Flyfunston

Hi Everyone,
I have a question for you; What do you think of our name, the "Fellow Feathers"?

Our official club name as stated in the bylaws is;
"Fellow Feathers/Fort Funston Hang Glider Pilots Association", so for the record, we can always call ourselves the "Fort Funston Hang Glider Pilots Association".

There was some talk in the past about changing our name to something else, something more exciting or contemporary than "Fellow Feathers". A few suggestions were bantered about but nothing much came of it.

We are currently in the process of incorporation, so if we really want to change our name, NOW would be the time to do it.

Do you have any feelings about this? PLEASE speak up by commenting here online, or at the February 13th FF meeting with free pizza and witty discussion of this matter!

Name suggestions are welcome. But regardless of what people suggest, when I send in the incoporation documents, the name is going to be listed as "Brian is a Sky God Corporation"

Or, if people don't like that, I am also consisdering going with a more concise name like "We All Think Brian Is Really Cool, And Wish We Could Be Like Brian, And Damn He's The Best Pilot We've Ever Seen, And Have We Mentioned His Personal Hygiene Is Top-Notch Corporation"

Brian

I second "Brian is a Sky God Corporation" as the official name

Doug

Fellow Feathers is a terrible name but it is part of our history and tradition. To change it is disrespectful to the pilots, some now dead, who made the Club and the site what it is.

Dan Brown

Dan and others,

You know that I have great respect for those who pioneered, developed, upgraded and maintained Fort Funston for decades before I arrived on the scene. In my own mind I regularly thank those who were brave enough to launch the site in the first place, to link 180s, to fly to Westlake, to find and explore the shear and generally to figure things out so we who fly there now and still don't have the same level of risk.

But all of that is tied up in the site and the people, not in the name. Many changes can and have been implemented to upgrade the site without being disrespectful. People aren't complaining that we moved away from Standards, that we have gradually honed the rules over time to improve our own and others' safety, that we don't stack gliders 3-4 high, and that we no longer wear tie-dye shirts.

So in that light I would support a name change, though only if we come up with something better. I do like the sound of Sky God, Inc, but I expect we're going to end up as the Fort Funston Hang Gliding Club, Inc.

Best regards,

Daniel

I was thinking anyone not happy with "Fellow Feathers" should just use the second half of our current name, "Fort Funston Hang Glider Pilots Association"

The only problems is that the acronym FFHGPA has HGPA in it and sounds a lot like the USHPA.

I wouldn't want to use something that could be mis-understood as standing for "Fellow Feathers Hang Gliding and *Paragliding* Association".

Not that we don't love paraglliders but I wouldn't want to create any mis-representation of our organization.

I agree with Dan Brown, the name "Fellow Feathers" is just fine as is, it's an icon. Tom Jensen

Name changes are for paragliding organizations like USHPA that don't care about history and tradition.

Dan Brown

Daniel Pifko wrote:I expect we're going to end up as the Fort Funston Hang Gliding Club, Inc.

Best regards,

Daniel

Dan's quote above would imply that a name change has already been decided...it has not and all input is being considered by all parties. We still operate as a group, not a single person making decisions for the club as our former president is well aware...

That being said, and with respect to incorporating Fellow Feathers, it may be wise to have "Fellow Feathers" and "Hang-Gliding" indicated at least on paper. So, on paper, we may be "The Fellow Feathers Hang-Gliding Club". The name associates Fellow Feathers with what we do...fly hang-gliders for incorporation purposes only.

Sometimes an idea is proposed without full knowledge of the emotional connection to, in this case, the name of our club...

Candlestick Park incurred a name change and it is still called Candlestick Park...the Bay Area is rich in tradition in all areas.

I'll always refer to Fort Funston as the place "Fellow Feathers" fly hang-gliders...

Chris Valley
Vice President of Fellow Feathers

Our name, as it stands, is not "Fellow Feathers." It is "Fellow Feathers/Fort Funston Hang Glider Pilots Association".

A name change to some degree is required because we can not use a "/" in our name when filing with the state for incorporation. Also, we will no longer be an "Association" once incorporated.

If we want, we can change our official name at this time to be simply "Fellow Feathers" or "Fellow Feathers Hang Glider Pilots Corp" Or "Fellow Feathers Hang Glider Club, Inc".
Or we can change to "Fort Funston Hang Glider Pilots Club, Inc" or something like that.

I for one like the name Fellow Feathers Hang Glider Club, Inc.
But regardless of what we decide, the official name can not remain "Fellow Feather/Fort Funston Hang Gliding Association" if we wish to incorporate and provide liability protection to our members and officers.

Brian

The majority of members present at the February FF meeting thought that changing our name from "Fellow Feathers/Fort Funston Hang Glider Pilots Association" to "Fellow Feathers of Fort Funston Hang Gliding Club" would fill our requirements while most resembling our current name and retaining our heritage.

In order to amend our name in accordance with our bylaws, I will post this proposal on the clubhouse door and we will vote on it at the next two consecutive meetings beginning on March 13.

At the March 2007 FF meeting, in conjunction with our pending incorporation, we took the first of two required votes to change our name to "Fellow Feathers of Fort Funston Hang Gliding Club".

The bylaws require that the two votes be done at consecutive meetings, but I forgot to do the second vote at the April meeting. We will have to start the voting process over again to be in compliance. Doh!

I will call another "first" vote at the June meeting with the second vote to be held at the July meeting. I've marked my agenda, but somebody please remind me if I forget!
Thanks,
Steve

It seems most of you guys forget the name "fellow feathers" was coined well before any of you even new anything about hangflying...i proposed a name change a rea long time ago...got little to no response...anyway the name is historical..let it be!!!!!

The name "Fellow Feathers" always reminds me that it's all about flying and being a good fellow pilot. In that sense the name is doing it's job.

Please keep it.

At the June FF meeting we passed the first of two votes required to change the name to Fellow Feathers of Fort Funston Hang Gliding Club. The second vote will come up at the next FF meeting that has been re-scheduled to Thursday July 19.