Getting a sponsorship deal can be important to some pilots, but is it all it’s cracked up to be? Let’s break it down and look at the pros and cons.
What are the types of sponsorships?
Representatives:
At entry level, you get representatives or reps. You normally get a discount on equipment (10% to 40%), get to join in the team chats and probably have a regional manager that takes care of you. In return there’s normally a requirement to post on social media and generally be a positive person who is the face of the company at ground level and doesn’t get involved in drama. You will need to know a lot about the products, as you will also being doing support at a field level and be able to suggest products and help with troubleshooting.
There may be a few levels of reps within a team, where you get different amounts of discount or perks depending on ability or how long you’ve been with the team.
Team Manager:
The next level might be managing a team. Here you’ll either get direct support from the company (manufacturer or hobby shop) or some additional incentives to run the team.
It can be hard work managing pilots joining, leaving, or having spats. It’s not something I would ever want to do, but if you’re the right person for the job, it can be very satisfying running a successful team, and it often leads to running multiple teams as you gain experience.
Factory Pilot:
Factory pilots are supported directly by the manufacturer. You will probably still have a team manager, as companies probably won’t be talking to all their pilots individually.
Factory pilots might get a certain amount of free equipment a year as part of a budget, or may just get heavily discounted products. The items are normally shipped from point of manufacture, so you could be paying for shipping and customs.
You will normally be expected to take part in demos at events or even compete. If you compete at a high level, there can be bonuses based on performance and you might even get your travel costs reimbursed. But this is normally reserved for the very best.
Development / Test Pilot :
Another kind of factory pilot is a development pilot. Here you will be testing and giving feedback on prototype items, and this normally happens after you’ve been flying for years or have a very specific knowledge.
You may get various items for free for testing, over and above your normal factory deal.
Why do you want a sponsorship?
There are 2 main reasons for wanting a sponsorship deal. The first is the esteem of belonging to an exclusive club and being teammates with top pilots, and the second is for the discounts.
Being a member of a team with access to the best pilots in the world is great. You get to see discussions behind closed doors and be privy to pre-release information.
Discounts are also great, although sometimes not as good as you would expect. You should want to be flying the equipment regardless of the discounts you might get.
What are the downsides?
The first downside is that you’re locked into an exclusive contract to fly certain equipment. This might seem great in the beginning, but it can actually cost you money.
Imagine you join a servo manufacturer. They expect you to change all your other brand servos over to theirs. This takes time and money. You could just do your main helicopters, but then you need to be careful never to show your helicopters with the old servos. There might also be a requirement to replace your old servos with new versions every few years.
Another downside is you need to be careful what you say. If someone hears you say brand X is better than the one you fly currently, that would look bad for you and the company you represent. You will need to be prepared to bite your tongue or select your words carefully sometimes. It can be as simple as asking if they’ve considered things from a different perspective, that maybe cost isn’t everything, and that longevity, low maintenance, reliability and other factors are also very important.
Sometimes you might be target of ire at the club. Perhaps you recommended a product which failed. Perhaps someone has a dispute with the manufacturer or hobby shop, and you get stuck in the middle. It’s not all roses.
Discounts
The discounts are sometimes not as good as they look. You could get 40% discount on something, but might not be able to buy it locally. If you have to buy it direct from the manufacturer, you may have to add shipping and customs, and all of a sudden it’s the same price as buying from your LHS (Local Hobby Shop).
Suggestions
My first suggestion would be to try and join a Hobby Shop team you already buy from. This allows you to get discounts on everything in the shop, take part in team discussions and events, and it saves you money on equipment you were going to buy anyway. They won’t force you on to any particular product and are normally quite happy as long as you fly what they sell.
My next suggestion would be to avoid getting locked into specific brands or products early on. The last thing you want is to take a deal on something because of a discount, and then it would look bad when you suddenly switched to something else.
And when you do you join a team, you need to try and do the best job you can for them.
