My first club was GMAASC (Gas Model Airplane Association of Southern California) Joined when I got my first engine in 1936 but had been flying gummi bands a couple of years before that. Someone came to a meeting one night pushing the establishment of AMA. $0.50 for rubber flyers and $1.00 for gas powered. As I recall the dues for GMAASC were about $5.00 per year. We had a huge free flight field. The point is I had all the help I needed to learn about gas power modeling from some top names in the field. I made lifetime friends who are mostly gone to their reward now but I will never forget the experience of learning from some of the pioneers in the field.
Clubs are about more than just a place to fly and AMA is about more than just insurance. Clubs in general offer learning that has been gathered over years by the older members. Clubs are also the source
of acquiring and maintaining a place fly as well as flight instruction and help when you are stuck on building problems. There may be one or two people that rub the wrong way but in general the members become great friends whose company you can enjoy at the field and at club meetings. Remember these are people that have a common purpose that is probably the same as your own. Flying with other model pilots is much more enjoyable than doing it alone.