I have started and posted on a lot of thread's
IS YOUR FLYING SITE WORTH $58 iF it is not stay home. The ins. on the field will insure the rite for you to be able to fly, If you have a problem getting a flying site this will help. Let the people Know that you have Ins. on them and it will be a lot easer to get a flying site . $.02

Well so far the flying site is not worth !@#$

Well... find a better site, or arrange to make improvements. (thats what local clubs are for.)

What is your real point?

$58 will not get you on my flying site other than 3 guest visits in any 12 calendar months. It is a start but a long way from the final.

If your flying site is not insured what have you got . One of our flyers hit a house owned by the flying site owner , You would not know what a hassle it would have been . We took care of the damages but it could have been a lot worse.

OK, maybe I was being dense. I think I understand the point you are making and I agree that the insurance is definitely needed.

OTOH, just being an AMA member will not get you onto many fields, yet it should be one's first start.

There are few (none I have seen) AMA clubs that will not allow ANY AMA member to visit and fly. The only restriction I've actually encountered was a locked gate (which was opened just by calling the club's president and arranging a time to visit when people would be there)

Yes, many clubs will SAY they limit you to a given number of guest visits per year. (excluding contests) But I've never seen it enforced. (I've also never seen it ABUSED.)

My flying site is worth MUCH more than $58.00 for a fact.
And yes the landowner is aware of the coverage provided through AMA.

Will it help us keep the field........NO, not in this case. The owner is getting
along in years and the kids do not intend to become farmers.They already
have a developer that is willing to buy it up for 7 million. As soon as he's gone,
we're gone . Oh well , it was nice while it lasted now it's time to move on to
somewhere else.

I don't blame the kids for one second.......I'd sell it too !

As far as the insurance opening doors...........if it does, I haven't seen it !

Roby

My disorganized friends and I have permission to fly CL on a beautiful paved municipal parking lot. We would not have gotten permission except for our AMA membership and support from AMA Hq.

Jim

If it's only costing you 58 bucks, you're sure getting a good deal. Clubs I belong to are paying lots more. Example: Club W has 100 Senior members (100 X $58/yr) and about $200, IIRC, for the AMA club charter. Say $6000 a year for insurance most members don't need (as nearly all are homeowners), compared to $3600 (36 bucks/head/yr club dues) for everything else, e.g., from the $12,000 we recently paid out to replace the runway surface to $20/mo for porta-potti service.

It's true that many/most AMA members don't actually need the insurance, but isn't it worth $58 a year so you don't have to jump through hoops every time you go fly? Homeowner's insurance is billed on a less-than-annual basis (i.e. monthly, quartlery, biannually), and it can be cancelled at any time for any reason. There are many reasons why homeowners can suddenly find themselves uninsured on a moment's notice. You'd need a full-time insurance agent to patrol the flying field making sure everyone's policy was up to date, in effect, and covered R/C airplane flying. Imagine the mess at an event. Instead of flashing your current AMA card, which guarantees that you're at least covered by the AMA for the entire calendar year with no possibility of the coverage being canceled, you have to produce your homeowner's policy. Your policy then has to be reviewed by the club insurance experts to make sure it covers R/C flying, and your insurance company must be contacted by phone to make sure you're in good standing. UGH!

You just can't take a chance that anyone involved isn't properly insured these days. Accidents are unlikely, but not impossible.

There you go Matt, Well said.[sm=thumbup.gif]

It would be if $58 bucks went towards my site, but no, I have to fork over an extra $10 for my clubs dues in order to pay the "charter" and insurance. So I guese it's $68 bucks. $58.00 bucks so I can cause damage and be covered, and an extra $10 to do it on my clubs property so that the lawyers can get a bigger settlement.

[/quote]

//snip//

Yes, many clubs will SAY they limit you to a given number of guest visits per year. (excluding contests) But I've never seen it enforced. (I've also never seen it ABUSED.)
[/quote]


If you wish to SEE ether, then I know where guest limits can be observed, and abuse attempted, but not for long.

Part of that dues can come back to your club. There is a program your club can apply for to get financial assistance with flying site improvements.

I don't personally agree with the setup of the flying site improvment program as it stands, because it is a matching fund system... thus allowing the rch clubs to REALLY do some huge improvements, but the poor club is still left struggling just to keep the grass runway mowed in some cases. (but i don't have a better way to organize it either...)

I have heard of large clubs taking major advantage of this... $20,000 ($10k local club fund, $10k from the field improvement program) can build a lot of runway.

No, the Muncie flying site is NOT the only flying site getting AMA funding!

I thought the assistance was 10%. Does anyone here have info regarding more than 10% given to a club?

Yes, but, not since the current program was put into affect. As a matter of fact, I can only recall one instance since where a club requested such help, and it was turned down by the EC.

Teh $58 only gives you the ability to be trusted to fly 3 times at anyone one field.

True, but misleading. MOST reasonable people see '3 times' as THREE VISITS on different days where you fly your own airplane.

How much of your flying time and resources do you wish to give away so some guy can just have a place to fly without sharing in the rent and upkeep? That is why MOST clubs do put a limit on casual visits before they look for membership. Most also say that organized events open to AMA members do not count.

Aren't you both a bit confused?

If my AMA dues of $58 just got me 3 days flying a year... I sure as heck wouldn't pay it. Either you are VERY confused or posting in a manner that is bound to cause confusion.


Your AMA dues have NOTHING to do with how any given club sets up its program on visiting thier field as a non-member. They can say: "NO! just visit for contests, or pay our visitor's fee." if they set thier rules that way... They can say 3 visits a year... 3 visits a month.. 3 visits a day. They can say... come all you want anytime you want. The AMA has NO say in it.

Some clubs DO say come all you want.
I have never SEEN one that said you had to pay to fly as a visitor... but that does not mean they don't exist. (I have seen club dues that would justify the members demanding it...)

Do not confuse AMA rules and regulations with club rules, regulations and bylaws.

>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>
FHHuber

Aren't you both a bit confused?

//snip//
Your AMA dues have NOTHING to do with how any given club sets up its program on visiting thier field as a non-member. They can say: "NO! just visit for contests, or pay our visitor's fee." if they set thier rules that way... They can say 3 visits a year... 3 visits a month.. 3 visits a day. They can say... come all you want anytime you want. The AMA has NO say in it.

Some clubs DO say come all you want.
I have never SEEN one that said you had to pay to fly as a visitor... but that does not mean they don't exist. (I have seen club dues that would justify the members demanding it...)

Do not confuse AMA rules and regulations with club rules, regulations and bylaws.
<<<<<<<<<<<&lt ;

Mr. Huber, You are very correct in that items should be made very plain for some not to confuse AMA and Club rules, etc.
OTOH, you keep saying what some clubs do but you have never seen it.
Just to be certain that I am making my above posts clear and plain, I will repeat this: Jetero RC Club has a rule that any AMA member is entitled to be a visitor at the field for 3 days in any 12 consecutive calendar months. Guests are required to sign- in in the Log Book. If one lives over 100 straight line miles from the field, then 8 days in a calendar year are allowed. Club Member house-guests are allowed 20 days per year, which may not be more than two groups of consecutive days.
The rules are firm. Jetero owns its property and we have sent a number of potential free-loaders down the highway.
So, as I said, if you wish to see visitor rules enforced, you know where you can come to.

In addition the same applies to beginners. 3 DAYS and it is either IN or OUT. I will not solo a newbie until he joins the club. Used to but that is long ago history.
For what we have, it's not a bad deal. Only $50 initiation and $150.00 per year. We have in our Constitution a plan of redistribution for active members should the property have to be sold for some reason. My last WAG indicates that as of Mar. 31, '04 a 2-year member would have a vested $450 account for a $350 in dues and initiation. BTW failure to pay annual dues by Jan. 31, and *wham* you're a new applicant, membership credits GONE, and another initiation is due.[X(]

Yes Huber some clubs are run like a business.

The reason I say... "I have never seen XXXX" is I have heard stories (often unverifirable... sometimes verified quite well such as yours) of it happening, but its never happened at a club I have been a member of or visited.

The point is usually not in that rumor.. but in the fact... it is possible.

Well this went in a different way than I thought it would. At our field our agreement is to have prof of insurance, and our agreement with him on the field above that. What our club charges and upkeep is a different thing. As far a people being limited to how many time the can fly will depend how far they are from us whether it is a contest . If people are Local 3 times and you join the club with initiation fee and agree to By-Laws.

I have been subjected to the three visits rule many times. (so I do know that it exists) Usually if people know you are from out of town, they wave that rule. I like to go visit. I like to have people visit that I don't know. SO for me, I don't mind that being a subset of my dues.

Now from a person who has used the AMA medical insurance. A few years back I took a blade strike from a RC heli. Took off the tips of 2 fingers while breaking the other 2. My high priced medical insurance ($200 per month) finally paid up all the claims after 18 months of nagging from my wife and myself. Of course they had their $300.00 deductible, books of duplicate paperwork to fill out and only paid when they wanted, 90% of the bill. The AMA insurance contact/caseworker was very helpful and informative on all issues. Very little paperwork to fill out. They paid for everything my major medical did not pay except for a $50.00 deductible. We faxed copies of bills directly to them and the longest it took for payment was 7 days! Now I am awaiting reconstructive surgery and was told by this caseworker my file is on record and will be reopened and coverage continued when I decide to start the reconstruction. Is this worth $58.00? You betcha. Wonder if they have a family medical plan???

Bob Harris