804

My Feedback: (1)

Well said.

js/rc

Ditto on the "Well Said", 804 !!

I can just imagine where we would be if we didn't have the AMA. Years ago I can remember wondering if we would even have our own frequencies to fly on. AMA secured that for us. They also helped eliminate some of the crooks we would send money to for their products & never receive them.
I also enjoy looking in my monthly Model Aviation to see what events are coming up so maybe I could plan to go there, maybe fly but it's nice to make new friends !! I still look for events in my area & plan to attend some down the road !! I think we can all agree The AMA isn't perfect but it has worked for me the last 35 years , though I didn't always join due to layoffs now & then over the years.
Thanks, John
AMA 181909

Bob Mitchell

Well, lets see........

AMA provides insurance to whoever does own the land on which you fly, which in the long run has enabled you to fly there for the past six years. If you fly just twice a month that works out to be about $2 for the day's flying. Sounds like a deal to me. Lacking that, it seems to me that you would probably be out on some back road in the sticks somewhere hoping that a car doesn't come over the hill as you're lining up for your landing.

As far as the magazine is concerned, if you really hate it that much, rather than just toss it in the trash have you thought about setting up your subscription so that it goes to a local library, or school, or perhaps to the leader of a local scout troop?

One last thought....you say you are "forced" to join AMA or you can't fly in any clubs. If that's the way you are looking at it, then it's really the clubs or the land owner with which you have your gripe, not the AMA. Aren't THEY the one's that say you MUST have AMA?

Stickbuilder

Tick................Tick.................Tick..... ...........Tick.................Tick....

I have tried to reason mit der gute OberstLuft before. Good luck.

Bill, AMA 4720

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Ok guys, I've had to step in here and remove several posts that attacked a member becuase some did not agree with the reasons they were a member of AMA. This type of behavior is WAY out of line and will not be tolerated here. This thread asks why a person is a member of the AMA. The member answered honestly about why he is a member. If you do not agree with why he is a member that is fine, but do not attack him because of it. That type of behavior won't be allowed to continue in here.

Ken

js/rc

Why would you delete our posts & let his AMA BASHING POST REMAIN ? It's us older members that built the AMA & YOU THINK WE'RE GOING TO LET THESE GUYS BASH IT & LET THEM KEEP ON.

NOT ME & i WON'T BE BACK

KidEpoxy

My buddy & I put together a 20size kit when we were kids.
We did much repairing and even got a little flying in.

Put it aside for a couple decades, but saw a RC plane in a someones attic and got the bug again.
So I started studying the models & kits that were online and in the LHS,
and the helpful clerk really was an asset in developing a decent design.
I figured, if I'm taking up this hobby as something to do in a new city,
I should build a model rather than ARF.
Further, them years as a Mech Engr major would be a waste if I couldnt even design a plane
so as long as I'm gonna scratch build my 2nd plane (20year lapse), I should design it too.
.... and why not make it a twin while I'm at it.

Due to the brinstorming sessions with the LHS clerk, and the great gang of 10-20 flyers at the strip
I drew cut & glued up a twin (A-20'ish) .15 and got it to circle a few times.
<lost a fuel tank mid air, and that made the twin 15 hard to fly>

After a few more builds and some buys,
I was helping new guys at the strip keep their planes in one piece,
and to get the many pieces to become one,
just as the guys helped me.

But mostly I hung out with them flyers at the strip for the donuts & coffee talking about planes.
Sometimes I wouldnt even bring a plane, just a bunch of donuts.

littlecrankshaf

My Feedback: (58)

Anyway, I am an AMA member since it allows me to promote/enjoy the hobby in ways not possible otherwise. I can go to other AMA club sites and fly with others that enjoy the type of flying I enjoy. AMA makes possible the tools which can be used to acquire flying sites that can ultimately be used to promote the hobby. Of course, it all depends on how you use the tools.

Bob Mitchell

As I said in an early message in the thread, I joined AMA because it's a requirement for club membership, so I think we both joined for essentially the same reason. To be honest, I hadn't even heard of AMA prior to doing some searching on the web for local clubs and places to fly when I was first getting involved about a year ago this time.

What AMA has done for me, though, is to give me access to the Lexington club, and to a larger extent a flying field who's owner (Fayette county) is insured and protected should something untoward happen to an individual at the field, or to someone's property. My guess is that neither the club nor I would not have access to this facility without that insurance. I've been to the field and flown 4 weekends so far this year, and obviously much more often last spring and summer during DST and better weather. From that standpoint my cost to join AMA has certainly been the very, very least of my flying expenses, and i consider it to be a real bargain. From an individual standpoint I don't need the insurance from AMA for myself, as my homeowners and the umbrella coverage I have provide all I need personally.

My primary interest at this point is in 60 size and larger glow powered planes. There is a lot of open farmland around Lexington, so I suspect that I probably could have located a place to fly outside of joining a club, with it's requisite AMA membership requirement. Don't know that for sure, though. What I surely wouldn't have, though, is the group of other pilots to fly with, and the help and encouragement that they have been able to provide. For a beginner like me, that help and encouragement has been invaluable. From my viewpoint that makes both my combined club and AMA dues a real bargain.

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

Interesting - any pictures?

littlecrankshaf

My Feedback: (58)

No pictures needed for me... I have seen his handy work and his flying skills. He builds/flies great flying/impressive designs of his own.

littlecrankshaf

My Feedback: (58)

Hmmm...what are talking about?

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Sorry, I wound up removing that post entirely because of other reasons. I should have cleaned up my post that your quoted after I removed the original post. However, I was traveling today and I was rushed for time to get on an airplane as I was doing this and it slipped through the cracks. I apologize for not catching that. As you have made this point I am posting here to clear this up instead of removing that post now. Sorry.

ken

LuftwaffeOberst

I'm a member because I usually have spectators around when I fly. I never know if my plane will have a problem and I loose control.

I read the accident report from 2008 and it scared me... I'd rather pay expensive dues rather than get a Law Suit. Even though for a while I thought AMA wasn't worth my time, after some investigating I think AMA is really looking out for us, and good to have just in case.

It's just my opinion, and my opinion only... it seems that airshow events like it when you are insured rather than not. Id like to say that us card holders are more responsible, but from the report I just read it doesn't seem that this is a true statement.

MikeL

My Feedback: (3)

You know, this is a commendable attitude. You didn't like something initially, you sought more facts, and then rather than rejecting what you found you brought your opinion in line with what you discovered. That's the way we should all approach our opinions.

I've been an AMA member since... 1994? I've skipped a few years when I wasn't active in the hobby.

KidEpoxy

I commend his attitude as well.
Looks like a guy that has his head on straight.

Yup, nothing wrong with his attitude about AMA dues discounts.

Montague

While a "safe flier" discount sounds like a good idea, I suspect that we are already receiving said discount. I say that because I think the following two statements are correct. IF they aren't, I'd love to see some numbers that show otherwise

1) the vast majority of AMA members are never involved in a claim against the AMA insurance during the lifetime of their membership. If I had to guess, I'd say that less than 1% of the membership has ever filed a claim of any sort. This low claim rate should already be factoredin to how much we all pay for the insurance.

2) this one is a guess, but the number of AMA members who have caused multiple liabaility claims is very close to zero.

Now, compared to auto insurance, where just about everyone files a claim sooner or later, and lots and lots of people have multiple liability claims, and you can see why "safe driver" makes a lot of sense, while "safe flier" is considered the norm.

Also, when you're talking about other insurance, you have lots of information available to assess risk. Things like moving violations, type of car, and tons of other stuff are known about you and lots of other people. That information is fed through a ton of analysis to get a picture of who is likely to cause a claim and who isn't.

Contrast that to model flying, where no one knows anything at all about you, how often you crash, how big your models are, how fast they fly, what your field is like, weither you club members hide under the tables when you take off, and so on. And there isn't anything out there set up to collect honest data, while car insurance companies have (mostly) solid sources of information such as your driving record.

Oh, getting back on topic, I'm an AMA member because I live in an area where if I wasn't, I would not have anywhere to fly. I also have a competitive nature and like to host contests and travel to others, and most contests are AMA santioned (for insurance reasons if nothing else). The insurance coverage for me, my club, and the owner of the land we fly off of is important as well.

However, I know a number of guys who don't need the AMA and aren't members. That's cool.

Kemosobie

I chose to be an AMA member. Through the years I have taught people to fly, helped with many a AMA Delta Dart program. Stayed up late helping a student repair a model in my shop. I visited AMA HQ when it was in Reston, VA and was given the grand tour. I am an AMA member because I want to be an AMA member.

littlecrankshaf

My Feedback: (58)

Why are you an AMA member?

So that I won't be one of THEM

Kemosobie

Oh no "THEM" mutate ants in New Mexico

1954 movie

littlecrankshaf

My Feedback: (58)

LOL How did you guess?

deckerv

My Feedback: (21)

I'm a member because of several reasons. Any of the fields around here require membership to fly at them. Back when I was about 12.. I flew AMA pattern (ah.. the days of Dirty Birdie's, Tipporare's, Blue Angels, and Pheonix 8's) and flew in a lot of fun flys that required membership as well. Joined when I was about 8yrs old.. and now that I'm 35, still plugging away for the same reasons... it's required.

Really a shame since after all the years, my interest has dwindled a bit and I usually get to the field to fly about 10-15 times a year tops, and have not flown in an airshow since 2005ish, and quit pattern flying when I was 15 or so.

Nothing against the AMA.. think for the price, it's good cheap insurance and a piece of mind. I had a friend send a medical claim in years back and he received quick attention.

bkdavy

My Feedback: (1)

When I first started flying a small park flyer, I'd never heard of the AMA. When I decided to move up, and learned that I needed assistance (the hard way), I discovered I needed to be an AMA member to join the local club. So I did. Since then I have remained a member of the AMA because I've become President of the local club. The club is important to me, and we have been as active as we reasonably can be in promoting the hobby locally. We have an adequate, convenient flying site, good members, and a lot of fun. We've had build classes, I've taught lots of people to fly, I've maidened ARFs for newer members, we've done demonstrations, had open houses, done static displays at community events.

AMA provides us with the insurance we need and national representation. Oh yeah, we also get a magazine, which I can always find some nugget of interest. Would my life go on without AMA? Probably. Would it be as easy and convenient for our club to maintain our current field? Probably not.

Brad

flying_tree

This is awesome.
Glad to see your club is doing good and you are leading others to the hobbie.

Good job. =]

Mr. Mugen

I am an AMA member for many reasons, mostly because I can. I looked around and found no other insurance company that would insure my flying for 58 bucks a year.....hell thats only 15 cents a day. Thanks AMA!

Kevin