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Thread: And now for something completely different...

  1. #31
    steveinindy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    1,449
    One of the club officers looked at the "motivational poster" of a factory airplane on my hangar wall and told me "Yours won't look that nice."
    I can't say that I agree with his (lack of) tact, but he's got a point. A lot of people get really disappointed when their aircraft doesn't turn out EXACTLY the way they dream of or the way the ones in the factory advertisements look. He obviously could have worded it better but there is something to be said for trying to encourage realistic expectations.

    There was a guy at one of the little airports I used to hang out at as a kid back home who was so pissed that he hadn't produced something that everyone fawned over and would "obviously" win Oshkosh Grand Champion (or whatever that award for best looking project of the year is called) that he went off the deep end and pulled the plane out of the hangar and proceeded to destroy it with an ax and then set it on fire. I think there was likely some hefty underlying mental illness involved but all I can say is that he's probably lucky it didn't have an insurance policy on it and wasn't flying yet or he would have had a LOT more questions to answer. I don't recall what exactly happened to him because I was like 10 or 11 at the time.

    Another officer clapped me on the back and went "Thanks for volunteering your kit to be the new club project. What's the combination to your hangar and we'll work on it while you're gone."
    I would imagine that it was meant as a joke. I've heard the same thing said numerous times over the years and it's always meant as a good-natured bit of humor.

    They've asked for updates for the chapter newsletter, the first two times I sent them images and a hundred word update, they never ran anything. The third time they asked I told them to use what I had already written but was never used, got a blank look in response.
    As someone who does a lot of freelance writing:

    Rule #1 of any submission: request that they let you know that they have received it. You would not believe the amount of crap that either the USPS "misplaces" or that gets lost in cyberspace.

    Rule#2 of writing: never assume malfeasance unless you have direct proof or can eliminate all other possibilities. The "blank look in response" probably indicates that you're assuming more than is actually going on.
    Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.

    "I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.



  2. #32

    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    290
    Robbie, I'm in the same boat. I'm 2000 miles from the nearest chapter where I know anyone and pretty much alone out here in CA. It's tough but I drug my plane out of the hanger and poished and made a effort to meet anyone that showed up at the airfield today. It was very productive and met some great people. Hang in there and go back or find another local chapter that fits.

  3. #33
    I do want to focus on growing our chapters and need all the feedback we can get. Would like to hear more about what is working with other Chapters. I was conversing via email with the president of the Raleigh Chapter and he has family events and model building events for kids. He continues to grow his chapter by getting kids and families involved. Please post and/or send me an email with suggestions and ideas. tjanz@eaa.org

    So far, any Chapter member or leader that I have spoken to, since I took the new position as Manager of Chapters, has been an absolute pleasure to talk with. We have amazing passionate members!

    Thanks!

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