I was just going to post similar to what Hoss just expressed. AMA membership is a package deal for good reason. Many express the desire to only pay for the insurance portion. When you look at why they don't get their own insurance independently it is because they want to fly at the local AMA field... BINGO.

There are many AMA services that made that local AMA field possible... everything from the flying site in Muncie to Model Aviation probably played a part in establishing the AMA and your local flying site. You may never go to Muncie and maybe you use MA for a trash can filler, but all these items go toward the ultimate goal of supporting the hobby/sport.

It is very difficult (but not impossible) to start a flying club without the AMA. It is hard to get land, insure it,verify the pilots are insured so you don't lose it all if an accident occurs. The costs can be enormous. Events give clubs life. Clubs without events will wither and die. The AMA provides notification (in MA and on the web) and insurance for all sorts of events from mall shows to fun flys to competition. AMA Clubs get all this for a VERY low charter fee. This has enabled many smaller clubs to stay afloat, insurance alone would have shut down many small clubs otherwise. As you get to very large clubs, there is enough club revenue that they can support a private, non-AMA club. I know of a few, but they are rare. For the vast majority of clubs, the AMA is the best solution.

When someone doesn't want to pay for say the newsletter (Model Aviation) it is kinda like saying you want a discount on your auto taxes because you never use certain roads so why pay for them. When you want another magazine instead, it is like you want County auto tax people to give you a free pass for the toll way in another state because you like that road better.

Cheers