RC Heli comeback ?

[waveydavey]

I've not been very active now for over a year and can't see me coming back to it any time soon but I'll keep some of my gear and see if I get the buzz again. What is interesting though is I've got a 450 pro on ebay and it's had 540 views, 50 watchers and 7 bids so there are heli pilots around definitely.

[electricsceadu]

The BMFA don't really ask you what you fly. Maybe they should ask, or at least take a survey now and again.

on a new membership application it does ask what disaplines you fly , so I assume this is how the BMFA got the answer that the increase was more drone
pilots
on the other hand they could be just assuming its drone pilots

[bigpops]

It's been a while since I filled mine in. I must have forgotten.

I did sign a new member up to the BMFA through the club, I'm almost certain that wasn't a question. Our club is only listed for helicopters though, even though people do fly quads and planes occasionally.

[electricsceadu]

Having read a post regarding the new fee's for 2019 it seams that the person telling us about the BMFA membership was very optimistic
as we are now being told the membership is down by approx. 1200 from 2017 with an expected further loss in 2019

[trillian]

Ouch! that's not encouraging at all.

[bigpops]

A £4 increase won't do the membership any good. If it's more expensive, fewer will join up, meaning a higher increase needed to stay in the black, and so on.

£4 (if approved) will be an 11.4% increase by the way. That's not a small increase.

[Danny_K75]

£4 (if approved) will be an 11.4% increase by the way. That's not a small increase.

When was the last time there was an increase in membership costs?

[trillian]

When was the last time there was an increase in membership costs?

It went up just £1.00 from 2017 to 2018, from 33.00 to 34.00

[Guest]

I think people are missing the point of an 'Association'......."a group of people organised for a joint purpose, a connection or cooperative link between people or organisations"......

If Tesco put up their prices it could be argued that that's just corporate greed, however as the BMFA are run solely for the benefit of it's membership, then a price increase in the event of decreasing membership is inevitable and how an association works.

People keep bleating on about negativity in the modelling hobby, yet this is being blown out of proportion on all sorts of social media groups, forums etc, yet surely this is once again sending negative vibes in what is a difficult time.

Not aimed at anyone.....just a rant....!

£4 a year is nothing when you fly any kind of model, if you think that the committee of the BMFA are making the increase to line their own pockets, then perhaps it would be best to sort out your own insurance etc.....
a connection or cooperative link between people or organizationsa connection or cooperative link between people or organizationsa connection or cooperative link between people or organizationsa connection or cooperative link between people or organizationsa connection or cooperative link between people or organizationsa connection or cooperative link between people or organizationsa connection or cooperative link between people or organizationsa connection or cooperative link between people or organizations

[Danny_K75]

Could not agree more Steve, £4 while a high percentage increase is still a tiny amount of money.
If you can afford to buy models you can afford to pay an extra £4 a year.

[trillian]

Could not agree more Steve, £4 while a high percentage increase is still a tiny amount of money.
If you can afford to buy models you can afford to pay an extra £4 a year.

Yeah right now it costs me £4.30 to get to the field and back each time

[bigpops]

You misunderstand me. Of course I can afford to pay £4 a year extra. I know I'll get more than my money's worth from my membership.
Established members who are active in the hobby will of course pay the increase without batting an eyelid. My point is the more expensive it is, the less likely a potential new BMFA member is to sign up.

Looking at the cost in isolation doesn't give the full picture, which is why I mention it as a percentage. 11% is a lot. It's as simple as that. At the rate of 11% per anum, the fee would more than double every 7 years.

I just hope this is a blip to correct a short lived falling membership. If it continues to fall (which I think is very likely), and they want another 11% increase next year, then it will be time to start finding places to cut spending, rather than simply increase the price.

[Gixxer]

No! Helis are dead. We're the plankers of today. We're cold product. Accept it and move on!

[p4ddy]

£4 sod that, don't think I'll be flying at any funflys this year....oh wait my heli's are in the loft? Phew! I was having cold sweats then for a second. ��

[sparts]

I personally think that Scale Heli interest is on the increase as it's not just the flying but also the building and improving that keeps the interest going.