Originally Posted by
Jennifer Curtis
What is probable:
More and more drones and park flyers will fill
the air. Their owners will fly an non-club locations,
and see AMA as unimportant. The FAA will see
AMA as an ineffective "community based organization,"
and assume authority over models. AMA will
continue to exist as a club for old fogies to
sit around and complain.
Jenny
Jenny, I think you're pretty close to the mark. Demographics alone are a big challenge for AMA. They gave away a bunch of free memberships to kids, but it remains to be seen how many of those turn into paid memberships. I haven't flown at a club field in over a year. Why? Just way too easy to complete the transition to electric (quiet), fly a slightly smaller plane, and do it 200 yards from my house in a park or at the nearby school rather than drive 13 miles one way to fly off a rough grass field - where I have to pay $100 more to be a member of the club! It gets even easier if you fly helicopters and quads. As a homeowner, the insurance isn't much help there either.