Originally Posted by
fliers1
If you want something done right, do it yourself.
Question is, what do we expect AMA to do that needs to be done? If AMA cannot or will not do what is needed that would turn things around and ASAP, wouldn't it be up to the 110k members to do what is necessary to help their own cause? After all, it's quite apparent that AMA HQ hasn't found a way to recruit and retain new blood. How do we drastically increase our numbers? That is something that is apparently out of AMA's hands. They tried Sign 3, Fly Free and other measures, that apparently didn't work. There are members who only see what's happening in their club only; few, if any are concerned about the big picture. Add desperation to that list. It looks like those at AMA HQ are fresh out of productive ideas.
The problem isn't with what the AMA has tried, recruiting wise, it's the "I want it and don't want to have to pay anything to get it" mentality. When you look at the costs involved to get into the hobby, regardless what kind of flying you're looking at doing, it gets cost prohibitive very quickly. When you add up the cost of a plane(regardless of kind), fuel/batteries, radio gear and accessories, AMA and club memberships, you're talking quite a chunk for funding. Then you look at the amount of time it takes to learn to fly. When I compare it to my other hobbies, those being square and round dancing, people show up for the first class and, invariably, roughly half don't come back or leave before the first lesson is over because they don't want to commit the amount of time it takes to learn, that being 16 to 20 weeks at $5 or so per student, depending on club and instructor. They would rather go to a bar or club, take 10 minutes to learn, for example, the Electric Slide and dance it all night, regardless of the song that's playing.
You said to add desperation to the list? Not really as that's only been the situation for the past year or two since, before that, the AMA "brass" didn't want to admit there was a problem. Now, the FAA won't work with the AMA due to the demands the AMA is throwing at the FAA and, quite simply, it's like the FAA is dealing with a child throwing a tantrum and telling the child to go to their room.