Sierra RotorCraft Club

Comment from the Editor …

I’ve been staying in touch with the PRA and received an email that is of interest to the club. The first part of the email only pertained to me, so I didn’t include it here. As the editor of the clubs newsletter/weekly updates, I at times find it hard to write anything for you guys to read. For me, this would be a good thing, but as usual, if you guys don’t talk to me for things to put in the newsletter – how’s it going with your product, or some of your flying adventures – I’m dead in the water.  Anyway, onto “A Cross the Editors Desk” email from PRA.

Email from PRA by Paul Plack

I don’t know if you were aware, but most of the active PRA chapters in the west are now pooled in a common newsletter called “Western Rotorcraft.” We’ve been combined since the June issue, when Chapters 73 (Oregon) and 1 (El Mirage) were losing their editors, and combined newsletters with Chapter 2 here in Utah.

We’ve since added Chapters 15 (AZ) and 31 (San Diego) to the mix. The chapters send me their minutes, stories, photos and announcements, I edit them for release as a PDF around the first of each month, and the chapters get them back with the choice to distribute them to their own members by e-mail, by snail-mail, or whatever combination they budget for. There is no cost to the chapters.

The advantage is there’s always news every month, even if your own chapter doesn’t hold a meeting or activity. I’ve attached the low-res version of the September newsletter so you can take a look.

The only requirements are that you be a valid PRA chapter, agree to provide news on your activities, and collect at least some dues. That’s only so people who should be joining and supporting chapters in their own areas don’t join one far away instead, just to get on the list for free. If you want to do chapter classifieds, we’ll carry them in the newsletter as long as they’re not given away free to non-members. (Free to your members is fine.) Your chapter keeps all the money, but again, we just don’t want to create an outlet for bypassing other local chapters.

You should also know that we encourage chapters to make the newsletter available free for the download on their websites, to promote to newcomers seeking info. Only members get it mailed or e-mailed automatically, but if you take the initiative to go to the websites, you can read it. So far, making it available on this basis has gained us members, and a couple chapters back east are having the same result.

Some of what appears in this month’s Western Rotorcraft will also become material for the following month’s national Rotorcraft E-Zine.

If you think it will help get things revved back up, or free you up to focus attention elsewhere, let me know.

Your PRA Regional Rep is Jeff Jones, and the PRA Chapter Coordinator is Dave Bacon. You should get to know these two guys. I’ve copied them both on this e-mail, which will also give you their e-mail addresses. Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help!

Paul Plack