Parastars: taking off

So, here it is, March 8, 2005... posts have been virtually ignored on the Yahoo Group (is it OK to even mention Yahoo here?) and I don't know what to do for the group...

For those just tuning in (since this is a first post, that would be everyone), the Parastars are a group of PPG pilots in central Forida. For years the club was the preeminent PPG club in North America hosting one of the world's largest annual PPG conventions.

Lately, things have not been so good. The primary reason for the loss of momentum within the club has been the loss of the club's flying field. For many years we were fortunate to have a local landowner allow us to use his field rent-free. We were able to fly there any time we wanted. We could bring guests and, most important, we could train new pilots at that site.

One day, the landowner asked about insurance and we dutifully ran off in search of an acceptable policy. We were large enough and financially viable enough to provide insurance... or were we?

Turns out that the EAA insurance we though we had was only good for "events" and didn't cover flight operations. That being worthless, we went in search of something that could provide coverage for the landowner. There was (and continues to be) no insurance available for PPG.

There was talk about the USPPA combining forces with the USHGA and allowing powered pilots to be insured through the same channels as non-powered pilots but this seems like more of a dream than an eventuality.

Because of concerns of liability within the club, the convention will be hosted this year by Paralite. There are some who think that vendor-hosted conventions are inevitable and the way to do things. Others feel that having a vendor host the convention will only deter the participation of other vendors. This year's convention will tell.

So, here we sit (when we should be flying) without insurance, without a field and without input from members.

Sounds pretty bleak until you realize that members still have lots of enthusiasm
for the sport and for the club. We just need a catalyst to bring the club to the next phase of its evolution (insurance and a field would be nice catalysts but these seem remote at this time).