Originally Posted by init4fun

Thing is , there are only just so many of us who post here , we have maybe 20 or so regular posters

Originally Posted by jester_s1

That would have been great if it had been possible. But you're ignoring another factor in the situation, the human behavior element. There is a critical mass that a group of enthusiasts can reach where they will inevitably form an organization to develop their interests and advocate for them. The real mistake the AMA made was waiting too long to reach out to the drone community. I remember reading threads 8 years ago about homebuilt tricopters that used helicopter tail gyros for stabilization and carried cameras on cobbled together mounts. It was obvious way back then that the hobby had taken an exciting new turn that would no doubt grow as enthusiasts shared their ideas and eventually commercial companies improved on them and started offering factory built products. The AMA really needed to start incorporating multi rotors into the hobby back then, but instead it waited until the group was so big that they were bringing negative attention to RC in general and using products that were in their 3rd or 4th generation of development. The AMA waited way too long, mostly in response to "traditional" rc pilots' disdain for these ugly new vehicles. I'll agree with others that the situation is a mess now, but the AMA really doesn't have a choice as to whether or not to be involved with drones. They are our eccentric cousin, distant enough that we have trouble getting along but close enough that the public associates us together so we must support them. I could get disgusted with the youtube videos some of these guys (a minority) make and choose to lump them all together, but I instead choose to be an optimist and look for the potential good that this new technology can do if we'll work on developing it and its community.

As for the comments that most drone guys have no interest in the AMA, I say give it time. Certainly the guys who want to go buzzing around the statue of liberty or a wildfire won't join or even register their drones, but if the AMA can provide some value to them by working out insurance coverage, chartering drone specific clubs that put on interesting events, and effectively advocating for them with congress, I think a good number of them will join. Don't forget, plank flyers (I use the term affectionately) were once a group of disconnected guys who built their replicas of real planes out in the barn and flew them anywhere they could find an open space. It took time for the AMA itself to form and grow, but it did. If we take the attitude that drones are nothing to fear if flown responsibly and that they represent an opportunity instead of a problem, I think we'll see in 10 more years that they are good for the hobby and for the AMA too.

Originally Posted by franklin_m

I'm thinking one is/was a car and the other is/was a pork product?

Originally Posted by radfordc

And, those 20 or so posters seem to be the bulk of AMA naysayers....at least on these public forums. AMA has problems and may survive or not. How we deal with "drones" probably isn't a factor. I don't think that a small organization like the AMA has "any" effect on FAA regulations...no matter what the AMA did in the past or does in the future won't change how we are "ruled". Even Congress has trouble reining in FAA excess.