ORIGINAL: stick
At the local field the other day I overheard a club officer (the president of the club) tell an interested spectator about the rules to become a pilot. The officer told the guy that he was alowed one flight on the club trainer with one of the clubs instructors. After that one flight he would have to join the AMA and the club before any more instruction was given.
Is this an AMA rule or just a club rule? IT was told to the guy as it was an AMA rule and the club had to follow it.
Both, probably. The one-time-only flight on the buddy box is an AMA rule. Any AMA member can be on the master Tx, so the part about being with a club instructor is either a club rule, or required by AMA per the added condition that model being flown must belong to the AMA member host (I presume a club trainer would be okay if master control is by a club instructor).
The reason I bring this up is that it is a chartered AMA club and I beleive that if the instructor is using a buddy box to train with then the student is covered as far as property damage or bodily injury is concerned. After all the instructor should take control before any distruction or injury shas occured.
I agree with you on that for the reasons you stated........but. I proposed to AMA via my DVP that the number of buddy box flights should not be limited. He was prepared to take it to the EC, but per an 'unadvertised' protocol in the 'due process' he allowed then prexy Dave Brown to screen it first. Never got on the EC meeting agenda. We have a much more reasonable (i.e., less autocratic) prexy now, so maybe it's time for another shot at it. Ball's in your court though........I'm done with it.
Abel
Edit to add: Looks like a few of us replied in the same time frame, and may have created some confusion. To help clear it up, understand that replies are to two different AMA programs (Buddy Box and Intro Pilot), either of which the club president might have been citing.