Originally Posted by
porcia83
I have nothing to back up my opinion other than...my opinion, but I'm sure plenty of people who comment on this and other forums are not members of AMA, and don't fly at AMA fields. I belong to 3 clubs but probably fly more in two fields/parks in my town than at any of the clubs I belong to.
I am an active/current AMA member and I've flown a foamie Stryker c at places like completely open lots free of people, people's pets, people's property, houses, etc. etc. But in regards to my nitro birds and all that is well over 2 pounds, those I strictly only fly at the r/c airfield where I am an active/current member. The club I belong to is roughly 60 miles drive (one way) from where I live. So if I ever am not in the mood to pack up my r/c planes and take a drive to the air field, I can elect to fly the little foamy at the empty lot where there is water on 3 of the 4 sides of it.
Cheesy foamy park flyers two pounds or less isn't what this issue is all about though. Perhaps a better question to ask is out of those who fly at non-AMA approved locations, how many of them fly nitro, turbine, and non-foamy aircraft at such places. Also depends on where you reside. If, say for instance, you live out in the middle of Nevada where a five minute drive out of town means you're out in the middle of virtually no man's land, that wouldn't be too much of an issue either. What is the issue is any flying within city limits over residential areas, people, pets, houses, etc. and of course within the airspace of where full scale aircraft operate.
Also have to look at it from the property owner/park's legal point of view. Say for instance you're enjoying a fun day in the sun at Yosemite National Park flying your quad with the cute little Go Pro on it and things go south and it crashes into some tourists. I promise you the tourists will end up suing the park and the park will be liable. Sure, the park could then turn around and sue the jerkoff who crashed the quad with the go pro into the tourists, but just because the park wins the ruling doesn't mean the jerkoff will actually pay up. This is where people with brains and common sense differ from those who lack one or the other, and in most cases both. I don't fly anything larger than a cheesy foamy parkzone flyer at a completely empty lot, surrounded by water at 3 of the 4 sides. And anything larger, at the designated AMA approved airfield.