ORIGINAL: bigedmustafa
Wow, we have a regular love-fest going on here in an AMA Discussions thread! Whodathunk? Thanks for the kind words, zac137. One of my operating theories is that, since flying RC aircraft is a hobby, we're probably doing it wrong if we're not having fun.
I have no objections to KidEpoxy's comments. Voicing an opinion and encouraging others to do so as well definitely qualifies as getting involved.
I view the AMA as an extension of my club. I join my club to help pay for the mowing and to make sure I have a place to fly. I join the AMA to help with making sure we have radio frequencies to fly on and because I like to know that folks won't be sticking M-80s in their planes while I'm trying to fly next to them.
My club is only as good as the folks who volunteer to help run it. The AMA is only as good as the folks who help volunteer to run it. The folks involved in my club have various areas of skills and talent, but they're just RC hobbyists the same as me. The folks involved in managing the AMA have various areas of skills and talent, but they're just RC hobbyists the same as me.
The realization that the AMA is little more than a national RC flying club without secret agendas, supreme authority, or ominous powers might help folks get past bashing the only national organization that helps RC pilots work together and to support our common interests, imperfect though that organization might be. I'd much rather see the AMA trying different things that may or may not work out; doing nothing is very rarely the best course of action.
I've flushed a lot of money away since I started flying a half a dozen years ago. Not once has it ever crossed my mind that I wasn't getting my $5 per month worth of value from my AMA membership.
Good post and thanks. Something came to mind about the post I am curious about. So your club is all volunteer and no membership fee?
I know in our current club we pay 100$ a year as dues and we don't have a volunteer program. The only voluntary aspects were the setting up of the club and doing minutes, and things like that. People are assigned mowing task and so forth, but the club is not volunteer as it is dues based. We get a sheet that tells us what our club dues pays for and we know where every bit is spent on. (portajohn, land rent, gas, etc.)
Having a volunteer club is interesting and of course, if that is the case why would anyone expect anything for their money since no money is changing hands. Not everyone is that fortunate. Most have to rent fields, require AMA membership, etc., and it cost quite a bit when all is said and done. I read one post not long ago and they stated thier field was something along the lines of 1000 a month! Must be nice not to have to deal with those type of costs.
Thanks again for the post and keep up the good work.