The end of this year will mark 3 years of existence for the Cardinal Flyers Online. In those three years we've sent more than 875 digests and hosted over 50,000 visits to the web site, with well over a million hits. It has been quite a ride.
We're still having fun, and we can still come up with a good stumper quiz! :-) But that's not all we're doing.
Together we've saved Cardinal owners and flyers time, money,
several aircraft, and helped keep a lot of people safe. Our
favorite notes are from people who, with our help, won a
debate with their mechanic and fixed a critical problem
before it brought them down. It has happened several times.Many of you have helped and been part of the evolution of CFO. We must continue to evolve. CFO needs to stay fresh, do new and beneficial things and make effective use of technology and teamwork to help Cardinal owners fly safely and economically. And keep having fun!
What is the next step? We have actively pursued that question and a number of alternatives, looking for the right 'flight plan' for this journey we're all on together. Or at least the next waypoint.
Recently we were approached by a number of long-time Cardinal owners. "You need to make this a real thing, with a plan for the future" they urged us. "Let's turn this into a real organization" they proposed. "We'll support you all they way" they promised. We were honored and challenged by their proactive interest and support.
We realized that a more formal structure would make a lot of things possible. We spent the last few months working out the details, and we're ready to give it a go!
Starting January 1st the Cardinal Flyers will become an official organization. The principles on the business side will be Paul Millner, Keith Peterson and Debbie Peterson, (we're drawing straws for titles :-)) with the assistance of several wise and talented Cardinal-owning advisors.
Our mission is clear: To bring Cardinal Flyers together around the world while communicating our member's experiences, wisdom and knowledge in creative and effective ways. We are about technical knowledge interchange, but also about building a community of Cardinal owners.
You will see several changes as this plan rolls out:
- We have an official URL! The CFO web page will be located
at www.cardinalflyers.com, still on the Mlink/PSInet system.
Thanks to Pascal Gosselin for his continued support.
- The first official CFO gathering will be the weekend before
Sun 'n Fun at Winter Haven airport. It's going to be a great
time in a great place, and will provide the option of doing
Sun & Fun together with your fellow CFO members. You will hear
much more about this soon. Palmer Gehring has already done a
lot of planning for this event... thanks Palmer!
- CFO merchandise will be available, so you can proclaim your
membership in and support of CFO to the world. Many thanks
to Rick and Michelle Gullet and the House of Embroidery for
making this possible.
- Portions of the web site will remain public, as a service to
those thinking of buying a Cardinal. We hope shoppers chose
to join us, and we will make it worth their while, but we
want them to get their initial Cardinal information for free.
- An email system will be retained for non-members and used for
occasional mailings of general interest to Cardinal owners.
- The CFO Digest will continue on for all members of CFO. This
nearly-daily exchange of information, ideas and questions will
keep its lively culture and continue to improve under Paul's
capable leadership.
- A new format will be launched and several new areas will be
added to a new Members area of the CFO Web page. The email
addresses of all contributors will be protected from spammers
by a member login.
- The CFO Web will launch an on-line classified ad system, where
CFO members can place ads for aircraft, parts, accessories etc.
These ads will be accessible by non-members.
- An Annual Inspection section will be created on the web. We'll
have general information about what to look for at the annual,
plus an up to date 'hot list' of recent problems found by other
members for you to bring to your annual.
- The web site will include two new areas in support of regional
CFO fly-ins. One area will detail the calendar of events and
contact people. The other area will provide a forum for those
who volunteer to put on these events so we can learn from each
other, make them ever better and maintain consistent high quality.
- We will have official CFO gatherings at major aviation events
around the country, starting with Sun & Fun and Oshkosh. Although
we will welcome all Cardinal owners as guests to these events, they
will be by and for the members of the Cardinal Flyers. The first,
as mentioned above, will be just before Sun & Fun 2000.
- Many other ideas are being tossed around for the future. These
will be rolled out when they're ready. People have some great ideas!
Join CFO at: http://www.cardinalflyers.com/join.shtml
Most of these additions and changes will happen over time, but be sure to join soon so you won't miss any of them. Sign on early and get a low, 'charter member' CFO member number!
This is just one more step in the evolution that has already brought CFO so far. We appreciate your support, and we promise to remain true to the principles that brought us here: our love of the Cardinal, our strong friendships with Cardinal Flyers around the world, our appreciation of the knowledge and talent of our members and the belief that by working together we can do great things!
Paul Millner, Keith Peterson, Debbie Peterson