from: https://www.facebook.com/garyjames.knight.9
:"Dear Reno Air Racing Association:
Save the money you would have spent on replacing Mike Houghton, take a gigantic risk, and you MIGHT survive the next 50 years like you're trying to.
Reality check RARA, after 50 annual events, you’re still not a brand. I’ve been actively involved in aviation since I was 8 and the closest thing I’ve ever been able to determine as a logo was your 50th commemorative icon that I’m praying you paid a college student to do because it wasn’t up to snuff on a professional level by any means. The world has become much smaller since the races left Cleveland, so you and I are going to sit down and talk about why exactly Red Bull owns 13 airplanes and has more influence in aviation than the EAA, AOPA and yourself combined.
First, I want to address the elephant in the room again. You’re not a brand, and unless you change that within the next 6 months when you start cranking up your advertising like you always do. You are going need something INSANELY cool to sponsor RARA and even change the name if necessary if you expect to have any chance of being in the black this year, and I'm sure that I've already said more than enough or could ever be accepted, but I should qualify my remarks. I'm a massive aviation nut, but I'm 25 and I know why young people are not involved in aviation. It's because purists and old guys make all the decisions and are afraid of asking, empowering and properly encouraging young people to make decisions that are going to get attention you need to make money.
Ask anyone that has had a ten minute conversation with me and they'll tell you I'm a conservative, so I only invite change when I see that what I'm doing isn't working, or when someone else is doing it better. So allow me to tell you why Red Bull has such a massive following (including me), even though their product is disgusting. Here it is: they sponsor people, sports and events that are invigorating and very young, extremely talented people are on the face of 95% of what they do. Furthermore people who are sponsored by Red Bull are professionals who could easily lose their lives in a performance that most spectators can grasp the insanity of those performing it.
Now before you get all upset at them, remember that Red Bull has a HUGE passion for aviation, bigger than anyone gives them credit for (don't forget that they were the ones who restored White Lightnin' when Lefty Gardner's family couldn't raise the money) and they have a flippin' airplane museum in Geneva I think, I forget but it's somewhere in Europe, this is on the internet, I’m sure someone will correct me. Anyone else remember when they had their logo plastered all over the ONLY airworthy Sea Vixen? Hmmm?? So let's not question Red Bull's commitment to aviation as a whole and warbirds in general seeing as how warbird era aircraft make up 1/3 of their fleet. However, the reason that they don't attend RAR, SnF and Kosh is because, and please pleeease don't hate me for saying the truth, but nothing exciting happens there. Now before you start disregarding me, think about it, when was the last time any of us saw something at any of those events that was so different it made us incredibly jealous on the inside to the point that you went home giving serious thought about how you could do something so awesome with your life as the guy you were watching had. For me, meeting Kermit Weeks was the last time that happened. And I love the guy and I am beyond grateful for what he's been able to put together, but the guy's got serious money and I highly doubt he would ever have been able to do anything even close to the scale that he has if he hadn't been born into the money that he has. Not taking away from the fact that he works incredibly hard and there’s no way he could’ve done it all without the raw passion that’s evident, and I feel as if I owe him a debt for all he's done for the things that I enjoy, but seriously guys, he’s not our savior, he’s one man, and he’s from a very very different generation. (talking to you SnF & EAA)
Red Bull can generate more buzz for their own events and it's because we're too afraid of change in this industry (Yes, this is where I take a bit of personal responsibility – I told you it gets better). In reality, RARA ought to make Red Bull look like they're doing it with training wheels. We make it so easy for them to blow us out of the water because we're not trying to be fresh in a way that's going to attract anyone that isn't already coming. Why do you think that we're the only ones that know the significance of seeing the John Travolta and Precious Metal ad every year? The blog I read begged the question, "Will Strega, Voodoo and the rest go the way of Stiletto and become Stockers again? Only time will tell." Allow me to answer your question, YES!!!! For crying out loud it's already happening! Can we really be so oblivious to what we're so afraid of that we refuse to acknowledge that what's already happened to at least two legendary racers, won't it certain happen to Strega as it sits on the market for sale too??
Let me say something that everyone here is dreading to hear, and just as difficult for me to say... One day, ALL of these airplanes will be gone... They will either be destroyed, disassembled, or get stuck in a museum until they are forgotten and then destroyed. It's the tragic fate of every beautiful piece of art. MAYBE one or two will last out the next 100 years, but the way that we're running the show now, we may as well bury them on our own. We as an industry have a big hole to dig ourselves out of with present day culture, it doesn't start with letting the youth contribute, you have to give them the reigns. We're tinkerers, we're fixers, you tell us that there is a problem, and we have natural instincts to fix them, it's what you've trained us to do. Or at the very least, create the illusion that we have control, let us believe that we're breaking the rules, and completely fill the place with pretty girls (I didn't say skanky, because that's not my style, but when the biggest bombshell out of Reno is a fake P&W 5600XBSAP that will never run, we have got problems, BIG problems). Why do you think that Gulfstream Girl has 90k+ likes on Facebook, meanwhile neither EAA nor AOPA even have a facebook page? Are you trying to alienate my demographic? Seriously? Pretty faces aren't the solution either, but we have to be willing to change. Never forgetting the past, but we ought to be so consumed with the present and future that looking back actually requires effort instead of focusing on it.
And one more thing, stop looking like beggars!! These events should always have at the very least the appearance of being profitable... insanely profitable... not Robb Report rich though, the CEO look is very unpopular right now, Reno pilots ought to look like Thor, and act like movie stars, and us non-racers should be absolutely jealous of them. Don't tell me about how much money you raised on Facebook, if I care, I'll ask. I've given money to the humane society before too, but I'll never voluntarily go to one of their charity events and it's exactly for that reason, they're always trying to make me feel bad instead of giving me something that I can be overtly excited about. Stop turning RAR into a cause, you’re degrading it. It’s not a cancer, it’s a firebreathing, adrenaline and testosterone filled war-zone that makes a spectator sport out of watching death out of your left window from 50 ft. at 300mph… Remember what I said about making Red Bull look like they have training wheels?"
:"Dear Reno Air Racing Association:
Save the money you would have spent on replacing Mike Houghton, take a gigantic risk, and you MIGHT survive the next 50 years like you're trying to.
Reality check RARA, after 50 annual events, you’re still not a brand. I’ve been actively involved in aviation since I was 8 and the closest thing I’ve ever been able to determine as a logo was your 50th commemorative icon that I’m praying you paid a college student to do because it wasn’t up to snuff on a professional level by any means. The world has become much smaller since the races left Cleveland, so you and I are going to sit down and talk about why exactly Red Bull owns 13 airplanes and has more influence in aviation than the EAA, AOPA and yourself combined.
First, I want to address the elephant in the room again. You’re not a brand, and unless you change that within the next 6 months when you start cranking up your advertising like you always do. You are going need something INSANELY cool to sponsor RARA and even change the name if necessary if you expect to have any chance of being in the black this year, and I'm sure that I've already said more than enough or could ever be accepted, but I should qualify my remarks. I'm a massive aviation nut, but I'm 25 and I know why young people are not involved in aviation. It's because purists and old guys make all the decisions and are afraid of asking, empowering and properly encouraging young people to make decisions that are going to get attention you need to make money.
Ask anyone that has had a ten minute conversation with me and they'll tell you I'm a conservative, so I only invite change when I see that what I'm doing isn't working, or when someone else is doing it better. So allow me to tell you why Red Bull has such a massive following (including me), even though their product is disgusting. Here it is: they sponsor people, sports and events that are invigorating and very young, extremely talented people are on the face of 95% of what they do. Furthermore people who are sponsored by Red Bull are professionals who could easily lose their lives in a performance that most spectators can grasp the insanity of those performing it.
Now before you get all upset at them, remember that Red Bull has a HUGE passion for aviation, bigger than anyone gives them credit for (don't forget that they were the ones who restored White Lightnin' when Lefty Gardner's family couldn't raise the money) and they have a flippin' airplane museum in Geneva I think, I forget but it's somewhere in Europe, this is on the internet, I’m sure someone will correct me. Anyone else remember when they had their logo plastered all over the ONLY airworthy Sea Vixen? Hmmm?? So let's not question Red Bull's commitment to aviation as a whole and warbirds in general seeing as how warbird era aircraft make up 1/3 of their fleet. However, the reason that they don't attend RAR, SnF and Kosh is because, and please pleeease don't hate me for saying the truth, but nothing exciting happens there. Now before you start disregarding me, think about it, when was the last time any of us saw something at any of those events that was so different it made us incredibly jealous on the inside to the point that you went home giving serious thought about how you could do something so awesome with your life as the guy you were watching had. For me, meeting Kermit Weeks was the last time that happened. And I love the guy and I am beyond grateful for what he's been able to put together, but the guy's got serious money and I highly doubt he would ever have been able to do anything even close to the scale that he has if he hadn't been born into the money that he has. Not taking away from the fact that he works incredibly hard and there’s no way he could’ve done it all without the raw passion that’s evident, and I feel as if I owe him a debt for all he's done for the things that I enjoy, but seriously guys, he’s not our savior, he’s one man, and he’s from a very very different generation. (talking to you SnF & EAA)
Red Bull can generate more buzz for their own events and it's because we're too afraid of change in this industry (Yes, this is where I take a bit of personal responsibility – I told you it gets better). In reality, RARA ought to make Red Bull look like they're doing it with training wheels. We make it so easy for them to blow us out of the water because we're not trying to be fresh in a way that's going to attract anyone that isn't already coming. Why do you think that we're the only ones that know the significance of seeing the John Travolta and Precious Metal ad every year? The blog I read begged the question, "Will Strega, Voodoo and the rest go the way of Stiletto and become Stockers again? Only time will tell." Allow me to answer your question, YES!!!! For crying out loud it's already happening! Can we really be so oblivious to what we're so afraid of that we refuse to acknowledge that what's already happened to at least two legendary racers, won't it certain happen to Strega as it sits on the market for sale too??
Let me say something that everyone here is dreading to hear, and just as difficult for me to say... One day, ALL of these airplanes will be gone... They will either be destroyed, disassembled, or get stuck in a museum until they are forgotten and then destroyed. It's the tragic fate of every beautiful piece of art. MAYBE one or two will last out the next 100 years, but the way that we're running the show now, we may as well bury them on our own. We as an industry have a big hole to dig ourselves out of with present day culture, it doesn't start with letting the youth contribute, you have to give them the reigns. We're tinkerers, we're fixers, you tell us that there is a problem, and we have natural instincts to fix them, it's what you've trained us to do. Or at the very least, create the illusion that we have control, let us believe that we're breaking the rules, and completely fill the place with pretty girls (I didn't say skanky, because that's not my style, but when the biggest bombshell out of Reno is a fake P&W 5600XBSAP that will never run, we have got problems, BIG problems). Why do you think that Gulfstream Girl has 90k+ likes on Facebook, meanwhile neither EAA nor AOPA even have a facebook page? Are you trying to alienate my demographic? Seriously? Pretty faces aren't the solution either, but we have to be willing to change. Never forgetting the past, but we ought to be so consumed with the present and future that looking back actually requires effort instead of focusing on it.
And one more thing, stop looking like beggars!! These events should always have at the very least the appearance of being profitable... insanely profitable... not Robb Report rich though, the CEO look is very unpopular right now, Reno pilots ought to look like Thor, and act like movie stars, and us non-racers should be absolutely jealous of them. Don't tell me about how much money you raised on Facebook, if I care, I'll ask. I've given money to the humane society before too, but I'll never voluntarily go to one of their charity events and it's exactly for that reason, they're always trying to make me feel bad instead of giving me something that I can be overtly excited about. Stop turning RAR into a cause, you’re degrading it. It’s not a cancer, it’s a firebreathing, adrenaline and testosterone filled war-zone that makes a spectator sport out of watching death out of your left window from 50 ft. at 300mph… Remember what I said about making Red Bull look like they have training wheels?"
Comment