Convention

gyroplanes

FAA DAR Gyropilot
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Lansing, Illinois (Chicago South Suburb)
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I started this new thread to focus only on the PRA convention. Please try to keep it on topic.

I will cut and paste my previous convention post and have some new information to add.

Rick Marshall is this years convention Chairman. I will probably do the forums and seminars again, if asked.

I appreciate any and all constructive criticism or suggestions on how we can make the PRA conventions better, wherever they are being held.

I will take the information from here and add to it some of the logistics that need to be dealt with and publish them in a file / booklet that anyone wishing to host a convention can access. :)
 
Why have a convention ? pt 1

Why have a convention ? pt 1

We need an annual convention as a focal point for everything in our sport. A living, breathing magazine. A total Sport Rotorcraft experience.

Sadly our convention has lost some of it's focus. I believe it has lost some of it's focus because the planning for the convention usually falls on the shoulders of one person, and when that one person is asked to do the convention over and over again, they get a little tired and the show suffers.

A convention should be a gathering where:
  • Every manufacturer of anything sport rotorcraft is begging and paying decent money to exhibit their wares.
  • Every person who has an interest in Sport Rotorcraft would move heaven and earth (and vacation schedules) to attend, because it's all here. "one stop shopping".
  • Every topic concerning building and flying Sport Rotorcraft should be covered in a forum or seminar.
  • Every family member would want to attend as well, because they were thought of in the planning process and there is something fun for them to do while the rotornut is doing their thing.
  • Every person who ever wanted to see a specific rotorcraft fly, or take their first ride or lesson, should have that opportunity at the convention.
  • Every enthusiast who is ready to take the plunge should be able to go home with a kit or bundle of raw materials and a set of plans.
  • Everyone should enjoy the opportunity to walk the flight line and learn from the good ideas and innovations of others.
  • Everyone considering buying a used aircraft can pick from the largest assortment ever in one location and probably find someone experienced to look it over for them as well.
  • Everyone who is eligible and meets the requirements should be able to go home with a rating from one of the designated examiners present.
  • Everyone who has an aircaft that is ready for certification should be able to take home an aircraft with an airworthiness certificate, even if minor alterations are required.
  • Everyone should have the opportunity to meet the best and brightest in our sport, to visit with the legends of our sport.
  • Everyone should enjoy the rare opportunity to hang out with kindred spirits.
  • Everyone should have the opportunity to talk with the officers and directors of our association.
  • Everyone should have the opportunity to speak their mind and ask their questions at the general membership meeting

  • Dean Dolph added: I would suggest that getting the agenda and Convention info on the web site and in the magazine at least two months before the Convention would make for a better Convention.


How do we do on this list?
The first two are the worst two, in my opinion.
The very fact that we have people asking "Do we even need a convention" tells me that we are dropping the ball.

Actually, we have covered every item on my list (after the first two) over the years. We need to accomplish this goal at every convention if we hope to ever get the first two listed items to become a reality.

It takes teamwork to accomplish a convention of this magnitude. It doesn't take a small dedicated group at the same airport every year. That is actually counterproductive.

I have participated in a convention like this. It travels around the nation every year, yet you always feel at home. It takes many dedicated members, each with their own little task, no matter where the show is held, to make the thing a rousing success. It was not a PRA convention, but quite applicable.
I'm not above stealing their ideas.
 
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How about giving the PRA members a discount on the fees involved.
 
Convention finances

Convention finances

Here's how it works.

I looked back at my convention '96 notes, the amounts should be fairly accurate.

In 1996 I was given $3000.00 as seed money for the inaugural convention at Mentone.

I spent a bunch of money on "value added" items, some on infrastructure on the airport and some for entertainment.

We had 658 paid admissions for the full week, not counting "gate" (civilians and day visitors)

307 attended the banquet.

Camping; basic & full hookups brought in $7,384

The vendor area brought in $1050.00

1996 Mentone, IN. Total income $57,290.90

Total expense $37,047.18

Convention profit $20, 243.72

(we also added over $1000.00 in equipment, tables, chairs, 2-way radios, etc. to the PRA inventory)

In 1996 was given a balance sheet from Ed & Bernadine Alderfer's 1989 convention in Middletown, Ohio for help in determining what might be needed at Mentone (this was my first time as convention chairman and our first convention at Mentone) this was all the paperwork support available at the time.

The Alderfer's put on a very successful convention (or two) and by many accounts, some of the best in PRA history.

I'm including my and the Alderfer's financial report totals as a high water mark in convention profits. If I remember correctly, Dave Prater and Bill Parsons had a couple of financially lucrative conventions in Tullahoma, Tennessee as well.

1989 Middletown, Ohio Total income $17,376.38

Total expense $ 8,740.69

Startup cash $ 484.99

Convention profit $ 8,150.70

I am all in favor of PRA sponsored and assisted regional fly-ins, the more the merrier. For the reasons above, and in an above post, we need to have a yearly convention
 
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No Tom, I am asking, if I am a PRA member, how about giving me a camping spot for less than what a non member is charged?
 
Ron, just how many non-PRA members are going to be camping??

(Everyone gets a discount :( )

Or the 2 non-PRA members get charged more and get ticked?
 
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Tom,

I would like to see a better 'schedule of events', a welcome comittee, a who's who introduction or meet the family time.

Also, a public 'meet the flightline' where everyone gathers around and the people that dragged their machines up get to roll them by and intoduce themselves and the gyros.
 
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Convention

The only thing I was hoping to see at the convention and did not.....was more vendors.......places to shop for new and used gyro parts.

On the money side. I was fully prepared to pay the fee to get in and the man at the gate charged me $5 on Friday and when I arrived Saturday morning no one was even at the entrance.

If your doing something to hopefully make money or even to just break even, this does not seem to be a good way to go.

Now the extra cash in my pocket could have been spent buying more items...if there were any items to buy.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Kandace
 
Convention

Kandace:
Good point on the gate not being attended On Sat. morning.

The one big problem is that we are short on Help during the convention.
This was my first time at the convention and I really wanted to enjoy it . Since I do live only an hour and a half from mentone I volunteered my time to help also.
The problem was that there were so few volunteers for the whole week that I missed every seminar that we had and I got very few chances to talk with other gyro pilots and the rest of the volunteers were just as busy as myself.
Don't get me wrong I did enjoy myself very much but a little disipointed that I didn't get a lot of time to talk with others. My kids also volunteered alot of there time which they enjoyed doing alot to. And the others that volunteered didn't get a rest either during the week to really enjoy it as much as I think they could have.
My point is that We need more volunteers to help out! If only for a couple of hours during the convention.
That way maybe someone could have been at the gate earlyier in the morning. I think alot of people just got burnt out by Sat.
I will tell you this that I do plan on volunteering myself again for next years convention and hopefully we can get more people to help out.
 
Volunteers and gate attendance

Volunteers and gate attendance

woodsher said:
Good point on the gate not being attended On Sat. morning.

The one big problem is that we are short on Help during the convention.

Quite an understatement, but help isn't always the answer. At Greencastle, IN. we had some free help. Prisoners loaned to us from a local jail. If, as someone said in an earlier post, they were sneered at at the gate, they should be happy they weren't shivved.

One of the major problems isn't volunteers, it's having them when and where you need them. We had the Boy Scouts manning the gate one year (for a percentage) I expect you'd have a hard time getting any information from them regarding gyroplanes, or where to find someone.

The solution to these problems is finding someone who wants to take charge of a particular facet of the convention.
An example: A friend and I joined an international guild, shortly thereafter we attended our first convention in Weedsport, NY. The convention went off like clockwork. We had such a good time that we vowed to volunteer for the next one.

Safety is a major concern for this organization. They have a safety chairman who oversees safety for the entire convention.
They are so well organized that they have a mobile ER that they tow to each convention, several Fire / EMT golfcarts and doctors on duty 24 / 7... all this for an organization only slightly larger than the PRA.

It is truly awesome! They bought all of the equipment through fund raising. The doctors are club members and volunteer their time "on call".

My friend joined the safety team years ago. Wherever the convention is held, he just shows up, picks up his T-shirts and night vests and gets his duty assignment (usually patrolling in a golf cart somewhere) they work in published, short shifts and at the end of the day they have a sponsored "after glow" party.

It just takes organization and teamwork.
 
Tom, the fact that someone (you!) is highlighting next year's convention this early should improve it. I thought last years was the best in many years and it is a shame that so many people skipped it. I believe Rick's securing the mobile building and your leading the forums charge was the difference.

I would suggest that a 'tasks' list and any associated schedule(s) be created and posted here to let people see where they might be able and willing to help out. Maybe some chapter(s) might volunteer to handle certain chores. I know Chapter 62 handled the trash detail one year. There were those, of course, that said we were highly qualified!

Getting early commitments for the forums and from vendors would help R. Gilley get the info in the magazine to entice attendance. That kind of info didn't show up in the mag until after Mentone this year!
 
GyroRon said:
No Tom, I am asking, if I am a PRA member, how about giving me a camping spot for less than what a non member is charged?

I have to agree with Ron on this one. There is a big incentive for people to join when non-members have to pay 5-10 dollars more, just like AirVenture. But the flip side is that since about 99% of the attendees are already members, it wouldn't help the PRA cash flow too much. With the current admission fee being what it is, I don't mind leaving it as is for members. But I'd like to see non-members take a little more of a hit, and with that extra hit, give them a $5 coupon for a gyro ride, gift shop stuff or something else.
 
I would be happy to help make a printable 'Guide to Mentone' if you guys think it would be worthwhile?
 
Hey, Tim, if you did as good a job as you did with the gyroplane brochures I picked up from you in Mentone this year then there would definitely be some value. I am curous, however, as to what would be included in the 'Guide'.
 
Dean,

I don't know. What the posters here and Tom M suggest I guess. My first reaction is a Map, who's who, Services, where to day, what to eat, Schedule. If there is enough room perhaps a spotters guide to gyroplanes??
 
If it is only 99 percent attended by people that are already members then there is a glaring problem. No new faces no new blood in the sport. Sooner or later the decision makers that decide when and where to hold these fly ins will figure out that if you only cater to those who are already in the fold, at some point there won't be much in that fold.
 
Ron,

I go to all kinds of conventions.

Motorcycle, Computer, Astronomy, Instructor and rock hounds conventions…

Typically, they are like Mentone, for the already converted, a rally of forces, a gathering of peers in forms from old salts to neubees. New comers are always welcome but the primary purpose is never primarily recruitment.

I will support brining as much of the public to conventions as we can scheme out. However, I don’t think it is a convention requirement. I think not only pilots, but motorcyclists, R/C pilots and ‘extreem sports’ fans are good candidates to bring to the conventions if we can ‘lure’ them. I have read some really good ideas in ROTORCRAFT and this forum. The most efficient the idea the better I like it.

I just don’t think it has to be a recruiting tool.
 
New Blood

New Blood

new blood is a rare find ron. Just now word has leaked out about some of my flying, well maybe some have seen me overhead (I dont know how... but its a small world).

2 years ago I set up a booth during a local july 4 th weekend wing ding here in the county. My 2 place generated maybe a dozen looky see's out of mobs of people and 2 kids who thought it was the coolest thing they ever saw. 2 years before that my single place sat in roughly the same spot and generated only slightly more interest. Now I put up a video display, dan leslie sent me a box full of videos and promo materials. Guess what happened. ?

Not a single person has come by the shop to indicate that they want to build one of these things or get involved. If the do come in to waste my time it is like they want to see a freak show at the circus.

10,000 people roughly decend on lou mac park here in oriental and I got zero interest. Now its true that the machine was not flying and I (sheepishly) admit to running the machine and taxiing it in the streets filled with spectators (who thought I was going to do a verticle takeoff) but I have to tell you how dissappointed I was not to have any brothers or sisters express any serious interest in gyros. I gave away a bunch of my tapes and some of dans intro stuff too. I did not get a single call.

Now my attitude has turned 180degrees from that day. I do not expect the general public to have any interest in my passion. I do not answer any jackass or wise guy's smart 2 bit comments when I am filling up at the pump or in a public setting. I just look at them. I do not want the general public to come in and ruin my sport with the same way they drive on the roads, same attitudes.

Building and finally flying for me was a life long dream. I wore many books out at the library way before the mad max movie introduced gyros to the next generation. I can count on one hand over 5-6 years how many people I will invite to fly, or ones that have a slighlty serious interest. I will not openly promote my sport or use it in a commercial capacity to advance flying to the public (locally) . I truly believe our breed is an endangered speices and given a few more years the only kids you will see outside are the ones without electric in their homes. Meaning no video or tv to melt their brains. so if things are down I know I have tried to do my part and in time I will allow a few to watch me fly but I doubt my efforts will ever produce gyro offspring......

Jonathan
 
Jonathan.... ever stop to think it is not the gyro that scares the locals away but maybe you? ;)
 
Program books

Program books

barnstorm2 said:
Dean,

I don't know. What the posters here and Tom M suggest I guess. My first reaction is a Map, who's who, Services, where to day, what to eat, Schedule. If there is enough room perhaps a spotters guide to gyroplanes??

In 1996 we spent $908.00 to have a color, newsprint program book printed, every attendee got one and there were many extras.

I had a helper sell adverts in the program and we brought in $975.00 in advertising.

We had to print the programs several weeks in advance so the seminar no-shows (and there always are a few) tended to throw the schedule a bit out of whack.

The best program book idea I've seen yet is at the other convention that I mentioned in a previous post.
Every paid attendee gets a three ring binder, with a color cover photo. As I recall, inside it started out with a welcome letter from the local mayor, then the organization president and one from the convention chairman.

Next came a map of the area. The map had reference numbers to the advertisers locations. Ads were sold to local motels, restaurants, grocery stores, you get the drift. Each advertiser provided their own ad, pre-punched and ready to insert in the 3 ring binder. Many had redeemable coupons and welcome messages.

There was a tentative seminar schedule (which is now updateable. updates were left poolside at the welcome and registration table every morning) A short Bio of each presenter and a summary of the topic covered was included. Many were repeated at different times on different days.

Presenters with handouts were encouraged to have the handouts punched for 3 ring binders.

As part of the vendor fee each vendor was allowed several pages (which they provided, punched, of course) of advertising for insertion in the binders. A map of vendor locations was also included.

Safety rules and contest rules were included, as were ballots for judging and entry forms too.

By the end of the convention you had a technical manual, catalog and souvenir book, all-in-one.

They register convention goers only at the host hotel, only from something like 8am to 8pm. no one gets into the convention without their nametag on, no exceptions. The convention site has been as many as 10 miles from the registration site. Hired security guards man the gates. The public is only invited to attend on Friday night and only in a fenced off area.

They don't suffer fools lightly in this organization. You have to be a member for at least 3 months prior to their convention to attend. WHY? because they found out that some folks allowed their memberships to lapse and waited to renew just before the convention. This lead to last minute additional paperwork.

Regardless of how long you plan to stay or when you get there, you pay one hefty fee, something like $100.00 + $25. for each additional adult...if you register early, by early I mean at least a month before the convention. From a month before to 2 weeks before it goes up to $125.00 +$25.00. 2 Weeks before the show, registration ends.

This all might seem Nazi like, but the proof is in the pudding. They have around 4000 members, nearly half attend the conventions every year.

You very seldom hear complaints about the convention. The members love it. They know 3 years in advance where the conventions will be held.

Along with the 3 ring binder every attendee gets a commerative T-shirt and pre-printed name tag all in a little plastic tote bag.

Every year there are presentations from Chambers of commerce, from all over the USA pitching their locations to us. The officers are frequently flown out and shown around by the chambers. It's hard to ignore 2000 T-shirts walking around your town, spending money
 
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