What is most missing in making a rocketry club attractive?

[jqavins]

In this recent thread, we discussed what most makes a club attractive. But some of the things voted important may be things that are well covered. (Especially, in my experience, friendliness of the members; it's super important, and it's also present in every club I've flown with.)

So now I'm asking a slightly different question: what is most lacking in the clubs you've known. These will be the things that club leaders need to pay more attention to improving, rather than focusing on things that are already good.

I'm using mostly the same choices as the first pole, but I've changed out two of them. (I wanted to just add two, but the forum limits polls to ten choices, so I had to make room.) "Ability to host big launches" got by far the fewest votes in the first pole; I figure since it's not a major item it can't be a major item lacking. "Waiver altitude" and "Size of rockets that can be launched" are closely related, and got nearly the same number of votes before, so I figured one of them could go.

The replacements are

• "Family friendly atmosphere", which got a lot of mentions in the discussion of the other poll, as well as discussion of just what it means, so continue that here if you like.
• Organized educational events for newbies. This came from a discussion with my daughter, who isn't a rocketeer, but likes to participate vicariously and says this would be a big thing if she decided to give it a try.

As before, multiple selections are allowed, and spirited polite discussion is encouraged.

 

[Zeus-cat]

I used to be in a club that was both NAR and Tripoli. I won't go into details, but the club split in two over some issues and the NAR people formed a new club. The Tripoli people kept the field and most of the launch equipment. About a year later we got a letter from one of the members of the old club threatening us with legal action if we didn't immediately cease and desist using our club's name (looooooong story). We changed our name and moved on.

It has been a few years since all that and our NAR club is doing well. We have our own high power field and a summer low/mid power field. We schedule a launch about every two weeks. We keep our annual fee low ($20 non NAR and only $10 if you belong to NAR) and have no launch fees. We do not require any low or mid power people to join the club, but encourage it if you fly with us often. We now have 36 paid members for 2019. We have a weekly build session at eRockets, do tons of outreach, and have access to the manufacturing equipment at eRockets to make our own custom stuff (as long as we don't interfere with production). For example (and I admit that this bragging), I used the laser cutter at eRockets to etch this design of a Tiger I on a carrying case I made for a game that I play.

I just don't see how I could be in a better club than the one I am in. We have some odd people in the club, but EVERYONE is nice. We also have some LOUD people in the club, ungodly loud, but the loudest guy is nice and very helpful. I can say that because he never gets on the forum. I just don't see anything that I would change about our club.

 

[jqavins]

That almost sounds worth the 7 hour drive from my home!

 

[Bat-mite]

I have to admit, MDRA has all of the above, except maybe organized educational activities. We have done a few, but I think we have a lot of room for improvement.

 

[Nytrunner]

Educational or interesting events drew my attention.

Something we discussed at my club was retianing the interest of the younger set. Our meetings usually consist of lengthy club business discussions and field/weather logistics issues which is great for someone that wants to be actively involved in the function of the club, but the younger set finds all that a bit boring. I like the idea of build sessions and we used to do Tech Talks.

 

[dhbarr]

When I was even more of a noob: signage.

I didn't know where to turn or drive or park.

I didn't know where to prep or line up.

I didn't know which pads were for what.

I eventually guessed right on all these things, but it was pretty intimidating.

 

[JERRYR708]

Organized educational events for newbies.

As a BAR, a year before discovering TRF in 2014, I purchased my first rocket at Walmart. After building it and looking at it sitting on my desk, I began to wonder how or where I would be able to launch it. I went to the local Fire Dept. where I get my yearly burn permits and asked them. They informed me of a place in Lucerne where they launch on Saturday.
I went on a Saturday and discovered I was the only person there besides one other guy in the distance flying a large scale R/C jet fighter plane. This dry lake was not where the club meets on Saturdays, but a few miles further east, the guy told me. He also told me that they don't meet every Saturday, but the owner wouldn't mind me launching my rockets here if I wanted, which I did off and on for a year.

A year later, I discovered ROC in Lucerne and TRF along with HPR for the first time. Besides the Cherokee D back in the early 80's, the Patriot was the biggest rocket I had owned at the time. I thought that the only thing bigger would be D size rockets, clusters and stages. I was thinking that I would see Big Daddy, Mean Machine etc. when I arrived. This event is where the real big serious rockets launch. Nobody wants to waste their time seeing this lil toy rocket. These veterans are really focused on prepping their high tech electronics, motor casings, harnesses etc. I didn't want to distract them with silly noob questions. There were reserved parking, vendors, taped off launch areas, safety rules with RSO's and organization.

I pretty much parked in the back, left my lil toy rocket in the truck and went in as a spectator. I walked around and stopped at all the vendors, tables and registration areas and observed how to stay out of trouble and be more prepared for the next Saturday launch.

In grade school, I remember the local club launches out in the school football field. I even signed up for summer school art/hobby class and half the class would bring and build Revell plastic model kits and the other half of the class built Estes model rockets to fly. The teacher graded our models and we got to fly the rockets out in the school field. I cherished the enthusiasm of all us kids in class sitting across the table from each other and watching all of us build our kits. Oh the smell of balsa wood, enamel paint and Testors cement... great memories.

 

[SpaceManMat]

MARS have a Wine and Women only learn to build sessions, they also have a Beer and Build session for the guys.

 

[Alan15578]

MARS have a Wine and Women only learn to build sessions, they also have a Beer and Build session for the guys.

"Mars ain't the place to raise your kids. In fact its cold as hell."

 

[jqavins]

MARS have a Wine and Women only learn to build sessions, they also have a Beer and Build session for the guys.

Really? I just attended a couple of MARS build sessions in February and March, and the question was whether or not to continue them. No one mentioned anything like that.

 

[SpaceManMat]

Really? I just attended a couple of MARS build sessions in February and March, and the question was whether or not to continue them. No one mentioned anything like that.

Possibly because the MARS I was talking about is the Melbourne Amateur Rocket Society which is an Australian club and you’re on the wrong continent?

 

[jqavins]

Yeah, that'd do it. Monroe Astronautical Rocket Society. (Monroe county, NY.) Maybe we should start a "sister city"-like arrangement.