Originally posted by TheSollyLama
"Geez SollyLama, for a new guy, you sure sound like you have been around a lot. You make great points"
Thanks. I've been a member of many organizations in racing motocross and worked closely with a track owner. I know who gets sued- and it is almost always the property owner. I've seen good organizations and ones that mis-spend money and have silly requirements.
R/C flying stands alone in it's restrictive nature of paying AMA or not flying. At the amatuer level, and on a sanctioned field, there should be no reason to demand supplimental insurance.
Part of the problem is local clubs demanding it (even though thier own insurance is far more likely to have to pay out than the AMA) in addition to thier own outrageous fees.
Like I said, if I got memberships this year, I'd lay out close to $200. That's ridiculous. I barely spent that in practice fees for two years at a supercross track. Which I dare say needs more expensive equipment and insurance!
I don't even complain about the price of the equipment. Hey, pay it or don't. But I chafe at dropping a couple C-notes just to play with a toy I already dopped hundreds on.
I have known people that were turned off to flying almost singlehandedly when told to add a couple hundred (or even another $58) to the hobby bill just to participate.
You don't say just how involved you are with bikes. KTM has a practice track adjacent to our club field. It is about 100 yards x 100 yards. They pay $40,000 a year for their lease. Just some dirt and a chain link fence. I used to ride at Saddleback Park 25 years ago, and it cost $10/day. I had to sign a waiver. I watched a lot of guys get hurt, and have to pay for their bills themselves. I am having a hard time understanding why you think it is unreasonable to spend a couple of hundred dollars a year to be a member of a club, an AMA member and have primary insurance coverage included for your club and the landlord. Not everything in life is free.
Maybe the fact that you are not an AMA member, as you stated in another thread, explains it.
As with bikes, you can participate with a few hundred dollars in equipment or thousands. Your choice.
As someone pointed out, you can fly without belonging the the AMA. Just make a detailed search of all the federal, state, county and local laws in your area. Then get the permission of a landowner that is not in a restricted area and you can fly. Of course, as a non-AMA member, your homeowners insurance will cover you. That might not be enough to satisfy the landlord, because as you pointed out, they are the ones that get sued. Maybe you can use that $58 you saved by not being an AMA member to buy a $2,500,000 policy to cover the landlord.
Because you are not an AMA member I can't point you to the Financial Statement that the AMA has in their Member's Only section. I will tell you this, in case you have an illusion of the AMA as a small organization financially: the AMA has assets in excess of $18,000,000. Take that and compare it to the $407,000 of unrealized losses in the market in 2001. Now add the other sources of income the AMA has. The unrealized loss was not good, but, it was certainly not a death blow or anything near it. The AMA has substantial cash reserves. The money has to be put somewhere, and that 'where' is what we elect our officers to determine. If you don't agree, elect someone else. Oops, you can't elect anyone, your not a member, sorry.
JR