To answer the first question, the insurance protects you in case you damage someone else's property or cause injury. It means that they'll pay to fix the paint on a car that your plane crashes into due to a radio malfunction and so forth. Or, it will pay for some stitches caused by your prop digging into someone else's hand because your "helper" could not see the arc of your APC prop, among the examples. I'm afraid you'll have to fix your own airplane if you crash it, like you would have to fix your own car if you go into a ditch. The second one is a bit lengthy, but I'll do my best:

In quite a few clubs, the idea of time on a buddy box without AMA and your own plane is out of the question. I was talking to one club treasurer, and he said that you can't even get an introductory flight without AMA membership, and you have to have the card to show for. Even then, it's only when some club member wishes to dig out his own trainer and lose some time on his big stunter with a motorcycle engine. Really, I'm serious here! Also, many if not most R/C fields are fenced off and posted with "no trespassing" signs, meaning that outsiders are not welcome on the premises unless there's a public event. Flying model airplanes is not what it used to be. Rather than a hobby, it's becoming a sport like golf where a sort of "country club membership" is mandatory in some cases.

So what's the other option? Well, you have to dig VERY hard to find a club that uses a municipal field, and does not require membership (I know of only one in my local area). You'll still need to buy the AMA insurance and have an AMA card to fly in their field, but you can sometimes get away with an instructor offering their time on the club trainer. Some instructors will give a free introductory flight, and the AMA will cover the student as long as the instructor has control of the buddy box. But after that, it's up to the student to purchase their own plane and then pay for the AMA. The good thing is that club membership is not mandatory on some fields (a very small number of fields), so it can be done with less capital outlay.

I think most people get into flying models because they know of others who do it. It starts with a sense of curiosity over how something looks, sounds, and operates. They hear a friend or relative say something like "I know this guy with this little airplane that runs by remote control, it's cool!". Sometimes this results in a trip to a local hobby shop, or perhaps to an actual flying field if directions are given. Hopefully, a hobby shop with a simulator (Real Flight G3, for example) in operation gets to be the starting point. Because if it's the club first, the potential guest can get scared off by the starting costs and insurance requirements. The key here, though, is to give someone who has never had exposure to the hobby a chance to at least try it once. And then, there has to be a way to make the flying affordable once the model and starting equipment gets purchased. So, we have some hobby shops and a small number of clubs that introduce new members to the hobby, but not many. I can see the park flyers increasing in popularity, as long as local laws don't prevent them from flying in parks and empty school yards. But I seriously doubt the hobby will be as popular as it was during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. At least, not until the costs match the fundamentals.

Lastly, there's this thing about age. Why can't clubs, or even the AMA present model planes like companies present good video games? In all honesty, younger folks who have played or grew up with video games are easily attracted to this hobby AS LONG AS THEY GET SOME EXPOSURE TO IT. If teens and young adults don't see model airplanes, they don't know the the difference and aren't likely to care much. Think about why cars are more popular these days, people. Model planes are the more extreme version of model cars, they can be as fun if not more so! But first, some barriers have to be removed and R/C needs to be more accepted by the public. A part of all this is advertising (advertising that appeals to the younger set), exposure, and affordability. Above all else, it needs to become more affordable so more people can get into it. I often just long for the days when a Cox model could be heard at the empty soccer field or baseball diamond. I guess that's all a pipe dream now.

NorfolkSouthern