init4fun

Hi fliers1 ,

I think there are a couple of things making it more difficult for the AMA to get new members , specifically ;

#1 , People just do not seem to be as eager to be members of clubs like the AMA as they were in years past . This is the real reason , I believe , that the AMA is grasping at any and all options to remain afloat , that although the numbers of folks interested in flying machines has grown exponentially with the whole hobby based "drone revolution" , the AMA has not seen a corresponding rise in membership numbers .

#2 , With the exception of us who fly at traditional clubs who are required to have an AMA membership , this new hobby offshoot that's selling all these millions of units annually has no need of the traditional club field and thus no pressure to join the AMA . I can not just walk out into the street , put my PT-17 down and take off vertically like a drone can and thus they need no real field to operate from (make no mistake I do NOT condone this type of reckless operation , but truth be told I see a lot more Utube videos of folks operating drones in urban areas than I see of them being used at dedicated flying club fields) .

For better or worse , the FAA is (I believe) trying to make an honest go of integrating non manned commercial flight into the present air travel system . I do believe their ultimate goal is the safety of the airspace for all users , manned & unmanned . The AMA is struggling to find it's niche in this brave new world in a do or die battle for it's very future survival . Sadly , I believe , there is no place for the AMA in the future of these FAA controlled commercial operations as it's presently run (non profit educational hobby organization only) and that to survive the AMA would need to become something far beyond it's original mission of hobby advocacy , a full blown commercial organization that would ultimately leave those of us (hobbyists) who built it behind . As my poll thread indicates , I'd rather the AMA cease to exist if the hobby can no longer support it rather than see it become just another for profit commercial insurance brokerage or for profit commercial "drone pilot's school" .....