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Corky's CornerSpring 2006 by Corky Heitman FS-6 I.M.A.A. Vice-President Hello Big Bird Lovers, I am writing this in the dead of winter, but you will be reading it in early Spring. I hope that you are in the planning stages of putting on your Big Bird events for 2006. Along those lines, I’d like to offer some ideas and opinions, to help make your events as successful as possible. Like much of the rest of life, a lot of the success or failure of our Giant Scale fly-ins is about money. It’s a shame that it has to be this way, but it is just a fact of life. A lot of the problems related to producing an event will go away, if you just have enough money. So, how do you raise these funds? At my Thistledown Big Bird Fly-In, we make four to five individuals responsbile for fund raising. These
The “role model” for our airshow (and it is just that... an Airshow) is the full size airshows. Those guys with their big, noisy warbirds, and fancy aerobatic planes receive gas money from the show producers. The airshow pilots are the performers... they are the reason that everyone gathers, just to see them fly. The Flyers are the Show! With that as our central belief, we work towards getting the entire community involved. By promoting our event as an entertainment event, for the community and the general public, we can get sponsorship from local and regional businesses. This is no different than an NFL football game. The sponsors want their logos... their banners... their advertising message... in front of the public. We can offer them that advertising exposure. We emphasize the educational and recreational aspects of our hobby for the youth of the community. By working with organizations like the Boy Scouts, and Civil Air Patrol (who can participate by doing things like parking and crowd control), we can reach out to the community, and make our entire town a part of the event. By engaging all types of vendors (not just model airplane related businesses, but businesses of all types), we expand our outreach. These vendors pay for their space at the event, increasing our revenue, without our having to charge the pilots who make the event. We work hard at providing a wide range of entertainment... not just model flying, but full size aerobatic exhibitions, fly-by’s, and even have drawings for full size airplane rides. Many clubs around the country expand on this even further, with buddy box flying opportunities, flight simulators, and even set up a ‘combat zone’, where spectators can pay for the chance to shoot at flying models with a paintball gun. It isn’t difficult, it just requires some imagination. First, figure out who is coming to your event. Dad and the boys will come just for the model flying... but what about Mom, Sis, and the Grandparents? What can you offer that will attract them as well? How about vendors that sell items that will appeal to everyone in the family? Think about your food offering as well. Instead of your overworked club members burning the usual hot dogs, think about getting professional catering. Think about specialty items. At the IMAA Summer Rally in California, there is always a coffee specialty company that sells literally thousands of capuccino’s, latte’s, etc. They even had a massage booth there one year. This is truly your chance to think ‘outside the box’. Any business can profit from exposure at your event. You just have to let them know that they are welcome. The other side of the successful fly-in coin is the pilots. How do you get pilots to come to your fun fly? It’s easy... you just have to go to theirs. Go to the meets in your area, talk to the flyers, and tell them that you really want them to come to yours. Nobody starts out with a hundred pilots... or even fifty. But by running a well organized, fun meet, and actively talking it up through the year, your attendance will grow. The legendary Joe Nall Fly-In started with just a few flyers. (Now, Pat Hartness jokes that they have more porta-potties than they had pilots when the event started!) So, keep a couple of basic principles in mind. One, it’s a flyers show...it’s for the flyers! Two, get the community involved at every level... kids, families, businesses, law enforcment, everybody!
The return on your investment isn’t about money.... it’s about fun, satisfaction, and the great camaraderie that IS the I.M.A.A. Come to Thistledown in September. I’m going to make it to as many of your fly-ins as I possibly can! –Corky
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