I read this whole thread. Very interesting and partly humorous. It reminds me how lucky i am to live in the middle of nowhere. The club I belong to is small with a minimal set of club rulles over and above the AMA safety guidlines. We are still allowed to use common sense and personal accountability as opposed to over regulation. lol I am also very fortunate to have a very good friend with a lot of land at the second highest elevation in the County. Absolutely nothing around for miles. I really feel bad for all you guys and gals that live in populous areas trying to enjoy the hobby. I cant imagine going through what some of you have to just to join a club, let alone fly.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the future regarding FPV and auto-pilot regulations, if any. I agree it is not going away. The technology is now insanely cheap and readily available to anyone. For under 1000.00 you can have an aircraft that can auto-pilot anywhere at any altitude you select using Google Earth to set Waypoints. The technology is exciting and incredible. I cannot even imagine what FPV and auto-pilot systems will be available in 5 years. Hopefully everything will fall into place and we can all live harmoniously together.
Happy flying!!