One thing we should all be thinking about, and Wouter brought it up to me in an email because it hurts the F16 class, is a revenue stream so that those running the class have some funds to help promote and develop ideas/racing etc.

Wouter wanted to do this with common production of stuff like masts, braces, booms and sails etc with a small portion going to the class. While this is a great idea, its sorta goes back to limiting what all of us who are designing various stuff believe in.

My suggestion is that all of us designing each of these designs, add a small fee ($50 ?) that goes directly to the class treasury so they have some funds to pay for things like Scarecrow and I are currently helping to fund because we can. This also implies that we had better get our act together and elect some people to run stuff in short order, finish the class rule <whatever that turns out to be> and generally look a whole lot more like a class than a bunch of people who are in love with a concept.

Later, as the design and experience spiral narrows and we end up with more designs that incorporate more similar features, perhaps we can utilise some of Wouters idea's also.....or if any of you have other bright idea's for adding other possible revenue streams for the class, please speak up.

If you look at the F16 forum right now, they are having a discussion on how best to promote themselves further, but as a class lack the funds to do it in a major way....one of our primary goals as a class from the start should be to give those who run it, the tools (read $) to help get it started on the right foot.

Even small $ could get us the equivalent of the BIC video that we could saturate the web with and get the parents with the $ aware of what we are trying to do.

Cheers
RG