A lot of guys fit your dads' description. A lot of guys can look back at the big, and more dangerous planes that need a club field and insurance to fly, and simply say, "been there, done that....this small stuff is just as much fun in its' own way and ten times less expensive". There is nothing the AMA can do short of giving membership away that would entice guys in this category to ante up. All I need AMA for anymore is the 2 or 3 sanctioned events that I participate at per year, otherwise I'm happy to just burn fuel and electrons at the local hay field. All the local clubs have become too restrictive, and just another expense that I don't need. The entertainment value that being at a club field used to have just isn't there anymore with all these cookie cutter ARFS that show up any more. Original designs and planes with unusual configurations are a rare sight now, nearly extinct. I go to the club field not only to entertain, but to be entertained by others, not to watch a limited selection planes that were built in a factory 15,000 miles away. The loss of interest by current or past AMA members has its' roots in the issues I just brought up, and the AMA will never be able to reverse this trend.