Im in the middle of nowhere so I can fly anywhere really but its no fun.
I think you have touched on another reason why anybody joins anything. Some would say the real reason.
Why do you think people join fan clubs of sports teams? Do they sing at a game because they think their fan club dues have been spent wisely, or that their team's players are that bit better off as a result ? Nope, they sing because they get a lot out of being proud to be associated with their team. If, say, a Lakers fan met another Lakers fan in Rome, do you think they'd feel good because they have met somebody else who has contributed some money to their cause? Nope, they would feel good because they have met somebody else with their interests at heart.
I was at the show in Pasadena earlier this year, and saw a man buying his young son membership to the AMA. The boy was beaming all over his face. almost certainly because he had suddenly become a member of something he enjoyed. He'd really arrived. I can assure you he didn't do it because he could get millions in insurance, or entry into a competition.
Nobody here has yet mentioned that reason for joining. Its because of the pleasure derived from being a member of a club, gang, group, team, whatever you want to call it, that you approve of.
You can analyse where that money goes to until the cows come home, but it won't change the fact that we, like golf club members (who largely pay a fortune to 'play' in the 19th hole, not the other 18), or big sports club members who take a perverse pleasure in paying over the odds for a colored T shirt, (if it's the right color!) are creatures who take pleasure in belonging to a crowd with similar interests. Don't you remember the first time you got your driving license? Did you want to show it to everybody because the admin costs you paid to get it were a good deal?
The definition of a cynic is they know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. Cynics spend their time analysing where their money went.
I am a member, and gladly pay the tiny fee because I like to be associated with other RC flyers. They're a nice bunch.
David C.