Lucas and his Ultra Stick
Hydeaway pattern airplane that will soon have a new home.
Lucas' little sister braiding ( sort of ) my wife's hair.
Dennis, the question about benefits is an easy one for me as well. For one other then an indoor model I have that used to belong to a fallen friend ( AMA member until his last day on earth ) all of my airplanes require a manicured or paved runway. Like you I am grateful that I can travel 2 hours or less and be able to fly at my pick of 8 flying fields. Like you I am warmly greeted at any of them, then again in person I am a very personable guy. During my 40 years as an AMA member I have both learned and taught. I have made more friends then I can count.
The best example I can give anyone is a few weeks ago I went to visit a neighboring club and met an extraordinary young man. I thoroughly enjoyed his company that day, but my wife who otherwise would have been reading a book while we were there was entertained by his little sister. We ended up taking the recommendation of their grandparents on a good place to eat where we discovered an event the restaurant was holding. By chance we met the kid's mother whom was very kind to us before we all knew who we were. Bottom line is that I felt compelled to do something for this family. I recalled all of the guys out at the field that helped me, encouraged me and was a positive influence on my young life. Some of my most cherished memories are of spending summer days at the field with the late Ken Willard. I decided to gift this young man a pattern airplane that I had not flown in over a year. Since I had designed my own and will soon be offering kits I had no use for the old one. Problem was that it was not complete. I did not want to create a financial burden for his single mom by not giving him a complete airplane. I reached out to fellow AMA members via Facebook. Within 24 hours I had commitments for all the required equipment. Fellow AMA members donated a Spektrum DX7 TX and RX, a complete charging station, a Jeti 90 amp ESC and 3 sets of 10s battery packs. I spent a few hours over the weekend setting everything up and the airplane is now ready for flight. His mother is planning a surprise birthday party for him this Sunday and we will have the airplane there for him. Not to have his little sister feeling left out, while my wife and I were at Disneyland last month we picked up a Disney Princess backpack for her. I simply can't express how much enjoyment my wife and I have experienced putting all this together. Something we would have missed out on had we not gone to visit a different club field that particular day. Benefits? Absolutly, but only if you are open to them.