Many corporations incorporate in the state of Deleware for tax savings. Not illegal or inappropriate, just good business sense.
As to " I remember reading some stuff that was very "flaky" about the USAMA." The same can be said about the AMA, just read the threads. Doesn't mean its all real. I even read where the AMA eliminated an insurance competitor with lawsuits. Its all just gossip until backed with documentation.

Does USAMA have "flight field" insurance or is it just for individuals?

So WHY bring it up at all? unless there is another motive.....

ANOTHER, UNDOCUMENTED, post aimed AT the AMA..........

BINGO ! lol

So its OK to post "flaky" stuff about USAMA but not AMA?

Nothing like being biased!
Your playground is closed.

I just seen in another thread where some one just told you to go away and i will say it too! Why dont you take your ama bashing self and just leave . joe

Is this us?

"AMA would prefer to see a single set of guidelines managed by a community-based organization
that establishes the standards for all of model aviation." Full AMA document [link=http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/FAAARCFAQs8.pdf]here.[/link]

Make it so everyone who wants to fly has to join the AMA? or are they saying that the FAA should turn their authority over to the AMA?
The AMA says they are the only national organization for modelers thus the only community-based organization that they could be refering to is the AMA.

I can tell you one thing ,i dont see usama working with them. You did not have to join the ama or in your case the ppp,you were still able to fly in the park . So why did you choose to join ,other to come here and bash the same people you said you joined for the cheap insurance . Thats just not right . joe

Who said USAMA did more than provide alternate insurance?
You going to complain about State Farm or Allstate next?
How about attacking Hobbico for not being involved?

Well if you liked them so much why did you join the ama instead of your great usama ?Probably because they dont have a forum where you can come and try to make your self look important by bashing them. joe

Why can't I join both?
Back to the playground again.[:@]

This isn't the AMA's forum.
More playground nonsense.[:'(]

No but it is a forum about ama ,Like i said at the top of this page just do us a big favor and go bash some thing else some where else. bye sisco

The nonsense is getting old

Scale only 4 me, i am sorry i snapt on you ,i was mad at some one else and should not have not jumped on you . joe

Since when is this forum a "playground"?

Maybe YOU think it is a "playground" and this is just one big game TO YOU, but aparently RC-Ken, I, and I'm sure a lot of others would argue with your viewpoint that RCU is a "playground". And YOU have referred to "playing games" too many times to remember so don't try to wiggle out of this one.....WE are taking these topics seriously, but some posts make even THAT hard to do!

This is an interesting thread. It was started by a guy that has over 3,500 posts. Wow, that's a lot of posts. I don't have too many. Too busy flying planes and helis, and driving R/C cars. But I love RCU, and I certainly respect the guys on here that express themselves freely. I'm going to give some history of AMA as I remember it, in the interest of adding to the discussion.

First, I joined AMA in 1972. At that time the organization had a home office in Virginia. There was no internet except the one the CIA probably had up and running. Communication was through some magazines, particularly RCModeler, which was owned and operated by the late Don Dewey and Pat Crews, both west coast R/C enthusiasts. AMA had a small newsletter that was mailed to everyone. AMA announced they were going to pay to have the newsletter printed in American Aircraft Modeler, one of RCMs competitors. They allegedly were going to do this to have their own vehicle. Dewey offered to print it for free in his magazine, but was rebuffed. He also toyed with the idea of setting up a rival organization, but didn't follow through. This was a long time ago, so forgive me if I'm fuzzy on a few details. Believe me, the details aren't important. What is important is that Model Aviation evolved from that other magazine which was purchased with our money from the publisher, allegedly a friend of the AMA administrators. We were promised an option to have the magazine as part of our membership. If we opted out, the dues were reduced by $4. Yeah, that's right, $4. So we all subscribed for the lousy $4. The magazine matured, and now has a lot of advertising which hopefully will sustain it. The origins are the point.

AMA moved from Virginia out to the mid-west without much input from everyone else. The powers that be knew a deal when they saw one and they took it. We had to PAY to fly in Muncie in the first few years. It was their field, their building, and their organization. Most R/Cers joined AMA for the "insurance" then and now. There is no denying that. Most members don't care about competition, most don't want "power" within the organization, and most don't have any axe to grind. They just want to fly. But when they join a club, they have to have AMA, for INSURANCE purposes. I don't know anyone who doesn't have that as their #1 reason and I've met a lot of fliers over the 38 years I've been in the hobby.

Enter "SFA", Sport Fliers of America. SFA was a competing organization that offered assistance in finding flying sites, more insurance, a cool logo, pick you own number (mine was SFA13), and some other neat items like a remote needle valve tool. AMA feathers were ruffled and it got ugly on both sides. It ended up in court, and of course a "non-disclosure" agreement was signed so we AMA members never got the whole story. Since SFA went away eventually, it suspiciously seems like AMA may have paid them off. Or they paid AMA off? Allegedly. Anyway, SFA is gone. Someone may have all the details. I don't. I quit AMA for a while after that.

When I was forced to rejoin AMA in order to fly in my club I asked for my old number back. It was a five digit one, and was on about 10 of my planes. I was told I couldn't have it. No big deal, just hard to figure.

So AMA expanded, the fields are beautiful, the museum is nice, the people are friendly, and AMA survives comfortably. Even the magazine is coming along, even though most of us wish the print was bigger.

AMA is "non-profit". I had an argument over what that term really means with a past VP of AMA. My point was that I thought the staff and administration of AMA didn't consider their jobs "volunteers" and that they were in it for the money, like all of us who work. Non-profit is an accounting term, not a way of life in my America. Sure enough, a few years ago I was informed that AMA salaries, payroll taxes, and travel expenses totaled more than three million dollars in one year, almost 30% of total revenue. Seems like a big number to me. That puts total revenue at about 10 million dollars. Insurance, legal fees, and settlements came to $1.5 million. So salaries etc, were more than twice insurance expenses. I don't know what these numbers were for 2009, but since WE ARE THE ORGANIZATION, just asking someone should get the information if anyone is interested. Ask Mr. Cherry if he still is there. He is a great guy, very forthcoming.

Like many of you, I have homeowners insurance, an umbrella policy, and AMA insurance. I hope it's enough if I ever need any of it to pay off on my behalf. I'm glad I have it. I want AMA to be strong, honest, and loyal to the membership. My competition days are long gone, and my need for playing any kind of leadership role is over. I do need the insurance however, and that's why I'm a member.

I hope this short history summary is helpful to some, and I hope the future is bright for the organization, notwithstanding some of what I consider the gray laundry of the past.

Salaries and related expense of  $3 million does seem high, makes me wonder how many paid employees are with the ama.... One would expect a core office of paid employees and the bulk majority of ama contributers to be volunteer.  The $58 per yr is not excessive in my mind however and my hope is that the organization stays strong as the few things it does are important to my hobby.  Definately need 3rd party accounting watchdog however, seen too many persons get opportunistic with other peoples $ when they can.

Approximately 50

Tony - You were right on target in reference to Don Dewey. Don in my opinion was the "Jim Walker" of the late 60's & 70's. I had a few articles published in RCM and in doing so I had the opportunity to have a chat with Don from time to time. I lived about an hour away from his office. I remember his frustration when he was turned down with his offer to do the printing free! This event seemed to diminish his enthusiasm for our hobby and resulted in his turning the reins over to Pat Crews, and starting a new magazine about Tropical fish! He did consider another organization but I don't think he thought it was worth all the time, effort and money on his part. There are many stories out there regarding SFA but who really knows the full story? SFA didn't make it. and now it's behind us.

In todays economy I'm sure AMA has looked, and continually looks at the balance sheet. We elect our EC to monitor and question any practices, including financial, to protect our funds. If I have a problem/question with the AMA administration I call/email or communicate my concerns to either the DVP, HQ staff or President Dave. I have never been questioned about my motives. I have always got the answers I was looking for.

It was refreshing to read a great post. Thanks! BTW I believe you didn't get your old number back because after a certain length of time they reissue it to someone else. I may be a little fuzzy on that but I'll bet a phone call to the membership staff could answer the question for sure.

I don't know the thought process that went on regarding turning down the free offer for printing the newsletter, but let me relate a similar story in our club for modern times. Several years ago, our club recieved an offer from a member to host a free website. At the time, it seemed like a very good deal. That is until the member developed a disagreement with the club leadership. There were subsequent arguments over who owned the content, problems with getting updates to the website. We eventually canned that website and started paying for service. Now there is no question over who owns the content, who is responsible for updates, etc. Recently a new club member that does web design offered the club another chance at free webspace. I reflected on the last experience, and thanked him for the generous offer, but given the importance of it to the club, we decided it was probably better to keep it where it is. The individual did volunteer to become the web-master for us.

Bottom line, sometimes "free" has more strings attached than you know.

Brad

I am an AMA member starting somewhere around 1962. Without going into details, I dropped AMA for a year, re-joined, and got a new number. Some years later at the Toledo show I asked the AMA booth people about getting my old number. The lady looked it up, no one had it, and I got it back. If your old number has not been reissued you CAN get it back.
This line brings back that old saying "You get what you pay for"........

Very good post, sir and I appreciate your information.

I have been emphasizing the fact that insurance has been the main reason many times throughout the threads on AMA.

If you took the insurance away, how many would drop their memberships within the first year? The numbers would be catastrophic to the AMA and I bet they know this, too. I would imagine about 80% of the four clubs within a reasonable driving distance from me would drop the membership completely within a year, and certain within two years at most. The majority ONLY need the insurance because the AMA chartered clubs require it.

Very true, and sometimes you don't get what you pay for.

One of my local clubs was a long-time hold out against AMA chartering. We remained, as a club, independent of the AMA from 1953 to 2006. Over 60% of the individual club members were AMA members also, but we bought our own liability coverage annually so that new pilots didn't have to pay $58 for AMA membership plus $55 for the annual club membership and flying permit.

What we found out was that our independent insurance was crap. Our liability coverage wouldn't cover member-to-member accidents, nor would it extend liability coverage to club officers or board members named as co-defendants in any litigation. The corporation (Omahawks RC Inc.) would be covered by our policy, but the club president or secretary would only have their own homeowner's policy to protect them if they were named in a lawsuit.

The icing on the cake was that our existing provider decided to quit taking our money after 2006, and we had to search around for a similar policy from another underwriter. We were faced with paying $1,000 a year for crappy insurance, or $75/$90 (I don't remember which) per year for AMA Chartering. It was a no-brainer.

We had lived independently of the AMA for 53 years, and it just wasn't sustainable any more.