After joining the hobby of RC flight just a few months ago, and even more recently joining the RCU forums, I have decided to join the AMA. Not so big a deal you say? True, it's not a major newsflash, but I think other beginners may benefit from seeing my take on the subject as a fellow newbie.

I wieghed carefully the pros/cons of AMA membership and personally found that it seems to be a bonus to belong to an organization that supports me in following my hobby. Mind you, this hobby is not made up of hapless toys. The devices we use in this hobby are very sophisticated, expensive, and dangerous if not handled with great care. Membership includes insurance coverage in the event of an unfortunate mishap, and creates a set of guidelines for the hobbyist to ensure proper safety and promote "good clean fun". I think "most" of us would agree that anything done on such a large scale needs organization to succeed. The AMA seems to provide such an avenue for the RC community, tying together young and old alike, as well as, drawing together a source of knowledge that spans decades and reaches around the world.

Another benefit I have noted is many "clubs" or "fields" prefer AMA membership before letting you fly solo. It keeps everyone on the same playing field and allows all the participant to play by the same rules. In this manner, all involved will know the same rules/guidelines as everyone else providing for a safer environment in which to enjoy the hobby.

Now for the negatives. It seems rather childish to me to say this, but having a bunch of "fuddy duddy" rules to follow to play with my airplanes, that I paid for, and I built, seems to be a bit over the top. This being said, once again I would like to point out that the AMA as I understand it, is in place to maintain safety, as well as to provide organization to the sport of RC modeling.

This post is not intended as a troll, flame, or any other derogatory meaningless dribble, mearly to attempt a transfer of experience from myself to others who may be wondering if AMA membership is worth the price of admission.

Thank You,

Luke Short[8D]

Glad to have you aboard. While I see the AMA as a "Necessary Evil" I also see AMA membership as someone showing a true interest in the sport.

Well, couldn't you say the same thing about the CAR you bought? I paid for it, I should be able to drive to work without a license. Or, I can afford to buy a real full scale plane, why should I have to get a license to fly it. After all, these "license" are only a statement that you have learned how to operate the vehicle and understand the safety rules.

We have few regulations in RC, but if enough people don't follow common safety practices, that may very well change. [:@]

I know you weren't arguing the point, I'm just reinforcing your statements.
Dennis-

Minn, glad to be aboard, I hope to remain in the sport for a lifetime!

DB, thanks for the vote of confidence. I was hoping I wouldn't be torched for anything I said. Sometimes my words don't match my intentions.

See ya in the air!

Luke[8D]

Welcome to the insanity!

Why do i have to have insurance for the " other guy " ?,that's what really pi$$es me off.You take one that drives junk ($200.00 car)and abides by the law,all he has to have "BY LAW " is nothing more than liability but if he runs into me or visa versa i pay to have his junk fixed but to get mine fixed i have to carry another option called "insurance for people that dont have any or just liability" so it costs me more!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAYS WHEN YOU HAD INSURANCE TO FIX YOUR OWN CAR?.
I needed to vent that out just for me,thank you.
AMA is good to have unless you have a insurance policy that will cover rc planers and maybe other sport but are you sure it's gonna pay when the time comes ?.
Speaking of the AMA i'm confused,on there web page it says 1 year cost i think,$58.00
but there is a advertisement that says $19.00 and that's on a banner up here,am i missing something ?.
Thanks

The answer to that is simple... It's the Golden Rule - Those who have the Gold, make the Rules.

It's like, If you have one car, you have to have it insured, If you buy a second car, you have to insure IT too, but you can only drive ONE at a time right?

But the insurance companies don't make enough money that way!

RANT RANT RANT!!!! (Don't get me started... You KNOW how I get)

I have one car,two trucks and a harley and only one wife,something isn't fair about this ratio.
I know all about ranting but i dont want to get started on it myself.
Ok,another question,it says "New introductory Membership program,join for only $19.95 and continue the fun",somehow i cant get into there webpage but can you or somebody explain this to me ?.I did get to there webpage but it said it cost i think 58 bucks,am i missing something again ?.
Thanks

Welcome aboard. Its all fun! I too see it as a necesary evil, but I really wish I would have done the life membership when I started 27 years ago. That would have been really smart. Think about it if you are young and going to be in it for a long time!

OK,when my wife got home she got into the page i was looking for and it does say New introductory Membership bla bla bla for $19.95 but this membership is good for only three full months so i guess i'm gonna get the full year,damm,i'm just a few years away from "Senior Citizen Discount".

Primodus

I agree with you whole heartedly. My wife FINALLY gave the go ahead to build my plane this weekend. Won't be able to fly for a month or so because we are still getting that wet, white stuff[&o][&o] out here. To say the word around this house gets your mouth washed out with soap[:'(][:'(].

I went ahead and printed out the AMA application and one for the club I will be joining here in Lorain County, OH. Will be sending the AMA application in within the next couple of days.


Larry

J U S T got my AMA stuff in the mail after a week of hardcore anticipation! Took almost two weeks AND I did the Internet registration! Anyways, my new card is silently warming in my back pocket as we speak... lemme get it out so you can see how high my number is!

Please Wait...

David J Blythe
AMA# 803869

WOo WOo!!

May this be a harbinger to a long and prosperous hobby in RC Airplanes.

I do understand that there are many points of view on the subject and it was never my intention to open the perverbial "can-o-worms".[X(] In retrospect I think I as trying to encourage others to join like I am doing now. (sent in the app today) I know the AMA isn't perfect, but then again, who is? I don't even know all the rules/regs, and benefits of membership.[sm=confused.gif] What I do know is AMA membership seems to be the norm for USA flyers and clubs alike. I just figure if I wanna be a part of this scene I need to be down with the groove everyone else is jammin' to. [sm=RAINFRO.gif]

See ya in the air!
Luke[8D]

Just a quick question. Why do you guys depend so much on your wives? Ive heard "..if my wife doesnt kill me..." "... she finally gave the go ahead.." "... i hope she bought it ..[:@] " too much...

Does the webpage give the option to pay $58 for a year?

Yes it does...and if you HAD a wife you wouldn't ask. Besides...theres this thing called respect. Makes it easier to LIVE under the same roof.

Primodus look at it this way.........a Rc model airplane can travel miles without control ! Say your flying at a AMA field or from your or a friends back yard and the airplane goes out of control and gets a mind of its own. Who knows where it will end up ! We recently had a trainer (weighing app. 7lbs) do exactly that and ended up smashing itself onto a county highway quite a long distance away. Now say there was a family out for a drive or headed out on a shopping spree and the trainer hit the windshield....drivers swerves or planes comes through the windshield and the car wrecks. AMA insurance will cover this and most other accidents involving the rc models you may fly. So for the $58 a year I can rest assured that I wont have a lawsuit on me that I am not adequately covered for. Just Imagine the lawsuit from a innocent homeowner or homeowners child getting hit by one of these things in his or her backyard. I would never again consider flying without some sort of insurance with all the suits in courts nowadays !! One accident could change your financial status for the rest of your life. Just thought I would add my thoughts into this matter.

Oh no? Would you rather have 4 wives and one car???

Remember: The punishment for bigamy is HAVING TWO WIVES!

The AMA is the only organization that lobby’s for us if there were no AMA
We would still be sharing the same radio band as the CB radio oh those were
The days when your plane went breaker, breaker as it hit the ground
So when you’re debating about joining the AMA or not just remember
All of us old farts that have paid our dues for years, is one of the reasons
You have a clear channel to fly on. Having said that 20 years from now
Will the AMA still be here to Lobby for us if the new to the hobby don’t
Support it? (Along with rules come Rights)
Proud to have a 5 digit AMA #

I for one am glad some trucker can't ride by and send my plane into the ground with a flip of a switch. [X(] Also, I agree that we need new blood to support the AMA so we can KEEP the channels we have now!

Luke[8D]

I can't answer that question cuz my ol (wife to some ) does look over my shoulder once in awhile and yes i do have to live in the same house with her.

It can be fun living under the same roof as her, can't it??? (lol) Besides, she wants to build a radio controlled Hummer that she can play with while I am flying. This will happen after we get our pole barn/hobby room (HO scale trains, planes and I guess a Hummer) built.

I used to work at a Coast Guard communication station just north of SFran. Our transmitters could put out 10Kw of power in the CB freq range. Had one guy that wanted to point one of our rotating antennas at the Golden Gate and just tune up on a CB freq to see ifn he could fry anybodys radios. The radios we had tuned at 1Kw. That is a lot of power to be putting out in the frequency ranges these planes work in, and yes there could be interferrence from communications stations as I have described above. Just as a comparison, CB base stations put out approximately 25 watts and mobile units anywhere from 3 to 5 watts.

So I must agree that AMA is a good thing for this hobby. It's really to bad that some people don't think this way also and just go off to do their own thing.

I have to admit, I was a little dissapointed in reading this thread. I saw the above topic and fully expected to see a Dr. Suess style rhyme extolling the virtues of AMA membership[&:]. Something like, "I will not fly in a busy park, I will not fly without lights in the dark..." Jeez, I'd better get back to work.

I'm just a little courious about this as i have been thinking about putting a KC 500 watt light on my plane so i can see where it went at night,do they have some kind of small hi-output battery that doesn't weigh very much to power the light ?,also been thinking about some little twinky light for the wing tips.
Thanks

[link=http://www.curtek.com]Here's the easiest way to put lights on your plane![/link] Works for me.