RE: What should the AMA allow as the maximum weight of an RC model?
I can't see anything positive about FAA involvement. That would be a quick way to kill modeling. There are 100's of reasons why that would be bad. It is so hard to get anything approved by the FAA, requires mounds of paper work, tons of money and every field agent has a different answer and requires something different. There is no uniformity. Certification of new aircraft cost Billions which is why new Cessna 172's still use engines with magnetos (like the model T). On top of creating an unwanted division the next thing to come about would be registration and operating fees to pay for the new bureaucracy. I have been told by the Feds that they can regulate modeling any time they want, they chose not to. They don't want to. They got enough on their plate as it is.
NOTHING GOOD COULD COME OF IT. Not for the FAA not for us. 1000 bad things would though.
The best thing we could do is operate in a manner that does not require FAA involvement. AMA does not govern modeling technically but by being the only game in town, they do shape the modeling community. This inlies the best part of AMA. If it is well ran and helps guide and shape the hobby of modeling, we can do without the FAA.
The one exception I would have would be for modeling for commercial use. RPV's and such. It would be nice if the AMA would be a go between to help modelers who want to branch out and do commercial things with their models.