In aviation there are a lot of forums. Most are about flying in general, some are about types of flying (such as backcountry), some are type specific such as the rotary forum, and some are brand specific such as the Cirrus Owners forum or the Columbia owners forums. They all have their places and functions. Some are free, some are paid. Forums are not cheap to set up and run, although most forums are run to generate profit through ads. There are many forum owners who make a living doing that.
I have been an active member of the Cirrus and Columbia owner’s forums for years now. They charge about $65/year IIRC for the membership, but the members don’t complain about that because it is such a small fraction of the cost of ownership of their aircraft, and very beneficial, since it can save them hours of research. Occasionally I see a flame, but for the most part these forums contain very helpful information. Statistics show that members of these groups have a significantly lower accident rate than non-member owners, and I attribute that to the availability of safety related information found on the forums, at least for the most part.
In the past three years I have been on a journey to learn as much as I can about gyroplanes, and of course the AutoGyro brand of gyroplane. It hasn’t been easy, but I have researched it extensively and have put together a good collection of information on safety, maintenance, training, and techniques. I could put all this information on my website, and it would serve a purpose to a point, but I consider the interaction and information sharing of other owners to be a very valuable part of the equation, and a forum format does a good job of that.
So, I may charge $50/year for a membership, but I also work hard to add content to this venue to make it very worthwhile for members. I don’t use ads to generate more revenue. The membership also keeps out spam, and can serve to deter negative posts to a certain degree. I’m not an advocate of censorship, but I won’t tolerate unnecessary bashing that I’ve seen occur on the Rotary Forum. TBH, I haven’t seen it occur much on other paid forums, so I think that will serve to filter out the majority of it.
Such a forum should have zero impact on the Rotary Forum. I intend for it to fill another need.
The AutoGyro brand is ripe for this new forum. AutoGyro is completely unassociated with the forum, just as Cirrus and Cessna are not associated with those respective forums. This is for the owners, pilots, and any potential owners who are doing their research. Don’t forget that AutoGyro produces more single-engine reciprocating aircraft than any other manufacturer in the world.
So, Todd, I apologize if you feel that I was being detrimental to your forum. That was not my intent at all. I was a bit shocked at the email that showed up in my inbox this morning, and I too wonder if there is something else going on there.
The Rotary Forum is what it is.
...I guess!!!~ :noidea:
