Chris, a good argument but let me chuck my tuppence in the ring. Before I got started with FPV, I bought myself a crappy little Cessna plane and tried to join a club. I had zero interest in getting involved with glow stuff or anything like that not because I don't like the planes etc, I just can't be chewed with the mess, the buying fuel, the whole lot ... leccy is better suited for me. The plane I bought was a simple thing, 1.2 metre wingspan, 4 channel, 2.4GHz.
I went to the Winterton club, which seems to have quite an active following on RCMF. They invited me along, all went well (I thought) at the club when I met up with them and then the sh*t quite literally hit the fan. I posted a video from my plane showing me taking off from a 'C' road near where I live (plane had landing gear, not suitable for fields so I used a smooth bit of road out in the middle of nowhere).
I received PMs calling me a t***, this from one of the club members (Geoff, the Events Coordinator) who also told me after I apologised (quite why, I'm not sure why I even bothered) that he'd see fit that I wouldn't be a member of any club around here, not least Winterton. Now bear in mind that I'd been talking to the Hibaldstow lot about joining too and their 'owner' Jon had been enthusiastic about meeting me too. The next night I was told not to bother coming to Hibaldstow as I "wouldn't fit in with their ethos".
Now - the plane in question, like I say, was not a glow trainer or anything huge. It was a 500g foamie, and even for that I'd done the [what i thought] proper thing and gotten my BMFA country member insurance. I probably technically shouldn't have flown off a road but to be honest, I still do because I consider it safe.
Anyway - rambling. My point is that you mention we have to change our attitude to flying in order to win over those in BMFA clubs. My own personal feeling is that more and more people are going to end up like me and fly where they like, when they like, from the side of a road BECAUSE of the BMFA clubs, and their elitist, idealistic members who are so embroiled with the authority they think a club gives them, that they have forgotten that this is just a hobby, a hobby with expensive toys.
Sure, there are a few places like Bardney who might be the exception but they're tarred with the same brush because, simply, it is a widespread issue (see RCGroups for many similar stories to mine). I will never renew my BMFA membership again out of principle; I can't support or endorse that kind of organisation (it has done nothing that I can see to counteract these issues - old guard syndrome?).
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