Drones and traditional RC aircraft aren't two separate hobbies. Drones are a development of the aeromodeling hobby. That's how the hobby shops see it, that's how the manufacturers see it, that's how the public sees it, and that's how the government sees it. I'm well aware that many if not most traditional aeromodelers aren't interested in drones. The same situation was there in the late 70's and early 80's as rc eclipsed control line flying with a lot of the same animosity. Like it or not, drones are progress and they are a part of our hobby whether we acknowledge it or not. And no, all drone pilots are imbeciles who don't want insurance and regulations. The vast majority, just like us, are responsible people who want to enjoy their toys without bothering anyone. And as I stated before, the better flight controllers can make traditional models autonomous. I could set up a Pixhawk and a camera in my old Cub and set up GPS waypoints to send it on a mission. I could probably have it ready to go in a week's time complete with PID setting all good and auto takeoff and landing worked out. The AMA and the FAA knows this, and the technology is just going to continue to get better from here to make it easier and more capable.

So the FAA lumps it all together, because that makes sense to them. The AMA made the right choice to embrace drones. To separate from them would have been to alienate the fastest growing segment of our hobby, weakening the AMA's position and accomplishing nothing with the FAA. It would have been good for us if the FAA would have made a hard separation between drones and traditional RC flying, but they weren't going to regardless of what the AMA said or did. The AMA leadership was wise enough to see that and made the best choice they could. It was a compromise, but it was better than being hard nosed as many wanted them to and losing all opportunity to influence the decisions that got made.