Occasional Member? I am interested to know if your thoughts on the following idea. In our area we have about 5 clubs in a 40 mile radius. Some guys have multiple memberships and some fly as guests. My idea is to have an occasional membership status, where as long as you have an active membership at a club you could pay a nominal amount to another club for field privileges. The goal is better participation at events and more camaraderie. I’m just looking for your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks
Steiny

5 clubs in our area have what's known as "Associate" memberships. Less than full dues, but full flying privileges. Usually bout half of full dues, and AMA of course. No voting. Also all the clubs in our area allow all members of a field that gets closed down to fly for free for the remainder of the season.

The real challenge is coordinating events with 5 clubs in an area for a short flying season!

To both Clubs/posts above in this thread:

Sounds like a very good, in fact, an EXCELLENT deal each of you have accomplished. You do require AMA membership, and therefore AMA doesn't care about how you run your club. You are doing a good thing and allowing flyers get around the circuit.

As ffar as event coordination, IMO each club could have a representative or representatives to all meet together late in the season and iron out the next year's events, kind of like a local Contest Coordinator.

Another little item is that one Contest Director can file all Sanction applications late in one year or early in the event year, which saves the date, then as time passes, the 1st CD and the actual CDs send AMA a letter assuming the CD for that event. Makes life better.
Rules with AMA are that Sanction application has to be no more than one year.
The CD applying for an event has to have his dues paid for the calendar year of the event. Solution is that all CDs pay their dues early in the latter part of the calendar preceeding the event year, OR if you have a Life Member CD, he can send all applications in and be legal to file early.

My main Club has a number of events starting in Feb. and running thru Oct. As a Life Member CD, I frequently file for a next year's event soon after the current year's event. When the real CD pays his annual dues, we change the CD over to him.

I might steal your "associate member" idea, it certainly sounds like a good deal. Way to Go guys.
Edited to add: Your kind of "associate member", each being a full AMA member does not, IMO, conflict with AMA's defined Associate Member.

You should be commended for trying to find ways to allow more participation at your flying-site.

Our club desired to do the something along those lines over five years ago but didn't desire the record keeping that your method would require...so we implemented the "always welcome" policy.

During our club functions and events it is hard to tell who belongs to what club...and no one cares. Hmmm...might be working as yet another hobby shop has just opened. Amazing considering the times and this small town...

Yep, AMA gains new members regularly and so does our club... and camaraderie is at a all time high.

With coordinating events, have your club presidents thought about each club taking on one type of event? Say one club does IMAC or SPA, one does racing, one does scale, and another does combat. It would lower the cost for each club because they can specialize, and schedule conflicts aren't as big a deal since there aren't many flyers who do all of those things.

Not so much contests, it's just with a shorter flying season, there are only so many weekends for TAG, fly-ins and fun flys, pancake breakfasts and club picnics, etc.  Along with community building, special events (Veterans Fly-in, Cub Scout groups, aviation camps) along with associated back up dates, because invariably ole Mother Nature puts a damper on a few things as well.

All the clubs around here make it work, there are enough full members of multiple clubs that things don't clash too much.  Other than the short flying season (compared to y'all in the South) I feel very fortunate to be in an area where all the clubs are great and are able to work with each other.

As the OP asked, I think that all clubs could benefit from an "Associate" membership (as long  as they are a full member at another club and an AMA member).  It fits the "just fly" crowd and generally avoids the situation of asking a "guest flyer" that since he or she has flown X amount of times at the field that they need to pay full dues.

My club and another local club have an arrangement that allows members of either club to have flying privileges at the other for $25 a year (about half the regular dues). This is the first year we've done it, and so far it's worked out fine. My club also had an invitational fly-in where members of the other club (not just dual members) were invited to our pancake breakfast fly-in, and we plan to alternate sponsorship of some events. It seems like a particularly good idea for smaller clubs. I hate to fly alone, and this way, if there's nobody at one field you can try the other. (They are pretty near each other, which helps).

SteinyI think you have a excellent idea , I wish the AMA would encourge this for all clubs.

Sounds like a good idea. For those that have an "associate" member option, do you require that the person be a full member in at least one of the participating clubs? I'm sure lots of people would like the option to use the facilities for 1/2 price and willingly surrender voting rights, but for clubs like mine that depend very heavily on member dues, it could be a significant problem if a significant number of people opted out of full membership.

Brad

Here is the Idea on paper after all comments taken into consideration.

To all local flying clubs:

My name is Mitch Steinmetz, and I am a Calumet Flyers Member, Two weeks ago while at a fun fly event at the Manitwo Flyers Field in Two Rivers, WI I was surprised at the number of local pilots that didn’t even know of their great field. While flying, I was thinking of ways to get more involvement in the local clubs and how to create a better flying community in our side of the state. After talking to some guys at the field we came up with the following idea.

The associate membership would allow full field flying privileges at a participating field as long as the following conditions were met.
1. Current AMA Membership
2. Current member (home field) dues paid in full
3. Both clubs, home field and visiting field, must agree to program
4. Associate member dues paid (these dues are group set to a dollar amount agreed to like $10 per year per member). This does not give an associate member voting or any other privileges.

The goal of this program is to allow for members to fly at other clubs without having to be a guest.
The advantages are:
1. More camaraderie
2. Better participation at events
3. Variety of fields to fly at
4. Additional membership dues for clubs

Some of us travel about to other fields events and have a blast doing so. The enjoyment of new fields and meeting new people is the best part. A day at the fly field is like 6 hours in the park with friends interrupted by 4-6 flights help share the hobby and join the associate member group. Each club within an hour drive from Manitowoc will get this invite. It is hoped that they will bring it up at their next meeting and we can get this program going yet this summer if not next year. It is my hope that your club will invite other clubs and get this program going. Please contact me if you have any questions, comment, or concerns, it is my hope to get others involved and help with getting this idea a reality.

Thanks for your help,

Two things I'd change. One is to introduce the idea of the associate membership and establish the need before going into the particulars. Second is to offer to speak at the club meetings about it instead of relying on the leadership to sell it for you. Otherwise, it looks like you have a good idea and I hope it works out.

One problem that I see is the extra work forced onto whoever it is that will have to track all this stuff, probably the same one that has the fun (yea, right) task of maintaining membership records now. The lowly record keeper would now have send out the additional notices, cards...whatever... not to mention endless checks at the flying field to make sure of "compliance".


I would scrap the whole idea now and get back to having fun with model aviation... Remember, you asked...

I am presently flying control line and belong to two distant control line clubs. I also occasionally go to contests at two other control line fields. All four fields are on public property and all that is needed is an AMA license. One of my club fields has a permit system for locals. The permit is free, but the custom is to make a $10 donation which goes toward porta potties, resurfacing etc. I don't have to have a permit, because I am no longer local, but I get one any way, to boost the numbers and I like having porta potties when I am there.

I really dont see where it would be much if any extra work to moniter field compliance, There would however be more cards and news letters to send out
but if it becomes to much the club should cap the membrship.

Our club welcomes people from other clubs in North Central Florida, other clubs seem to do the same. NO PROBLEM!

Well, I guess if your club already has the manpower in place 24/7 checking everyones membership status, then I guess it wouldn't be any extra work for your club...but most club flying sites aren't blessed with field MP's waiting, eager and ready to enforce actions on model aviation violators.