Originally Posted by mattnew

I'm a club officer for our club here, we've been discussing this quite a bit....Here is my current take on it...

- AMA says that clubs are not required to require FAA registration from there members

That doesn't mean they can't. I don't know about your club, but my club is incorporated in our state as a non-profit corporation making us a legal business entity. The primary role of the officers is to protect the assets of the corporation and to operate in the best interests of the corporation. It's important to understand that the AMA does not provide legal advice to clubs. In some cases, legal advice can vary by state. What the AMA has not told anyone is what happens to the corporation (i.e., club) if someone who is not registered causes an accident? Can the club be held accountable for knowingly letting that member fly unregistered or not verifying registration knowing it's a federal requirement? Is the AMA going to pickup the club's legal fees should such an event occur?

In the litigious society we live in it seems like a no brainer to make it a club requirement to protect the best interests of the club. If registration is no longer required at some point in the future (which I hope) just throw it out in the trash. In the meantime it's simple to collect each member's FAA registration number. Many clubs in my area have already made it a requirement.

- FAA has not said that community based organizations are required to police their own. The onus/responsibility is on the operator and only the operator.
- Local PD and DOT's do not have the authority to enforce the federal regulations put forward. The only thing they can do is contact the FAA and request the FAA investigate using the FAA's resources...and even then, according to the rules.. see #2, its the responsibility of the pilot, not the club according to current FAA rules.
- The FAA proposed regulations are not set in stone and won't be here for several years.

To jump and modify club by-laws to try and hit a moving target where it has clearly been stated that as of now the clubs have no need to do so seems a bit irresponsible to me. The ball is still in the air, we don't know where it is going to land, yet while it is in the air we are going to make our members jump through hoops that likely are going to change in the coming months. Bye bye members...

at some point a by-law update may be needed, but things are going to change, and until the dust settles I don't think it is prudent to go whacking away at the rules....