John,

The problem that we have here in my local area is there are almost zero
aviation opportunities. I live in Rolla, MO, work on Fort Leonard
Wood, MO, and keep my airplane at Cuba, MO. Each of these 3
communities has an airport (Rolla has 2 airports) and between all the
airports there is 1 Cessna 150 available for rent.

Fort Leonard Wood is home to 3 branch schools (Engineer, Military
Police, and Chemical) and there is a considerable ammount of transient
personnel on base. The fort does not have a flying club and we have a
way underutilized joint-use regional airport. Many of the officers
that come to their advanced schools here on post are here for 6 months
to 1 year and are looking for something to do. We have made initial
contact with the installation Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR)
office and they are interested, but have no money to help with such a
project.

In 2003 and 2004 our EAA Chapter conducted a 1 day Young Eagles event
and flew about 140 kids and 100 kids (respectively) within about a 4
hour period. There is interest in aviation here, but when someone asks
about flight training and aircraft rentals and they here that there is
just 1 Cessna 150 available to rent within 50 miles they loose
interest.

I have to travel 70 miles one way to get to the closest EAA Chapter (of
which I am the President). I just received my how to start a new EAA
Chapter kit from the EAA in the mail yesterday.....expect to see a new
EAA Chapter in MO fairly soon.

I will look through my old stack of KitPlanes for the December 2001
issue - THANKS!

Jeff


guynoir wrote:
Jeff wrote:

What else would keep something like this from working? (please be nice)

Jeff
Dragonfly MK-IIH - N41GK



The other members. Don't even bother writing a contract unless you're
really willing to sue someone, or otherwise enforce it. One of the
members of The Noon Patrol bought and donated a flying Taylorcraft L-2
to The Noon Patrol for the purpose of taildragger transition for
members. Zero members of the Noon Patrol actually used it as such. I
doubt if more than two or three members even flew in it, including the
guy who bought it. A free flying airplane, a hangar to put it in and
the basis for a flying club already started and we couldn't even get it
together enough to form a flying club around it. That's what you're
probably going to go up against, if you try to start something cold.
Actually, it's worse than that. You'll start the club to general
acclaim, collect small deposits from 20 people. Six months later it's
you and two other guys, one lost his medical due to senility, the other
just got divorced, lost his job and lives in his car.

I think it's a wonderful concept in theory; people helping each other
out, working together for the common good, everyone doing his share.
But that's Communism. I've tried it, it doesn't work, especially the
last part. I think your best bet would be to find a successful flying
club, join it, see how it works, become an officer in it, mine it for
recruits, then spin off a LSA club.

There was an article in Kitplanes December 2001 called "How To Start A
Flying Club". It was about a group of guys who did exactly what you
propose. Read that article, look them up if they're still around.



--
John Kimmel


I think it will be quiet around here now. So long.