Soaring club growth morgan hall pasco 2013

SOARING CLUB GROWTHMorgan Hall

Central California Soaring Club

Tuesday, November 12, 13

FLIGHT PLAN

Background and Introduction

Operations

Retention

Challenges

Recruiting


MY BACKGROUND

Started flying ultralights in 1991, hang gliders in 1993 and sailplanes in 2008

~650 hours in sailplanes

400+ hours in the Duo, coaching.

Current President of the CCSC in Avenal


CLUB HISTORY

2008 ~35 Members~15 Active3 private ships used regularly

2013~60 Members~50 Active11 private ships used regularly2 glider hangars built4 private glider partnerships


C L O U D S M A R K I N G T H E R M A L S O N A S P R I N G D AYAlso indicative of a strong convergence line over the mountains


IT’S A BUSINESS

Does the club make money?Why Not?CCSC has about $15k in fixed costs

32 members to break even @ $40/mnthIf you don’t have any unexpected expenses

You will have unexpected expensesRecurring revenue is key


CHURN

10-15% churn seems pretty normal

Lose a few long time members every year

Gain new blood, new energy

Lose a few trial members

Embrace churn, structure for it.

Collect dues up front


MEETINGS

Don’t have them

OK, have the minimum required

Have BBQs

Have Beer

Have educational sessions with coffee when the weather sucks

Have FUN!


TRANSPARENCY

Kill the insider deals, everyone pays the same

Get everything out in the open

Eliminate opportunity for animosity

Everyone gets an opinion

Each opinion isn’t weighted the same

Someone has to own the decisions


J E L LY F I S H C L O U DNotice how low cloudbase is in the background on the west side of the convergence.


CLUBS ARE SOCIAL

Embrace the social nature of clubs

It won’t always be about flying

Some people will rarely fly, keep it fun for them

Work days, training days, auto tows, winch launches, water balloon drops

Have someone coordinate social activities


SHARE THE LOAD

Many hands make small work

Clubs are volunteer, don’t expect commercial ops

Strive for Commercial Ops quality

This is the hardest part of a culture to shift

We are still working on this one.


TECHNOLOGY

Digital Community - bring people together virtually

HGCGroup, Williams Today, Email lists

Publish Flight Reports, Weather Forecasts, Activities

Blog based website. Update it! Show activity.

Install webcams at the field

Leverage cloud tech like Google Docs to share and collaborate.


SHARE KNOWLEDGE

Everyone can be a teacher at some levelUse two-place ships to foster XC

Show people what they can look forward toReignite passions for experienced pilots

Weather educationXC SoaringCheckride Preparation


PROVIDE INSTRUCTION

Provide a path to a CertificateHelp your instructors be efficientMentor new club membersOffload non-CFIG tasks to other membersKeep instruction affordableOffer scholarships


O N O U R WAY T O 1 7 , 9 9 9Pre-frontal wave out of Avenal, November 2010


CHALLENGES

Change is painful

Volunteer orgs require a lot of work and energy

Negative people will try to drag you in to their world

Airplanes break, get damaged. Downtime sucks.

You may have to change directions multiple times

Always be looking for new members, new instructors


ELIMINATE

Negativity. Naysaying

Waste and inefficiency, run it like a business

Sweating the small stuff

Commercial Expectations


ITERATE AND IMPROVE

Resist the temptation to boil the oceanPick one thing to change. See that succeedChange, Evaluate, Learn, repeatEliminate the drag around having fun


LEADERSHIP

Takes a lot of energy, it will take all you can give

You will burn out, find people to help

Acknowledge contributions and contributors

Lead by example

Accept failures

Expect casualties - you will lose members due to changes


2 0 , 0 0 0 F T O V E R M I N D E N , N VSierra Wave day. Lift to 28,000+


MYTHS

Youth Participation is CriticalYouth are a long game

Support youth programs, Treat it as a loss leader though

10-20 years before they are likely to be active members

Start with a kid, hook a parent

Soaring is Very ExpensiveNonsense, it’s just pretty damn expensive

Soaring is a cheap fix by general aviation standards

Soaring is in DeclineNot at Avenal or Santa Ynez

Lot’s of power pilots looking to keep flying or have more fun flying.


CONVERSION RATE

# people who look versus join your club

5% is awesome, it feels terrible though

Reset your frame of reference

Set low expectations for events like “airport days” or airshows. You’ll feel better and have more fun.


FINDING NEW MEMBERS

Find people already passionate about flyingPower, Paraglider, Hang Glider, Model Airplane pilots

Make it easy to get a demo

Be available, priced reasonable, welcoming

Find people with disposable income

Give talks at groups not associated with aviation

4H, Scout, Rotary and Service Clubs


HARD ACTIONS

Buy a towplane

Buy a Duo/Arcus/DG1000/ASH25

Get your power license and learn to tow

Really Hard Action: Give up a day of soaring to tow

Get your instructor rating and teach people to fly

Drive change in your club to promote growth


EASY ACTIONS

Club Business Cards - $5 for 250 cards

The Soaring Elevator Pitch. Have your 30 second enthusiastic pitch about soaring.

Invite people to come out and fly with you.

Take a 2000ft morning tow before you go XC and introduce a friend to a glider.


Q & A

Thank You


K A R L K U N Z F I N A L 1 3 AT AV E N A L


CENTRAL CALIFORNIA SOARING CLUB

Private Airfield dedicated to soaring in Avenal, CA

~60 Members $40/monthly dues

Volunteer tow pilot corps using a Cessna 150/150

Instructions, demo flights, tow pilot checkouts

Year round soaring, great atmosphere, inexpensive membership

Aerotow, Auto-tow and (soon) Winch Launches


8 0 0 0 O V E R T H E PA C I F I C F R O M S A N TA Y N E Z


SANTA YNEZ

SBSoaring.com

New Operation replacing Windhaven

Rides and private Tows

2 pawnees, 1 L23 and 1 2-32

Winter thermals, summer convergence, Wave, get your diamond below 18000!

Currently Operating Weekends


Sports

Soaring club growth morgan hall pasco 2013