cblink.007
Well-Known Member
@Dana @BJC @Direct C51 @CRG @Victor Bravo @wsimpso1
Okay folks, a couple remarks and some ground rules before I get into my opening statement…
I am sure there are plenty of related threads to this topic, and I apologize accordingly, but I elected to start a new one, because I think we need a focused discussion regarding this all-important matter at hand. I want to be explicitly clear that while I will tell of my experiences, viewpoint and ideas to kick this off, I do not claim to have the answers, nor will I ever. All I can do is call the problems out for how I see them, offer solutions & courses of action, and go execute the best way I know how. However, this is a subject I am very passionate about…about a community that has a lot of history, a lot of tradition, and limitless potential, but yet is struggling in a way I thought I would never see, and I strongly believe that it is long past time to have a serious discussion regarding current issues, and more importantly, the way ahead.
That being said, I expect this thread to get testy, even borderline nasty. Let us avoid personal attacks and slights. This is not about who has the better ideas, or who has the magic solution to make the EAA or its many affiliate chapters work perfectly, because that magic, one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t exist. This discussion is all about putting problems out in the open, discussing lessons learned, and laying out solutions and courses of action. That said, keep in mind that what may work great for your chapter may not work at all for the next chapter. This thread is intended for those who are active members of the EAA and their affiliated chapters, but not limited to them. You do not need to identify yourself by name and or by chapter. However, if you are not a member of the EAA and wish to chime in, all I ask is that you identify yourself as such. This is a serious discussion, trolls need not apply. I have absolutely no issue flagging troll or otherwise incendiary posts. Be civil, be respectful. We are all adults here.
The Opening Statement…
I am a 42 year old aerospace industry professional, with aviation, epoxy, JP-8, caffeine, and the occasional pinch of Copenhagen coursing throughout my bloodstream. Since I saw the space shuttle Columbia fly for the first time in 1981, despite the fact that I was just three years old, I knew what I wanted to do. I had fallen in love with aviation, and anything else that was mechanical. I lived in southern California, then the honeypot of aerospace development. My very first airplane ride was in Mojave with a gentleman named Burt in a Buck Rogers-looking thing called a "Long EZ". I remember hearing engine run-ups from the nearby Skunk Works plant in Burbank almost nightly, and not a one of us had a clue that the noise emanated from production variants of a Top Secret aircraft called “Nighthawk”. Our next door neighbor was an engineer at Lockheed and worked nights at the time. We still had no clue! In the meantime, space shuttle launches & landings (and their characteristic double sonic boom upon arrival at Edwards), Knight Rider and Airwolf were mandatory viewing on TV, and fueled my inspiration. Later in life, I attended Space Camp (twice) and, after losing motivation during my engineering studies at Cal Poly, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a helicopter mechanic. In the 21 years that defined my military career, I completed my engineering undergraduate studies, was on the development team of a then-revolutionary vertical lift assault platform, became an Officer and pilot, commanded an aviation company, became a developmental test pilot, and ultimately concluded my service as an operations officer for an aviation battalion. Although I entered into a business partnership for an aerospace startup, I became an airline pilot as well. I was extremely happy doing both until the effects of a global pandemic hit me and my family from both sides. Not only did I have to deal with a flu virus diagnosed as something called “SARS-CoV-2”, but shortly after, I was released from my fun “day job” as an airline pilot. Fortunately, I took advantage of a well-timed opportunity to return to the flight test community in a type of aircraft where I saw immense success while in the military. It involves a move from the Great State of Texas to semi-rural southern Maryland, but my business partners are taking a leap of faith and moving the activity up there as well. I’m blessed that I was able to lessen the blow, unlike so, so many of my peers in the Part 121 world who, as of today, are now stuck with looking for work, with nothing to fall back on.
In 2002, I joined the AOPA, and was a loyal dues-paying member until 2016. Although they have a great magazine in Flight Training and AOPA Pilot, I became disenfranchised by the organization, as I was frequently solicited for donations to their PAC by way of regular and electronic mail, as well as by phone. Although they had some decent pilot resources, it became more and more rare that I ran into a fellow AOPA member. It seemed to me that the AOPA had evolved into a PAC in its own right, with my dues going towards their activities. Despite the fact that I had a big part in the construction and testing of a Cozy IV and Velocity XL-RG in the past, I had yet to join EAA. I decided that I had enough of the AOPA, and switched my allegiance to the EAA in late 2016.
My First EAA Chapter Experiences…
Before I left my final duty station, a new EAA Chapter formed at the local airfield. At the first meeting, there were a bunch of people. Most of them were not EAA members, but were mostly military pilots stationed at the nearby installation. It was a good event, and I was happy to be there. We had two members who had successfully completed their aircraft projects, while a couple others were actively working on theirs. The oldest member in attendance was a few months shy of 78, while the youngest EAA member present was 36. In all, 45 people attended the event. The next month, however, only ten of us showed, and would ultimately become the ‘core’ of the new chapter. I jumped onboard as the new VP. We hosted the EAA’s Ford Tri-Motor, and its pilot for this stop was a BoD member of the EAA. It was great, because he offered some great mentorship. He was surprised that every single one of us (that showed to support the event) was under 40. We also had a massively successful fundraising event, where we raised $5,000 in a single day. During all this time, we secured our IRS tax status, composed and ratified our by-laws.
It was shortly after this, that our chapter began to experience problems. Chapter meeting attendance was never more than eight. On one month, it was literally just us on the executive board. We were in a pickle, as they say. We had some reasonable odds against us. Plussing up numbers was not going to be easy, as the few who were legitimately interested we also active duty military pilots who were going to leave the area for their next assignment sooner or later. So, the question was asked. How can we increase our numbers? Naturally, one of the chapter members immediately said the inevitable; “Why don’t we do a pancake breakfast like the other chapters?”. Ultimately, we agreed that doing Young Eagle flights could be a good idea, as a few members had aircraft. So, we organized and held the event. At the single-day event, we flew a total of 16 kids and a couple adults. We also displayed a members completed aircraft, as well as one that was under construction, and while inside the FBO, we had aviation-themed material showing on the TV screen; I showed drawings of my design, and a couple composite structural test articles, as did another chapter member. We did everything we could to promote both the EAA and our chapter. However, at the end of the day, of all the people who showed to the event, not a one returned our follow-up phone calls or emails, nor did they show up at any follow-on events or meetings. Two numbers actually did not even work. Almost the exact same thing happened with the Ford Tri-Motor event we did. Of the people who showed up at the Tri-Motor event, 89% of them ended up leaving when they found out that you had to pay to ride on the aircraft, but of those 89% who left from the Tri-Motor event, almost all of them showed up for the Young Eagle event to go fly. Again, telling the adults that this was intended to be a children’s event, they left. As part of the club leadership, I was pretty infuriated, as were the others, as it was stunningly evident that for the most part, the people who came simply showed up with the expectation to take a free airplane ride with no strings attached. Joining the EAA, let alone the chapter, was the last thing on their minds.
It was at this point that the chapter President brought up the idea of doing a chapter aircraft build. At this one meeting (where again, there were only five of us total in attendance), he pitched the idea, telling us that there is a seller he knew who was offloading a project for $5,000. His biggest selling point was that doing a build will draw more membership, as the chapter would have, in his words, “something of substance”. While we were open-minded to the idea, we were quick to remind him that some significant logistical and financial problems would need to be solved before we as a chapter were to commit to such a venture. We had no permanent place to do the project; we had no hangar. Indeed, the airport manager was hesitant enough to allow us the use of a conference room for a once-a-month hour-long meeting. We had no tools. We did not have enough members to support such a project. Furthermore, the copy of the build log he presented to us indicated that the project was in relatively poor condition, as it had been outside in the elements for the last four years, and several entries were very inconclusive, which threw up red flags to those of us who had done a build in the past. We strongly recommended against this particular project as a chapter build, and also reminded the President that even if we were on board with the idea, that per the bylaws we created and ratified, the $5,000 selling price of the project mandated that a chapter vote would need to take place before any further action is taken.
Less than three weeks later, our chapter Treasurer went into a panic, as when he was doing the monthly financials, he discovered that our bank account had been completely depleted. He immediately informed the rest of us in the leadership of what had happened and the actions he was taking. It was at that point that the chapter President informed us that he pulled the funds to purchase the project…and to pay for the vehicle he rented to pick it up, as well as the storage place he rented to store it. None of us were in the loop. The chapter President refused to take any of our phone calls or reply to any messages we sent. The next meeting was a complete disaster. We had 12 members present. The President was conveniently absent, leaving me to preside over it. We had to tell the news. Nobody was happy about the situation. Four of these people quoted the bylaws, and demanded to know why they were not sought for a vote, and demanded to know what right we think we had to spend their dues money so recklessly. Six walked out, telling us that they were done with the chapter.
One such member, a senior officer at the installation, put me on report with the Staff Judge Advocate, demanding that I be investigated for fraud (I was still in the military at the time). It was a nightmare and long drawn-out legal mess, and although I was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, you all now know why I did 21 years, instead of just 20. My Commanding General even went so far as to write me a letter of apology for what I had to go through when it was all done!
In the meantime, while I was dealing with the said legal tangle, we finally got the chapter President back in the communication loop, and it got dirty...fast. He claimed that as President, he can “do whatever he wants”, and “did not need anybody’s consent to his actions”. When we pressed him more, with me ultimately placing an officer challenge with the demand that he step down, he declared that the three of us were not only no longer on the board, but expelled from the chapter…in complete contravention to the very bylaws that he ratified. After careful consultation with EAA national HQ, where we were told that they do not have the authority to remove this toxic individual, we reluctantly walked away from this particular chapter.
So, I looked for other chapters to join. One such chapter was in an area up in the NW Florida panhandle, where I contemplated moving to when I started the airline job. When I was exploring the area, I was invited to a meeting. It was a pancake breakfast-style meeting, and while the surroundings were nice, due partly to its proximity to a prominent military installation in the area, the membership was much older than me, which was not so much the issue, neither really was the fact that they were the older generation of Naval Aviators who preceded me. Where I took issue was when, after I was introduced to the chapter, I was having trouble getting the time of day from most of them. Many of these guys were tantamount to a “Naval Aviation Royalty”. None of them were rotary wing guys; several of them were retired Blue Angel pilots and Annapolis alumni, and in the finest of Naval Aviation tradition, addressed each other solely by their call signs…especially if they were prior Blue Angels. One member (who I later learned was a retired Navy Rear Admiral), condescendingly suggested I look to other chapters in the region. Needless to say, they seemingly made sure that, as a blue-collared, prior-enlisted Officer, that I was not really all that welcomed in their circle.
In a timespan of two months, I literally went from bailing out of a broken chapter led by an extraordinarily toxic individual to being introduced at another chapter just to be shown the door by some overtly smug members. All this said, I am wholly convinced that these two bad experiences of mine are mere anomalies; freaks of nature that, if truly representative of the EAA and its values, the EAA would have ceased to exist long ago.
Now that I know that I will be returning to southern Maryland, I have reached out to the chapter up in that area. Fortunately, the membership is comprised of a significant number of people I worked with during my first stint in military flight testing, and is apparently partnered up with a local RC flying club. Now that I have seen both extreme ends of the spectrum, I am looking forward to being part of something a bit more normal!
Please see the continuation on the next thread post!
Okay folks, a couple remarks and some ground rules before I get into my opening statement…
I am sure there are plenty of related threads to this topic, and I apologize accordingly, but I elected to start a new one, because I think we need a focused discussion regarding this all-important matter at hand. I want to be explicitly clear that while I will tell of my experiences, viewpoint and ideas to kick this off, I do not claim to have the answers, nor will I ever. All I can do is call the problems out for how I see them, offer solutions & courses of action, and go execute the best way I know how. However, this is a subject I am very passionate about…about a community that has a lot of history, a lot of tradition, and limitless potential, but yet is struggling in a way I thought I would never see, and I strongly believe that it is long past time to have a serious discussion regarding current issues, and more importantly, the way ahead.
That being said, I expect this thread to get testy, even borderline nasty. Let us avoid personal attacks and slights. This is not about who has the better ideas, or who has the magic solution to make the EAA or its many affiliate chapters work perfectly, because that magic, one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t exist. This discussion is all about putting problems out in the open, discussing lessons learned, and laying out solutions and courses of action. That said, keep in mind that what may work great for your chapter may not work at all for the next chapter. This thread is intended for those who are active members of the EAA and their affiliated chapters, but not limited to them. You do not need to identify yourself by name and or by chapter. However, if you are not a member of the EAA and wish to chime in, all I ask is that you identify yourself as such. This is a serious discussion, trolls need not apply. I have absolutely no issue flagging troll or otherwise incendiary posts. Be civil, be respectful. We are all adults here.
The Opening Statement…
I am a 42 year old aerospace industry professional, with aviation, epoxy, JP-8, caffeine, and the occasional pinch of Copenhagen coursing throughout my bloodstream. Since I saw the space shuttle Columbia fly for the first time in 1981, despite the fact that I was just three years old, I knew what I wanted to do. I had fallen in love with aviation, and anything else that was mechanical. I lived in southern California, then the honeypot of aerospace development. My very first airplane ride was in Mojave with a gentleman named Burt in a Buck Rogers-looking thing called a "Long EZ". I remember hearing engine run-ups from the nearby Skunk Works plant in Burbank almost nightly, and not a one of us had a clue that the noise emanated from production variants of a Top Secret aircraft called “Nighthawk”. Our next door neighbor was an engineer at Lockheed and worked nights at the time. We still had no clue! In the meantime, space shuttle launches & landings (and their characteristic double sonic boom upon arrival at Edwards), Knight Rider and Airwolf were mandatory viewing on TV, and fueled my inspiration. Later in life, I attended Space Camp (twice) and, after losing motivation during my engineering studies at Cal Poly, I enlisted into the Marine Corps as a helicopter mechanic. In the 21 years that defined my military career, I completed my engineering undergraduate studies, was on the development team of a then-revolutionary vertical lift assault platform, became an Officer and pilot, commanded an aviation company, became a developmental test pilot, and ultimately concluded my service as an operations officer for an aviation battalion. Although I entered into a business partnership for an aerospace startup, I became an airline pilot as well. I was extremely happy doing both until the effects of a global pandemic hit me and my family from both sides. Not only did I have to deal with a flu virus diagnosed as something called “SARS-CoV-2”, but shortly after, I was released from my fun “day job” as an airline pilot. Fortunately, I took advantage of a well-timed opportunity to return to the flight test community in a type of aircraft where I saw immense success while in the military. It involves a move from the Great State of Texas to semi-rural southern Maryland, but my business partners are taking a leap of faith and moving the activity up there as well. I’m blessed that I was able to lessen the blow, unlike so, so many of my peers in the Part 121 world who, as of today, are now stuck with looking for work, with nothing to fall back on.
In 2002, I joined the AOPA, and was a loyal dues-paying member until 2016. Although they have a great magazine in Flight Training and AOPA Pilot, I became disenfranchised by the organization, as I was frequently solicited for donations to their PAC by way of regular and electronic mail, as well as by phone. Although they had some decent pilot resources, it became more and more rare that I ran into a fellow AOPA member. It seemed to me that the AOPA had evolved into a PAC in its own right, with my dues going towards their activities. Despite the fact that I had a big part in the construction and testing of a Cozy IV and Velocity XL-RG in the past, I had yet to join EAA. I decided that I had enough of the AOPA, and switched my allegiance to the EAA in late 2016.
My First EAA Chapter Experiences…
Before I left my final duty station, a new EAA Chapter formed at the local airfield. At the first meeting, there were a bunch of people. Most of them were not EAA members, but were mostly military pilots stationed at the nearby installation. It was a good event, and I was happy to be there. We had two members who had successfully completed their aircraft projects, while a couple others were actively working on theirs. The oldest member in attendance was a few months shy of 78, while the youngest EAA member present was 36. In all, 45 people attended the event. The next month, however, only ten of us showed, and would ultimately become the ‘core’ of the new chapter. I jumped onboard as the new VP. We hosted the EAA’s Ford Tri-Motor, and its pilot for this stop was a BoD member of the EAA. It was great, because he offered some great mentorship. He was surprised that every single one of us (that showed to support the event) was under 40. We also had a massively successful fundraising event, where we raised $5,000 in a single day. During all this time, we secured our IRS tax status, composed and ratified our by-laws.
It was shortly after this, that our chapter began to experience problems. Chapter meeting attendance was never more than eight. On one month, it was literally just us on the executive board. We were in a pickle, as they say. We had some reasonable odds against us. Plussing up numbers was not going to be easy, as the few who were legitimately interested we also active duty military pilots who were going to leave the area for their next assignment sooner or later. So, the question was asked. How can we increase our numbers? Naturally, one of the chapter members immediately said the inevitable; “Why don’t we do a pancake breakfast like the other chapters?”. Ultimately, we agreed that doing Young Eagle flights could be a good idea, as a few members had aircraft. So, we organized and held the event. At the single-day event, we flew a total of 16 kids and a couple adults. We also displayed a members completed aircraft, as well as one that was under construction, and while inside the FBO, we had aviation-themed material showing on the TV screen; I showed drawings of my design, and a couple composite structural test articles, as did another chapter member. We did everything we could to promote both the EAA and our chapter. However, at the end of the day, of all the people who showed to the event, not a one returned our follow-up phone calls or emails, nor did they show up at any follow-on events or meetings. Two numbers actually did not even work. Almost the exact same thing happened with the Ford Tri-Motor event we did. Of the people who showed up at the Tri-Motor event, 89% of them ended up leaving when they found out that you had to pay to ride on the aircraft, but of those 89% who left from the Tri-Motor event, almost all of them showed up for the Young Eagle event to go fly. Again, telling the adults that this was intended to be a children’s event, they left. As part of the club leadership, I was pretty infuriated, as were the others, as it was stunningly evident that for the most part, the people who came simply showed up with the expectation to take a free airplane ride with no strings attached. Joining the EAA, let alone the chapter, was the last thing on their minds.
It was at this point that the chapter President brought up the idea of doing a chapter aircraft build. At this one meeting (where again, there were only five of us total in attendance), he pitched the idea, telling us that there is a seller he knew who was offloading a project for $5,000. His biggest selling point was that doing a build will draw more membership, as the chapter would have, in his words, “something of substance”. While we were open-minded to the idea, we were quick to remind him that some significant logistical and financial problems would need to be solved before we as a chapter were to commit to such a venture. We had no permanent place to do the project; we had no hangar. Indeed, the airport manager was hesitant enough to allow us the use of a conference room for a once-a-month hour-long meeting. We had no tools. We did not have enough members to support such a project. Furthermore, the copy of the build log he presented to us indicated that the project was in relatively poor condition, as it had been outside in the elements for the last four years, and several entries were very inconclusive, which threw up red flags to those of us who had done a build in the past. We strongly recommended against this particular project as a chapter build, and also reminded the President that even if we were on board with the idea, that per the bylaws we created and ratified, the $5,000 selling price of the project mandated that a chapter vote would need to take place before any further action is taken.
Less than three weeks later, our chapter Treasurer went into a panic, as when he was doing the monthly financials, he discovered that our bank account had been completely depleted. He immediately informed the rest of us in the leadership of what had happened and the actions he was taking. It was at that point that the chapter President informed us that he pulled the funds to purchase the project…and to pay for the vehicle he rented to pick it up, as well as the storage place he rented to store it. None of us were in the loop. The chapter President refused to take any of our phone calls or reply to any messages we sent. The next meeting was a complete disaster. We had 12 members present. The President was conveniently absent, leaving me to preside over it. We had to tell the news. Nobody was happy about the situation. Four of these people quoted the bylaws, and demanded to know why they were not sought for a vote, and demanded to know what right we think we had to spend their dues money so recklessly. Six walked out, telling us that they were done with the chapter.
One such member, a senior officer at the installation, put me on report with the Staff Judge Advocate, demanding that I be investigated for fraud (I was still in the military at the time). It was a nightmare and long drawn-out legal mess, and although I was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, you all now know why I did 21 years, instead of just 20. My Commanding General even went so far as to write me a letter of apology for what I had to go through when it was all done!
In the meantime, while I was dealing with the said legal tangle, we finally got the chapter President back in the communication loop, and it got dirty...fast. He claimed that as President, he can “do whatever he wants”, and “did not need anybody’s consent to his actions”. When we pressed him more, with me ultimately placing an officer challenge with the demand that he step down, he declared that the three of us were not only no longer on the board, but expelled from the chapter…in complete contravention to the very bylaws that he ratified. After careful consultation with EAA national HQ, where we were told that they do not have the authority to remove this toxic individual, we reluctantly walked away from this particular chapter.
So, I looked for other chapters to join. One such chapter was in an area up in the NW Florida panhandle, where I contemplated moving to when I started the airline job. When I was exploring the area, I was invited to a meeting. It was a pancake breakfast-style meeting, and while the surroundings were nice, due partly to its proximity to a prominent military installation in the area, the membership was much older than me, which was not so much the issue, neither really was the fact that they were the older generation of Naval Aviators who preceded me. Where I took issue was when, after I was introduced to the chapter, I was having trouble getting the time of day from most of them. Many of these guys were tantamount to a “Naval Aviation Royalty”. None of them were rotary wing guys; several of them were retired Blue Angel pilots and Annapolis alumni, and in the finest of Naval Aviation tradition, addressed each other solely by their call signs…especially if they were prior Blue Angels. One member (who I later learned was a retired Navy Rear Admiral), condescendingly suggested I look to other chapters in the region. Needless to say, they seemingly made sure that, as a blue-collared, prior-enlisted Officer, that I was not really all that welcomed in their circle.
In a timespan of two months, I literally went from bailing out of a broken chapter led by an extraordinarily toxic individual to being introduced at another chapter just to be shown the door by some overtly smug members. All this said, I am wholly convinced that these two bad experiences of mine are mere anomalies; freaks of nature that, if truly representative of the EAA and its values, the EAA would have ceased to exist long ago.
Now that I know that I will be returning to southern Maryland, I have reached out to the chapter up in that area. Fortunately, the membership is comprised of a significant number of people I worked with during my first stint in military flight testing, and is apparently partnered up with a local RC flying club. Now that I have seen both extreme ends of the spectrum, I am looking forward to being part of something a bit more normal!
Please see the continuation on the next thread post!
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