I guess I might just as well tell all of you that about 15 minutes ago I sent a note to the editor of the NCS bulletin telling him how nice the newsletter is looking.  While at it I also inquired to the NCS membership one or two questions concerning the increase in dues from $6 to $10, asking when this happened and why.  I also noted to the membership that with well over $3000 in the kitty perhaps it was time to do something with the money, particularly outside the Nats.  I ended up with noting that perhaps the NCS needs new officers lest the membership die and the event fades away. If you don't see my threads in the next few days you will have to think that perhaps I am hiding under the bed. Want to converse outside this forum, use the PM feature, or write it off as someone suffering from extreme old age babbling.
Joe
PS the latest issue of CLW is really great!!!

     Gee, Joe that was quite a multi faceted statement you made there. Wow, hope you didn't break any bones jumpping out of the closet like that. I guess I'm having trouble understanding why you would make a statement like that (although I'm sure there are others that feel like you) and then say"Want to converse outside this forum, use the PM feature or write it off as someone suffering from extreme old age babbling"? Could be like something the wife and I do often as we get older "we think out loud". Seems funny that I'm the one thats getting in touble all the time for doing it. Oh well. Eric

I think in the past I have verbally stated that the NCS should use this forum for communication.   We don't need a separate site like some of the CL fraternity have.   I also think a small donation to Sparky to keep this site going will help also.   

Now the dues increase I can go along with even tho I have let my membership lapse(it is being corrected).   Look at the dues of PAMPA and the fine publication they put out.   Yes I also know there are a few that do not do computors, their loss.    Still learning something every day.   

Also Joe, when I find where it disappeared, will be using your handle and control system.

I agree that we are not visible enough and a serious NCS web sit would be of immense help. I wouldn't publish the newsletter there, but might suggest the archive of old newsletters would be very valuable. We could also keep the Top 20 up there, too. But most important would be an introduction to what Carrier is all about and perhaps a tutorial on getting started. Technical articles could be put there so beginners and more experienced fliers alike would have access in one place to a wealth of information. I was in one of the big hobby shops in the area (Al's in Elmhurst) and got to talking about what I was buying all that stuff for. The guy wanted our web address so he could learn more about what we do. Oops. Perhaps it would be possible to get somebody to build a web site and serve as webmaster by using a little of that treasury as an incentive? It would have to be a carrier fan, willing to volunteer for modest compensation, as I suspect serious commercial web work is out of our price range.
I agree with Doc that our dues at $10 are about the lowest around. A lot of the money in the treasury, perhaps half, has come from private donations over the years. So our net income on a yearly basis isn't all that great. But we do have some working capital.
Another thing the NCS needs is a newsletter editor. Ted took that job on reluctantly and temporarily. He would like to be replaced fairly soon, so can we have a serious volunteer for this important and challenging job?

Pete

     I couldn't agree more with Bill's reply #3. When the present group of officers took over the leadership of the NCS there was going to be a web site that would cover all aspects of Navy Carrier competition. If you pull the NCS web page up you will see the beginning of that web site. Bill Calkins who up to that time had his own web site that covered a lot of carrier goings on slowly shut his down and started to set up the one you see now. For some reason it was never finished and now except for a few items, languishes there unfinished. I think (for me) it was the corner stone of what was to come under the present leader ship group. When you look at the material that it was going to cover (listed down the left side of the site) it had everything that was important to support Navy Carrier competition.
     When I saw this happening I started checking around on how to build and maintain a site like this and soon found out it is not as easy as one would hope. The old saying of "don't complain unless you want to take over and do it yourself" comes to mind. I'm a builder flier and it was apparent that to do both would not work for me and I cant see any builder, flier, competitor, being able to do it. I have no idea how much it would cost to hire a wed service to build and maintain a site like the one that was started.
     I think our present leaders have done a good job of trying to attract people to carrier, especially in trying to attract back the people that were complaining the most at the time that they took over. NCS is now supporting and tracking 13 categories of carrier classes (9 more than when they started) 3 of which are Nostalgia Classes that were so sought after be a significant number of people. Dick Perry did a lot of work compiling lists of planes, kits, and dates for qualification for the Nostalgia classes and as I look at the results there seem to be half again as many entries in Nostalgia as there is in the AMA and .15 classes in the top 20 lists.
     NCS has incurraged CDs and EDs to time all flights at any carrier event and send the results forward to the Hi-Low top twenty list for rankings (fly what you brung) to bring more carrier fliers out to the field. This is just a couple of things this group has brought to Navy Carrier competition and to say they haven't or aren't doing there job is a bit of a stretch to me.  Eric

     Your pretty much right about the few new fliers being added Joe. The way I remember it is that there were quite a few (or it seemed that way because they made such an issue out of it) people making the pitch that if carrier still was flown the way it use to be (early 70s?) we would have plenty of fliers including the ones that were complaning. Well the complainers never showed up as is the usual with complainers. I would call "Sportsman" a raving success. In 2008 there were 8 sportsman, 2009 11, 2010 10, and 2011 15. Granted there are some names that show up in Sportsman every year that are seasoned carrier fliers and I've heard it said they only fly planes in Sportsman because they don't fit in anywhere else (wont score well)? I guess we could have another new event called "what I never should have built for carrier event".
     Quote; "We need some discussion on how to change the way we are flying Carrier to insure new names appear". I think we have had over the last 6 weeks or so that very discussion and having "skill levels" is one of the leading topics. With our level of entrants I don't see how it could be done, do you? Its a great idea and has worked wonders in stunt. I don't remember what stunt was like before the skill levels.
     Joe, if you would, could you elaborate a little more about what you mean in the above "Quote"?  Eric