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baronn

To anyone considering donating money to the museum......

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Back when Bill Ottley was alive, I offered to donate property at my airport for the Skydiving Museum. We are located in the center of a popular tourist region and 45 minutes from the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, 45 minutes from the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, 40 minutes from the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Horseheads and 90 minutes from the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo. We are just a small Cessna DZ, imagine what a large turbine DZ could offer, maybe even land and a hangar for the museum. If they sold the property in Fredericksburg and took the money they now have, they could build the museum. We don't need the 16M Taj Mahal with interactive displays. A clean hangar with gear, posters, videos, pictures and an old C-182 will work.

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gowlerk

If that is the plan it will never happen. Unless a white knight rides to the rescue. Thinking that the general public will pay to see a skydiving museum ridiculous. Thinking that other National associations will contribute to an American museum in FL is beyond ridiculous. The people behind this are full of themselves. Not an uncommon thing among skydivers in my experience.



I live within 25 minutes of the American Motorcycle Association museum and headquarters. The building is located a whopping .3 miles off Interstate - This is a group that has 200k+ active members and more clubs than there are DZ's in the world (current count is 1100+ clubs). If you have ever seen a pro (or most amateur) bike race the AMA put it on. The Hall of Fame and Museum which opened in 1990 has a total parking lot size of 10-15 spaces and another 40 for the office staff and the baseball diamond on property that the community is invited to use. They estimated their total attendance was at 3000-3500 last year (Less than 40 per day). They charge $10 for adults but if you are an AMA member its free. Total size of this place is 28000 feet or so. There are exhibits of famous bikes, some history areas, and the stuff you'd expect in terms of videos and photos. The Hall of Fame basically helps to subsidize the office space for their administration buildings and parking for all their bike/event equipment. If an organization made up of 200k riders that are as passionate if not more so than skydivers are on their hobby don't visit by the 10's of thousands a year since its free to them via dues then what hope does this thing have?
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

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It's just Amazing that those involved with the ISMHOF are even considering the direction they are going. The AMA museum is just 1 of many examples of how museums are just not the big draw we are being told it will be. Would love to look at the data the company used to come up with the ridiculous attendance figures we are being told. This just keeps looking like a big scam to build something that has ZERO chance of being a self sustaining entity. If you decide to give money to these fools, be prepared for them to be coming back to ask for more. Again and again, and again.....

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There is a misunderstanding that I'm opposed to the Hall of Fame and the work done by the Packrats in sorting out and identifying the gear that was in storage for the museum. 

My only issue is the money being donated to the Skydiving Museum by the USPA BOD without consent of USPA Members.

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