Jim Messer
Posts: 1109
Joined: 1/28/2002
From: Sebring, FL, USA
Status: offline
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To kid chuckles:
Your post applies to a lot of new flyers - not just yourself. It is true - to fly at most clubs, AMA membership and the insurance that goes with it is mandatory. Why? Because, these days flying fields are hard to get, and even harder to keep. Landowners want proof of insurance, and the AMA provides them with that certificate.
In our club, we fly on land owned by the county, at no charge to us. We obtained this field by going to the county commissioners and asked them to help us find a place to fly. I was on that committee, and the first thing they asked - Do you have any kind of insurance? When we explained to them about AMA insurance, which they knew nothing about, it was an easy task after that. All five commissioners voted to build us a flying field - that was in November, and we were flying off it in February. The county built us cross runways, rolled them, put in a parking lot, and built a road to the field. Then they paved the road, and today it's like the finest golf course that you have ever seen, still at no charge to us.
Clubs all over the US are in the same boat. That's why you are always told that you must belong to AMA to fly at their field. Letting someone fly that does not belong to AMA, violates the rules by which the fields were obtained in the frst place - it's like breaking the law, and when the landowner finds out, it's grounds for dismissal - and out you go! The situation would be even worse if the non-AMA member were to have an accident.
So, don't be too hard on the clubs when they insist on you're being an AMA member. That's just the way it is these days, and if you want to fly R/C as part of a club, then you just have to accept that fact.
So what else does AMA do? Well, back in the thirties when it was formed, it was an organization that promoted the building and flying of model airplanes, and that was all. Back then it was all rubber band powered planes, and engine driven free-flight type planes. The AMA drew up the rules for competition, class A, B, and C for the free-flight gas models, for example. They established the length of engine run, and the wing loading for models flown in competition. Back then, gas powered models of any description were so new, they attracted huge crowds of people wherever they would be flown. The AMA also started the Nats, where top modelers got recognized for their skills and achievements.
As modeling progresssed, soon along came U-control. Just like the free-flight models, they too required a set of rules for competitive purposes. Engine classes were maintained and U-control soon became another big part of AMA competition.
From U-control, we jumped into radio controlled models. In the beginning we flew on the citizens band, 27 MH., and it had many problems. Anybody with a CB radio in their car, just driving by could shoot you down. SKIP, as it was known to CB'rs, could also shoot you down, and that signal could come from hundreds of miles away. In our vicinity, we had radio controlled cranes in the industrial plants, all operating on 27MH., so flying an R/C airplane in a safe and reliable manner wasn't always possible.
The AMA recognized this problem, and fought with the FCC to obtain a bunch of new frequencies on 72MH, soley for the use of model airplanes, resulting in good reliabliity, and our ability then to fly R/C planes safely. The hobby grew fast with the advent of R/C, and with that came the need for modelers to be insured. That's where we are today, and your ability to enjoy your R/C planes today has those roots.
The AMA doesn't do much for individual members - how could they? Instead, their function is to govern all aspects of model aviation, and be our combined voice when required, whether it be free-flight, U-control, R/C, or one of the special SIG's that operate within the AMA guidlines. Obtaining the 72Mh. radio frequencies from the FCC is probably the example most people understand best.
I will end this dissertation by asking you to consider - not what will the AMA do for you today, but what has the AMA done in the past that makes today possible. Believe me, in all probability, if it weren't for the AMA, you would not be enjoying the hobby as you now know it.
I hope this helps with the confusion you and others like you have about the AMA. It's a good organization, so please support it.
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Jim Messer
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RE: Why do you belong to the AMA? Poll - 
