Product Lines – July 2004

St. Paul, Minn. – Paraphrasing a famous speaker, “You can satisfy all of the people
some of the time or all of the people some of the time, but, well| that’s about it.
I’m referring
to my story about Raven Sky Sports – it’s sale, then non-sale, and the challenge
to its name. First, I got in trouble for announcing
a purchase by an Oregon-based pilot. He and founder/owner Brad Kushner could
never quite close an almost-done deal. The would-be buyer was at first very upset
with me that I would share this news with the public without getting permission (though
I received an email announcement letter along with numerous other recipients). We
patched that up between us but then the sale never happened.
Next, I got a very unhappy but carefully written, four-page letter from the lawyer
who asked Kushner to stop using the name Raven Sky Sports. He thought I characterized
him in a poor light. In fact, I know Marshall McFarlane, owner of the ultralight
business named SkySports. I just didn’t know the half of it and Marshall wanted me
to hear the rest of the story. It turns out he’s a USHGA member, an avid paragliding
pilot, and occasional hang glider pilot whose business is actually quite active with
hang glider or paraglider pilots. “About 20% of my revenue is from this community,”
he says. I’ll report more on the HG and PG products SkySports offers in a subsequent
issue. FMI: airstuff.com. Twenty years ago, McFarlane
bought the backup parachute business from SkySports, producer of the Kestrel
and other fine hang gliders of its day. Except for a short period when he sold it
to another man, McFarlane’s SkySports has continued selling parachutes and a wide
range of other flight gear. As to the name dispute, he
reports several times asking politely for Kushner to cease using the name. After
requests on SkySports letterhead were ignored, he sent one from his law firm. Since
he works in the area of trademarks he knew he had the right to SkySports but preferred
not to resort to legal action against a fellow hang gliding enthusiast. The matter
has now effectively been laid to rest as Raven ceased operations.
Fortunately for midwest hang gliding fans, John Gamble sent an update. “I wanted
to pass along the following| The hang gliding pilots in the area were not about to
give up our love of flying so the Whitewater Hang Gliding club has been formed
to replace the operation. The club has leased the airport and a hangar at
the same location (Twin Oaks Airport) in Whitewater, Wisconsin and is nearly ready
to begin the flying season.” He reports the club is well organized, growing, and
has the support of a broad membership, presided by Terry Kramer who “has the
help and support of many people to keep things moving along smoothly.” Tim Thompson
purchased a tug and is establishing his own business offering 7-days-a-week towing
to the club. Tim formerly worked for Raven and is a tug pilot at the Florida Ridge
operation in the winter, a plan he’ll continue. Flying was expected to be operational
as you read this and they’re hoping someone will offer lessons and tandem flights.
The Wisconsin Hang Gliding club extends an invitation to area pilots. FMI:
john gamble@cunamutual.com
In mid-March Ken Brown did some proselytizing to the bunch that flies powered
ultralights. He was on UltraFlight Radio – an Internet broadcast – talking
about suprone flying. It was quite progressive of radio show boss Roy Beisswenger
to have Ken as a guest, giving him a chance to promote hang gliding to guys used
to throttles rather than varios. I applaud Ken for reaching out to other pilot groups
with magic of soaring flight. But we also need to reach the general population with
our message.
With that in mind I recently presented an idea for a Light-Sport Aircraft Promotional
Board to attendees of the ASTM meeting which deals with certification standards
for aircraft above Part 103 in the aviation food chain. If you think about “Got Milk”
or the “California Raisin” commercials you’ve seen, what you witnessed was the work
of a industry group that joins competitors together to approach new markets none
of the producers can afford to reach on their own. All
of aviation shares one common problem: we are seeing little growth over a period
of years and the current population of pilots are graying. Fortunately, we’ve seen
enough new entrants – paragliding has helped USHGA a lot – that we’ve kept our numbers
or grown slightly despite the loss of retiring pilots. But simply holding steady
isn’t much of future. You think it doesn’t affect you?
Well, may I observe that we once had several glider manufacturers in the USA and
now we have one, basically. While Wills Wing is doing an excellent job, it is challenging
to maintain development in a declining market. New enthusiasts will bring more money
that can be used to create better products for current pilots.
I’m hopeful that the promotional board can form, start some good marketing work,
and begin solving the problem by appealing to the general public in phases. I’m also
hopeful that this effort, the only one I know of, will include USHGA.
Traffic on my Web site started gradually, but picked up nicely in May after I sent
an email announcement to 1,700 folks who’d asked to be notified. Based on results
in the first half of May, ByDanJohnson.com should exceed 150,000 hits for
the month. USHGA pilots can read this column from
January 2000 to the present; I plan to add the 1990s next. In this completely free
area, you can search all of “Product Lines” looking for a specific reference. I’ll
be adding regularly to the site, so even if you’ve already visited once, stop back
periodically to see what’s new. And, of course, if you’ve got news| but wait! |that
my trademark ender.
So, got news or opinions? Send ’em to: 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or fax
to 651-450-0930. E-mail to Dan@ByDanJohnson.com. THANKS!