Originally Posted by
speedracerntrixie
I don’t disagree and if you look at the back of your AMA card you will see the platforms that AMA has a presence. The issue comes down to interest. I’ve used the example of a $400 bottle of wine several times. There is no amount of advertising/promotion that will convince me to shell out $400 for a bottle of wine. Ain’t gonna happen. Now I fully understand that there are those who do and that helps keep that industry alive. To the younger generation we ( R/C aviation ) are that bottle of wine. Our hobby is initially expensive, doesn’t offer immediate success/gratification. An XBox offers instant fun and they don’t need to listen to an old fart drone on about safety. A smart phone links them to the whole planet and they get to talk crap without any accountability. Our own forum is a great example of that.
Having spent considerable $$ on Armenian Brandy, I'm probably of the type that enjoys that fine wine. Especially given my preferred brandy does almost zero advertising or promotion.
The above though hits on some points I'd like to emphasize. Whether it's the imported brandy I enjoy, the bottle of fine wine, the hobby of R/C aviation as envisioned by Speedy (no disparagement, just his definition of typical RC), or the drone crowd (multiple categories), or even the Xbox crowd, it all comes down to values, priorities, and something I call overhead. If I value something, and it ranks high enough on my list of priorities, then it comes down to overhead as to whether I'll engage or not. Overhead being entry cost, continuing costs, maintenance and upgrade costs, availability of the "stuff" I need to participate, ease of participation (effort, travel distance, time, etc.).
If one notices, the "overhead" for an Xbox is basically up front cost. As for availability & ease of participation, both are favorable. You can find an Xbox in a lot of places and ease of participation is a simple as walking something inside your home. Contrast that with some of the things that might be considered overhead for RC aviation: high up front costs, lower availability (local hobby shop and/or fewer manufacturers), some level of continuing costs, maintenance costs (and time), logistics (getting to/from suitable site), plus things like AMA fees and club fees (if so inclined). For the drone crowd, for the sake of discussion I'm going to assume they're somewhere in between in terms of overhead. While entry cost is relatively high, I think it's fair to say there's better availability of sites to participate (particularly non-racing) and a decent supply of manufacturers. Continuing costs are at least comparable with RC, or could be lower or higher depending on type/style of flying.
Point being, one of the major impediments for the AMA style of participation vs. FliteTest is the latter does seem to minimize the overhead in several categories. Fly just about anywhere, low cost of entry (comparatively) with their designs. Compatibility of designs that easily enable transfer of equipment from one aircraft to another for little more than cost of some new foam board and tape. And then there's the no requirement for membership dues etc. But in total, the overhead is, by most measures, lower.
If indeed AMA is looking to grow using methods other than by using some form of forced membership, then I submit they need to find ways to lower the overhead wherever possible.