youth member nearly always has a support system—someone who helps with everything from financing the hobby to making it so that they can get to the field.
After high school, most people drop a lot of their extracurricular activities. They go off to college, join the military, start a trade, and begin their adult lives. They are focused on becoming successful in work and relationships. The majority of our youth drift away from model aviation during this time. I know I did when I was at that point in my life. I worked to build a career, got married, and had a lot of fun, but I was also living paycheck to paycheck. Saving for a house was much more important than a model airplane.
Still, I remember the day that I was able to get back into the hobby. I dusted off my transmitter, bought a set of plans and some balsa (because I could not afford a kit), and got back to building and flying. My son has gone through the pause as well and is just coming out on the other side. After years of living out of a suitcase and building flight hours, he is now an airline pilot, married, and able to devote time and resources to his hobby.
Although some people will restart the hobby on their own, it is much easier if someone helps. Think about exercise. If you have not exercised as you used to, it is much easier to get restarted with an invitation. A friend or a partner invites you to go to the gym or to go on a hike, and the next thing you know, you are going all the time. Model aviation is the same.
We should look for those youth of the past who have been focused on their young adult lives. Invite them to the field or to an event. Get a transmitter in their hands and the fun comes back almost instantly.
If you have read this far, I hope you are thinking of at least one person who would be enjoying flying again. Please take a minute to reach out to them.
