Here are some of the issues that I see and my opinions about them.

First, the only reason the AMA needs to get involved, at all, is that an instructor, even if he has outside insurance, is, in fact prohibited from teaching at an AMA chartered club's field for a fee, since he and his student would not be covered with AMA insurance even if they are AMA members. No club in their right mind is going to allow that situation because it leaves the club and it's members at risk. It is not entirely clear what the coverage on the landowner might be. This creates a catch 22 where, even if the instructor has a great commercial policy, he has nowhere to teach.

Rather than have the club or the AMA get heavily involved, why not make AMA commercial instruction insurance available at a price. Leave it to the instructor to make a deal with a club. Leave it to the instructor to determine his fees. Leave it to the instructor to deal with the IRS. Etc., etc. Leave it to the instructor to recover the cost of the insurance. This is a business proposition and should be treated like one. Anyone can start a business, some will make it and others will not.

I can see where most clubs might require AMA and club membership from the instructor and student. That would be the benefit to the club. Leave it to the clubs to decide, don't start another paper mill between the clubs and the AMA.

I can see a demand for everything from basic flight instruction to advanced lessons, as someone else pointed out. If Dave Brown, Don Lowe or Chip Hyde can command $5000 for a couple of weeks of advanced Pattern instruction, more power to them.

The time honored method of teaching beginner's for free is being skewed by planes that are built by professionals (ARF's). The time has come to bring teaching into the new recreational aspect of the hobby. It's my opinion that the free instructor will continue to exist, for those students with more patience than money. If you want training on demand, be prepared to pay. Not many folks today give a second thought to the morality of having a plane built for them, so why should training be looked at differently?

I am sure that one thing that has stopped the AMA in the past is the realization that if an accident occurs, there is a higher likelihood that a lawsuit will be filed against a business, rather than a club or individual AMA member. This, obviously, raises the cost of insuring such an enterprise and would have to be reflected in the cost of such insurance. Possibly a second policy with the AMA's insurer is the answer. The cost could be prohibitive. The entire proposition should be looked at, in any case.

JR