MAAC proposed Constitutional Change and why it's a BAD Resolution

[Athol]

You are probably all aware of the recent MAAC Member Survey that was designed to get input from the MAAC Membership on moving the affiliation with the Aero Club of Canada (ACC) and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) from within the MAAC Constitution (Letters Patent) to the Policy Manual.
The survey was badly biased and ambiguous and confusing and to the majority of members, they would be led to being in favour of the Resolution.
This would fundamentally be bad for MAAC and particularly for MAAC Members participating and representing Canada in International Competition!
Now I know that very few of us participate in any form of competition but it is competition and in particular International Competition that has been the primary driver of advancements in the technology used in Radio Control and other aspects of Model Aeronautics.

There are some initiatives that I wish to draw your attention to, and request your active participation in, please.
The first is a Petition that I would ask you to read and sign - it is self-explanatory. No ambiguity. The link follows:
https://forms.gle/D9JronTtUXszDNCV8

There is also a post/column from Concerned MAAC Members that I would also urge you to read on RCCanada (it's free to join):
https://www.rccanada.ca/rccforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1682295&d=1595092198
This will download a copy of the column (PDF) to your computer.

You may also wish to follow the entire thread on RC Canada though this link:
https://www.rccanada.ca/rccforum/showthread.php?p=3781409#post3781409

Finally, the following is my letter to the MAAC President, Executive and Board of Directors, expressing my personal point of view on this errant Resolution:
Athol H. Cohen
MAAC Number: 35223

10th July 2020

The MAAC Board of Directors and MAAC Executive,

I want to express yet again my disagreement with the way the recent survey was conducted. It was extremely poorly worded and biased, leading the respondent to agree with the premise of moving the Aero Club & FAI affiliation out of the constitution. The MAAC Board of Directors and Executive, do not and have not given those of us opposed to the proposed amendment the opportunity or platform to provide an opposing point of view.

In this correspondence, I want to provide you with some information that I gleaned from my last visit to the Weak Signals Toledo Expo where I conducted an informal survey of Radio Control Equipment Manufacturers.

My question to the manufacturers was "what is driving the development of technology and the ever-increasing number of channels being added to Radio equipment"?
The answer was unequivocally the competition pilots, primarily, but not exclusively International competition. This answer came back from Spektrum, Graupner, Jeti, the major exhibitors present. Futaba on the other hand told me that their fundamental technology drivers are the industrial crane industry and the development then has a trickle-down effect into Radio Control, where again, competition from other radio control manufacturers and flying competitions drive further enhancements of their products.

Canada has always been involved in various cross-border and International competitions and I was privileged to be involved in the 1979 International F3A Aerobatics Competition in Johannesburg South Africa, just at the time we were getting ready to emigrate to Canada. It was there that I met Warren Hitchcox, Ivan Christiansen, Gerald Shaw, Terry Penner and other members of the Canadian Team (whose names escape me, 40 years later).
It is my firm belief that competition and the continued association with the Aero Club of Canada and the FAI is essential for the model aviation to continue to grow in Canada. I do not believe that it is in the best interest of Model Aviation to move the affiliation with the Aero Club and the FAI out of the constitution. This will require a majority of 662/3 % of members represented at the AGM to pass this constitutional amendment and then thereafter, should it succeed, the Board of Directors, with a simple majority after the fact, would have the power to disassociate the Aero Club of Canada and thus, the FAI from the Model Aeronautics Associate of Canada. The raison d'être for the founding of MAAC was to enable Aeromodelling competitors to compete Internationally. This should not be forgotten or discarded.

I am convinced, based on my exposure to model aviation, specifically to Radio Control since 1975, that competition, especially the highest level, is what drives the advancement and development of the technology from which the rest of the participants in the hobby would benefit. I have witnessed the development and progress of the technology to the benefit of participants. Severing ties with the Aero Club of Canada and the FAI would have an adverse effect on Canadian Model Aviation!

You have stated on numerous occasions, including in your shameless support of the resolutions, which was clear in the survey documentation, that the purpose and intent of them is not to end the affiliation with the Aero Club of Canada, and thus to end Canadian participation in world championship events.  That is technically true – but the only tangible effect of the changes is to remove all reference to competition, or even International representation, from the Constitution and to make it possible for any future President and Executive Committee to end the ACC affiliation with immediate effect.

I believe that it is imperative that we present both sides of the story to the membership in an article that MUST be published prominently in an upcoming edition of the MAC Magazine. The membership needs to be educated on the MAAC origins – it is part of the history of Model Aviation in Canada.

On another matter entirely, I have some concerns that the MAAC Office is not being staffed by both Linda and Rivka. This is very puzzling to me given the size of the office and the opportunity to work "socially distant" from each other and as I understand it, there are even two socially distant washrooms on the premises? Please help me understand why we are not operating with the two staff members present? Also, were we able to take advantage of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy available through the Federal Government?

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to your reply in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Athol

[pmackenzie]

Hi,
   I was just about to start a similar thread, then I found this one.

  So I will add my comments to this thread instead.


Hi,
   I hope I am not out of line for posting this here (as a former , but not current, TEMAC member)

   There are currently some in the MAAC executive who want to re-write the constitution.
   Currently membership in the FAI, via the Aero Club of Canada, is part of the MAAC Constitution. It was one of the main reasons MAAC came into being in the first place.
   Harry Ells, MAAC FAI chairman, wrote a good column detailing the history of this and reasons not to change it in the current MAAC mag. I urge you to read it.
   On the other hand, the MAAC president made vague references to it in his column, IMO attempting to minimize and hide his intentions. (Feel free to disagree)

   Without Aero Club membership, Canada would no longer be able to send competitors to world championships, or any other FAI run events.
   It would break our relationship with similar organizations and modellers all over the world, minimizing the sport in Canada.
   
   (Under this proposal Aero club membership would be moved from the constitution, where it is very hard to remove, to the policy manual.
   Which can be changed by a simple majority vote of the executive)

   As explained in Harry's column, the cost of being part of this world-wide association with other modellers is less than $1.50 of your membership fee per year.

    There is currently a petition, results to be presented at the AGM, to express support for keeping Aeroclub membership in the MAAC constitution.
    If you think that the change to the constitution should not take place please take the time to fill it out.

  https://forms.gle/D9JronTtUXszDNCV8

   Of course if you agree with this proposal, feel free to let your zone director know this as well. (But I hope you won't )

  Thank you,

Pat MacKenzie

[bfeist]

Signed

[sihinch]

Me too.

[pmackenzie]

Thanks guys

[Andy Hoffer]

Signed.

While I don't compete in RC events (other than against myself, crosswinds, and rogue vortices) I believe competition inspires others to be better pilots and to try new aspects of our wonderful hobby.  For these reasons I support our current involvement in ACC and FAI.

Andy Hoffer

[msatin]

I signed as well
Thanks for your advocacy Athol!

[octagon]

Thank you Athol and P Mackenzie. Signed it.

[Polecat]

SIGNED

Ken Fluney

[BJROB]

Me too