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Hey
Hi Stefan and Bob
thanks for your messages. My post was rather abrasive, so its especially good of you to reply so politely. I do not wish to criticize any volunteers, only to express my opinions. I hope the trailer stickers will help the movement, but as I tried to explain, I don't think so. And I think a 30ft long trailer might excite more curiosity if its blank and mysterious. And my trailer never leaves the hangar anyway (I have a motor glider and the engine never fails). About the SSA: it can't be a secret, that a lot of dissatisfaction exists. andrew At 14:27 07 May 2012, S. Murry wrote: On Sun, 06 May 2012 22:21:06 -0500, Andrew Wood wrote: Hi, Andrew, Just one comment on your post. I know Bob DeLeon personally (he's in our club here in Houston and is a very active member and supporter of all things soaring). Your assertion that this campaign exists to keep SSA staff occupied does not ring true to me. From talking with Bob it seems pretty clear that this is his baby. The SSA supports it, I'm sure, but from what I understand they didn't exactly contact Bob trolling for things to do to keep the staff busy. Bob came up with this idea (along with a few others whose names I do not know or I would acknowledge them here, too), did most or all of the work on the graphics and website, and the SSA's only real involvement is in coordinating the (optional) printing of the trailer stickers and handling the order processing. From what I understand if you want for some reason to cut the SSA out altogether, Bob will send you the graphics file and you get it printed yourself wherever you wish. Your comments about whether or not this campaign will be effective are another matter. I disagree with them personally, but obviously only time will tell whether this campaign will work. What I can say is that if most of us don't get behind it and get the stickers on our trailers/bumpers, etc., then it definitely will NOT work. As far as whether there is some built-in "soaring gene" or something. I have heard this argument before. What I don't understand is if it is true that people have some innate desire to fly and nothing can stop them, then why are the number of pilots declining even as the overall population is rising? It seems that if there is some (small) percentage of people who are just "wired" to eventually get into our sport, this percentage ought to be more-or-less constant over time. Genetics don't change so quickly. If this were the case, then our numbers would rise with the overall population. My personal explanation for the decline is several-fold, but to make this post short(ish), I think one factor is simply that there are SO MANY things competing for our limited attention, time, and money, that it is easy for niche activities (like soaring) to get lost among all the options. Yes, I am sure that many people are aware that this activity exists, but if they don't get a reminder, they may just continue along in their boring lives...golfing or watching TV or whatever, because they just hadn't yet experienced the "spark" that ignites whatever it is that causes them to come out to a glider club and start learning. Given the small number of glider pilots and glider trailers, it's unlikely that "Let's Go Gliding" is going to instantly arrest the decline in pilot numbers, but if we can start to add even a percent or two a year to our numbers, I think it is well worth the $115 and 1 hour of our time to put the stickers on our trailers. --Stefan Awareness is good. So I suppose trailer stickers are ok. But I have the sinking feeling, that like most things the SSA does, they won't do any good, and are more designed to justify the SSA staff and fill up some space in soaring magazine. If I saw a big trailer with a sticker "lets go cave diving" it would not cause me to contact my local cave diving club. I already know that cave diving exists, and I don't care. I don't have the passion for it, like most people feel about flying. The passion has to be there, and it won't be magically created by trailer stickers or coffee mugs or whatever. Those unfortunate people who do have the passion for gliding.....they are destined to spend a lot of time and money, and will already be bugging their parents, visiting airports, and on the internet looking for local gliding clubs. We could tear off all the trailer stickers, paint them in camouflage and string barbed wire around the airport, and they'd still sneak in. All we can really do, is make sure those new people can easily find us, and welcome them when they come. At 15:42 06 May 2012, Bob D wrote: Hi, Bob DeLeon here=85creator of Let's Go Gliding. There is but one objective to the campaign: AWARENESS. Our sport has resided way off the radar in comparison to the other recreational choices. So LGG is designed to elevate the awareness of this choice. This objective needs to look: exciting, adventurous, challenging, and the opportunity to be involved with a great group of people who love the sport. That's why I made the choices in how it's designed and what it says. That was the creative brief driving the imagery and words. Yea, it would have been fun to have imagery like the Cool Hand Luke scene previously described. But that would have been dis- ingeniune to what soaring really is. It would be a "hook" that once swallowed would have cut off a lot of support (female) and been regarded as fake to those who are the target audience. AWARENESS of this sport--and what it offers-- is the key. The more people see the campaign, the more they'll sense that the guy sporting the bumper sticker or showing the brochure will be a source to get their questions answered. And if not a person, then the web address (LetsGoGliding.com) will be the other source to influence their thinking and impressions. It's not likely that in the next two years we'll see a growth in the sport that will be ascending, but if worked enthusiastically by those who fly gliders, with the SSA's backing, we can arrest the descent of declining numbers and hold the line on those flying. Adding in numbers right now is that objective. Otherwise, the sport will slide into a category that will effect manufacturers of gliders and glider equipment, the ability of some clubs to remain active, and the value of your used glider. Trust me: no business or entity wants decline. You want some kind of growth. And getting active with a supported marketing campaign that puts a "cool" and inviting spotlight on the sport is the answer. And as previously stated, this campaign is going to need unbridled support from the soaring community. With this year's World Gliding Championship being held in the U.S. we have a superb chance to arrest the descent of glider pilot numbers in the U.S. -- Stefan Murry |
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