Victorian aero clubs will come together at a summit meeting set for Ballarat next month to tackle issues plaguing the aero club community right across the state, organisers announced today.
Upward of 25 delegates representing the majority of aero clubs based in the state will meet at Ballarat Aero Club on 13 September to discuss issues such as flagging memberships and rising costs, and explore avenues for greater collaboration on flying activities.
The summit has been called after a group of aero clubs including Peninsula Aero Club, Royal Victorian Aero Club and Lilydale Flying Club identified that most of the clubs in the state were suffering from the same challenges.
Summit convenor, former editor of Australian Flying Steve Hitchen, said the group began discussing problems earlier this year, bringing more clubs on board as the extent of the problems became obvious.
"It began with just PAC, RVAC and Lilydale throwing around ideas, but we soon came to realise that the problems facing aero clubs were threatening the existence of the aero club community in the state," he said.
"The biggest issue right now is the lack of young people joining aero clubs to keep them healthy as senior members retire from aviation. We are finding that where a club has training, new members will join for the discounted flight training, but not hang around for the social events that are at the heart of the aero club community. If the club doesn't have training, they're having all sorts of problems attracting new members.
"Every time we contacted another aero club we got the same story: how do we connect with younger generations to get people not only to join aero clubs, but actively participate in the social side of flying?"
Clubs at the heart of the group identified communication channels and styles as issues that needed to be explored in order to connect with younger people, inviting president of the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia (RFACA) Lachlan Hyde to address the summit.
"Lachlan is a younger person who had the drive to reinvigorate the Royal Aero Club of NSW, won the 2023 Wings Awards Young Achiever of the Year and most recently delivered an address to a gathering at Oshkosh on recruiting younger people to the GA cause," Hitchen said.
"We expect his speech at the summit will shine some light on the gulf between older-style aero clubs and the next generation of pilots. We're excited that Lachlan was able to accept the invitation and we're looking forward to his address."
Among the key points slated for discussion at the summit is the concept of a central point of co-ordination for all aero clubs in Victoria, tentatively branded the Network of Victorian Aero Clubs (NVAC). The idea is to share resources between clubs to reinvigorate club activities and encourage greater participation across the state.
"Aero clubs in Victoria have a history of collaboration," Hitchen said. "There used to be the Great Victorian Air Rally years ago, and in 2021 several clubs organised an air armada around Port Phillip Bay to mark the centenary of the RAAF. Clubs do want to work together, we just need to inject more impetus into the aero club community and get events and activities back on the calendar again. If we can do that, it may give people a reason to join aero clubs."
The summit currently has commitments from 11 clubs, with expressions of support coming from a further seven.