The way I see it it's up to each club whether to seek AMA sanctioning or not. If the club wants to be sanctioned then yes, it's going to have to follow the guidelines the AMA sets up for such clubs. In no way, shape or form does the AMA force anyone to join such a club if they don't choose to do so. It's up to the individual to decide. If your area doesn't have any non-sanctioned clubs, then it's still up to YOU to decide whether to join or not, whether to seek alternative flying sites or not.

I'm sorry if the inability to just wander on to any club's field and fly at will upsets some people, but that's how it is and <u>how it should be</u>. The club in my area requires all new members to prove their ability to fly before an instructor pilot and a member of the club board before they're allowed to fly solo. This isn't a simple "once around the pattern and land" proof either, but one that shows that you have full control of your aircraft in both normal and emergency situations. You aren't going to do that in a single day or even a single week. Yet what the OP seems to want is that this club allow anyone with a $5 bill in their pocket to walk onto the flight line and fly at will. Sure they may have an AMA card in their pocket but that's no guarantee that they have clue #1 about what they're doing with their aircraft! Remember, this last comment is coming from someone with just such a card, yet who fully understands that he will need to spend time with an instructor before he's let loose to fly on his own - that person, of course, being myself.