Originally Posted by
Granpooba
As far as I know, all AMA CHARTER clubs have the same requirements and evaluation. Nothing new !
I am a certificated ATP. BUT !! I also knew my limitations and had no problem with taking any and all instructions to forward my ability to fly RC models. Perhaps many do not know their limitations, but I learned very early in life, that no matter how good you think you are ....... THEIR IS ALWAYS SOMEBODY BETTER !
Unfortunately, the club I belonged to back in Chicago did not have such an approach. I recommended instituting such a policy and my fellow board members decided that they were more worried about offending members than ensuring that everyone knew what they were doing. And we had members who's checkbooks trumped their skills and sensibilities. The equipment they flew far exceeded their skills and you always headed "under the pavilion" when they flew. We also had members who were excellent pilots that I learned a lot from over the years...
I also had the opportunity to engage in lengthy discussions with Dave Scott, who I met through a mutual friend. Dave runs an RC school in Wisconsin and is an instructional editor for Model Airplane News. I learned a tremendous amount from him as well, particularly on instruction techniques. There are a lot of great resources in the RC community if one is open minded to continued learning.