Tarasdad

It's been a few days since I've been able to check back in here. Mr. Tougas, thank you for your responses. As for how to reverse the decline in membership I honestly have no answer. I'd have to do a lot of research to find the root causes first, then see what actions might be appropriate. I'm just afraid that one of the problems is the "instant gratification" attitude so prevalent in society these days. RC flying has very little of that, at least from the viewpoint of the video game generation.

That aside, one thing I recall from my previous years in RC is that every kit I purchased had an AMA application inside. Since I've gotten back into the hobby I have yet to see a single application in any of the aircraft I've looked at in my LHS. I don't recall seeing any promotional materials in the LHS at all, and it's one of the bigger ones in the area! This isn't the way I remember it from 15 years ago, when every hobby shop that carried RCplanes/helis had a pad of applications and posters promoting the AMA. It seems to me as if the AMA has stopped promoting itself to the hobbyist. This may just be my perspective, as I said I have been out of the hobby for over a decade.

I think littlecrankshaft also has a point. Again I'm unsure what the AMA can do to change that. All too many cities and towns have become so afraid of anything remotely even hinting of liability issues that I don't know what, if anything can be done to promote RCflight in more urban settings. Even when I was last in an RCclub it seemed that we were being forced farther and farther out into the boonies, either through land speculation or by regulation. I'm fortunate where I live now in having four clubs within less than an hour's drive, although one of those is in a county park with fairly severe restrictions on flight altitudes and distances. I know there are a lot of folks out there who are not so fortunate. What may be done for them is beyond me at this point.