RE: Why do we have outlandish fees to join AMA clubs?
I'm not going to miss $85 a year in a thousand dollar hobby, but I really wish clubs would do away with initiation fees. By the time you tell a guy he has to spend $300 for a plane, another $100 or so for support equipment, $59 for AMA, and $85 for club dues, most people have heard just about enough. Then when you tell them they have to pay another $50 because they aren't one of the guys, that sends a lot of them packing. I've had people ready to join until I told them about the initiation fee.
The best rerason I've heard for keeping initiation fees is "I had to pay it, so they should too." My thinking is that if you want new members, do you really care about that $50 you spent once 10 years ago? Man, for most of us, $50 is pennies compared to what we have put into aircraft, tools, fuel, building supplies, etc.