ORIGINAL: Stickbuilder
Yes, I've been to Oshkosh many times, but there you have older pilots and owners of light aircraft gathering for the annual event. They don't need to try and drum up business, since people who already own, or are looking to buy tend to gravitate to where the airplanes are. We, the hobbiest, don't already have something like the EAA, or the AOPA, to cause prospective participants to look us up. Most of the newbies either go to a LHS, or in the case of the park fliers, go to the Wally Worlds, etc, and next thing they know, they have an RC airplane. Most of them never heard of the AMA, so your constant comparison between the AMA, EAA, and the AOPA is not valid (at least in my eyes).
Come on Bill how can you say that the AMA is not like AOPA or EAA, their mission's are nearly identical. Read all of three of them. I see AMA at Oshkosh every year, they must have something in common.
Also you'll be really surprised to know that MOST EAA member and MOST AOPA members DO NOT own airplanes. Plus the fact that Airventure has 5 times more non members attend then members. Most those people don't attend that event because they are owners or even "gravitators", they attend because they are aviation enthusiasts. The EAA doesn't want more business, ha ... come on you get their stuff and you see how they get their MEMBERS to do all the birddogging and they do a darn good job at it. The only difference is that EAA members care about others and AMA members seem to care more about themselves.
I honestly think that you are just trying to convince yourself and others that you want the NATS on the road to give RC more exposure, when in fact you just want to make it more convienient for yourself, but more difficult for the AMA. But like I said, there are plenty of regional events to give the AMA plenty of exposure and it's up to the SIG's and the members to give the public the exposure it needs. I just think it's better for AMA as a whole to keep their grand event at their home.