Don't worry about the older guys. Once you prove to them you love the hobby and don't plane to get out of it anytime soon, they will really start showing some cool things. Alot of the older people in my club (adults) didnt know me at first, but once they saw how much i loved being in the air they started talking to me.

Just my opinion
Chad

My question is , has anyone ever made a claim with the AMA and if so how was it handled? Do they drop you like most insurance companies do after a major claim?

Well thanks for all the replies. THe old guys don't bother me just the grumpy old ones and they don't really affect me that much anyway. But I have seen first hand how they have chased off other newcomers to the hobby. Anyways, I am joining the AMA and the local club. THanks agin for all the replies.

Speaking as an 'older guy', and on behalf of other 'older guys' in our club, the only people we drive off are those that drive us nuts. We are a pretty liberal group of people out there, but it seems that most of the 'younger guys' in your words.. not mine... seem to be willing and ready to ignore rules that are there for everyone's safety and for the safety of other's property, ie. planes/helicopters. The only issues we have had with 'younger guys' is the ones that come in, turn their transmitters on without regard for others that may be on the field, then, when something happens, they turn it off and look around to see who noticed. Most of the 'older guys' seem savy enough to understand the value of others property.

Chad, if you don't have anything useful to say with regard to others feelings, I suggest you go to a 'younger guy' club to fly. Again, just my opinion, but you seem to have one that goes into gear without thinking of the others you may be insulting.

DS.

But I have seen first hand how they have chased off other newcomers to the hobby.

I'm not sure they're chasing people off, just being wary of young newcomers. As a longstanding club member in 4 clubs. I've seen the following senarios often. A newbie comes out and professes great interest in learning to fly RC. He shows up for a few weekends and does learn a little bit. Suddenly, he loses interest and no longer appears. Lots of time and effort down the toilet. Or, a newbie comes out and learns to fly. He may or may not join. Suddenly he's no longer seen, but IS reported flying out of a cow pasture or at another club. Again, lots of time and effort wasted. That's why most clubs require necomers to join within a few weeks of their first flying visit. That's why a lot of instructors may hesitate about teaching ad complete newcomer. It's happened to me.

However, your point is sometimes valid. There are unfriendly clubs and people out there. The answer to that is find another club. If there's not another one around, find a flying field and start your own club.

Dr.1

Well, DR, we have one (currently) youngsters that came into the club with his dad. He (the youngster) is 12 years old. Dad does not fly nor is interested in flying, however, the son IS and we have dedicated several 'old guy' instructors to these individuals, as well as the three 'old guy' trainee's that have also been assigned 'old guy' instructors. His dad, another 'old guy', helped the youngster buy a NexSTAR and they show up at every meeting and on weekend days when the 'old guy' instructors are available.

Generalizing ideas like that are not necessarily germane to the issue, which is 'should I join the AMA'.

I don't know about your club. I only know about mine. I have been welcome at other clubs,that have youngstes in their training sessions, but again, I am an 'old guy'.

DS.

Generalizing ideas like that are not necessarily germane to the issue, which is 'should I join the AMA'.

No, but it is in response to the generalized remark that was made.

Dr.1

WoW...I can see the "Old Guy" comments were taken poorly by some of you. I meant no offense but it was the easiest way for me to categorize/generalize the type of people that have really gotten under my skin. I guess it was a poor generalization. Sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intent. For the record; I'm not exactly a spring chicken myself!

On a different topic(not one that necessarily warrants a new thread started about it) there seems to be an awful lot of hostility, on this site, between members.
Damn, just reading the AMA forum is enough to get my blood boiling and I see snide remarks even in the beginner section a lot. Can't we all just get along?

This hobby leans toward the upper age groups, and old men can get grumpy. At 38 years of age, I often feel that I'm a understudy to the grumpy old man club, and my training is going well, but the "pros" still consider me unworthy of the "Grumpy old man" title as I am still too young. Anyway, joking aside, there is always someone at every club that will get under your skin. Ignore them and enjoy your hobby.

As for the AMA Forum, it is bogus. Way back, the AMA bickering was in the Clubhouse forum. RCU made a special AMA forum for the bickering so we wouldn't have to look at it in the clubhouse. If you notice, the AMA forum gets few posts and the posts are mainly by the same small group of members. The AMA forum reads like a broken record IMO, same old gripes by the same people year after year. Occasionally there is a good topic, but for the most part the Forum posts are junk as they are politically motivated unfounded bickering by grumpy old men. I would suggest to you that the RCU AMA Forum is NOT representative of AMA members. It sure doesn't represent me. I noticed you are in SD... If you ever make it to Lincoln, NE, bring a plane and pay our field a visit. I'll introduce you to a great group of AMA members at our local club.

Cheers.

Well Thanks for the invite! I'm out near Rapid City though so rarely get anywhere near Lincoln. Occasionally I get over to Sioux Falls for business matters though. Next time I'm out that way I could spare half a day to go down to Lincoln /Omaha area.

Unfortunately, this is common on the internet. The anonymity causes some people to shed their manners. Often it's just a silly misunderstanding when, for example, someone is trying to be funny but forgets to include a , or perhaps uses the add reply button to add a response, but the in "reply to" is a different person than they meant to respond to. This is why I very often quote (some of) the post to which I am replying.

I as well! Anyways... this thread is a moot point now. I am now officially a member of the AMA !( pending verification of my method of payment)
I hope I won't regret it. WHy does it take so long for them to accept membership anyways? Most every other org. I've ever joined online took an hour or two at most, NOT three to four weeks.

I think AKSCHU asked a terribly interesting question but was ignored. Does anyone here have first hand knowledge of AMA's insurance paying a claim, and if so, did they do it willingly or go down biting and scratching? I am not interested in anyone's hearing from his brother-in-law who got it from his neighbor that his mother-in-law knew of someone or heard of someone over in the next county who hit his neighbor's goat in the butt with an RC airplane and caused permanent brain damage and the AMA was right there with their hand out, offering to pay any and all damages. First hand knowledge only. Better yet, RCU being by far the largest RC forum on the internet, has anyone here PERSONALLY had a claim paid thru AMA insurance. And, no, I have nothing against AMA. Simply that insurance seems to be their strongest arguement, but doesn't seem to be many folks who have ever collected from them. Or are there???????????

I am in complete agreement here...any competant online retailer can have your credit card payment verified and processed in a manner of minutes, and CLEARLY the AMA has an automated system for sending emails...so it strikes me that they're just a 'tad' behind the times.

For what it's worth to those asking, I DO have 3rd hand knowledge of a local club member who did file a claim with the AMA to cover rather significant damage to a member's vehicle. According to him, the claim was as easy/difficult to process and go through as any other sizeable insurance claim...no more or less hassle, and no retributions like revocation of membership or anything.

for what its worth this is how I feel. AMA is like all insurance companies. a Scam. If I pay $48 bux or whatever amount dollars a year and nothing happens, then give me back my money.. Goodbye

Oh yea I forgot to add. i heard from a club member of mine that before AMA offers to pay they 1st check if your "home insurance" "car insurance" or whatever insurance you already have would take care of the damage or problem, if you dont have any of those type of insurance THEN they will pay. Thats what i heard lol.

WHy does it take so long for them to accept membership anyways?

It doesn't. You are a member the minute they receive your application and dues. However, like most bureaucracies the paperwork takes time to filter down.

Dr.1

i heard from a club member of mine that before AMA offers to pay they 1st check if your "home insurance" "car insurance" or whatever insurance you already have would take care of the damage or problem, if you dont have any of those type of insurance THEN they will pay.

And that's true. The insurance information the AMA gives to any member clearly states their coverage is secondary to any other.

Dr.1

A few points from reading all of these posts.
First, AMA coverage is secondary, or "supplemental" coverage. This is very common in the insurance business. For example, if something gets stolen out of your car, it might or might not be covered by home owners--but it definitely won't be until your car insurance has paid/denied. And, they certainly can't pay on claims to members families--can you imagine all of the frivilous claims?

Second, AMA is more than just insurance. Insurance is one important benifit, but there are others. Read in the magazine sometime, and you'll see all of the stuff they do for us. They are in constant fights with the FAA to protect our frequencies. You know how crowded frequencies can be at the field--what if the number of channels gets cut in half?

Third, you also get an interesting magazine to read each month. There is usually at least two or three articles in there worth reading, and new product reviews.

As far as grumpy goes--grumpy is everywhere. It's the society we live in today, and sometimes older people blame younger people on the world's problems--right or wrong. You don't have to go to a flying field to be around grumpy old people. Go to walmart, or the lake, or any other public place--they're everywhere. Also, some very good, helpful older people are there as well. Don't feel like all old people are grumpy--it's simply not true.

If I were you, I'd join the "not so nice" field. You made it sound like it was cheaper, and had a very nice field, just not so many ammenities. Are you planning on float flying anytime soon? Are you planning on flying when it's really cold? (well, scratch that, I see you're in SD). You may find that at the smaller club (I assume it's smaller), the people will be more willing to help. Sometimes, those large, fancy clubs have members that have been around forever--and, frankly, they feel like they have enough members to pay the bills, and don't need no young whippersnappers around screwing things up. Just my take on some large, fancy clubs. I know the older guys at my club are awesome. Most would give the shirt off their back to help you out, and it's a small club out in the middle of nowhere!

One other point about the insurance, and I'll shut up. Just because you're flying in a field a mile away from civilization, let's not forget that your about one glitch or radio failure away from your plane flying potentially miles away from you at speeds up to 70 mph or more--potentially into a crowded area you never dreamed your plane would end up in. There are posts on RCU from members who have had their planes fly away--and just keep flying, and flying, and flying...

I do have one gripe about the AMA that I want to air here very quickly. But first I will say that I am a happy member of the AMA. I look forward to the magazine every month and I enjoy reading it. My one gripe has to do with the headquarters in Muncie. The have built a very large and diverse site there. But since this is the Academy of Model Aeronautics (meaning planes) why did they build a boat pond in Muncie? And it's not for flying float planes because they have that too. Sorry, but that one always gets me scratching my head. We're a plane club and the build a pond for boats. Go figure!!

That's my gripe. Thanks for listening.

Ken

Well, as usual my post don't translate well on the internet. Havn't met the Grumpy guys here...yet... THat was all talk about past experiences. I'm Old enough to know how the world works so people don't bother me like they did when I was younger.

Well the not so nice field is actually quite nice.

As far as AMA goes, I joined... So that's that... As far as the field I have flown in by myself; the plane would have to fly about 15 miles in order to hit anything worth more than $1.50... South Dakota isn't as big as Texas but our wide open areas are way less populated than Texas and South Dakota Winds would more than likely down the bird before it got a 1/2 mile away. Anyways, I joined AMA so I could fly at both fields and I'm actually going to attend both clubs meetings for a while before I commit. One of the members at the nicer( in my opinion) club is actually a member of all three clubs in the area... third club is for the big boy birds though, the Giant scale stuff which I'm not into unless you count my 1977 Cessna 172N which is 1/1 scale and is powered by a Lycoming o-320 with TX/RX being a Human Mk 1... frequency 0... And as far as Safety goes, well I play with bombs for a living ( USAF) so I know a lil bit about operational Risk management and other safety concerns.

COMMENTS ON THE SAFETY/ INSURANCE ISSUE BEING A "SCAM"
if you think ALL insurance is a scam act just to get your money perhaps no facts will change your closed mind.companies actually make MORE money because of ideas like that because now you have to carry other self-insurance to protect yourself since "mr Scam" didnt bother & has no assets or insufficient assets to compensate injured parties.AMA will pay (and has paid) a number of sizable legitimate claims& is often a co-defendant in litigation due to far-ranging effects of certain lawsuits on RC flying in general.there have been serious accidents. fatalities are not completely unknown.
It may seem like your in a remote area but consider that spectators & friends sooner or later will show up. no one plans to have an accident but the fact that they do ocur should give those quick to condem it pause.
if you have no insurance & the land owner is not covered by the activity, you are vunerable& he is vunerable.
AMA is not unlike any large organization with internal squabbles. they also function as the official representative to the FAA, FCC & FAI.the last part is not incidental. in addition to rule making(competition AND safety) the FAI overlooks everything that flies( yep, birds too) the FAI basicly lets AMA run the show in the US (except for FAI events)the FAA has the same "gentlemans agreement" so long as we behave ourselves ( believe me you dont want them involved & YES, they have the power & authority to do so)
AMA also did an excellent job expanding our once very limited frequencies as well as efforts to stop model flying in the US permanently.

That is a pretty harsh quote if you do $10k in damages and your homeowners covers $5000 then it is applicable leaveing you out $5k might want to double check the word applicable or even call your own insurance agent ( any property insurance) to get a diffinition and see what you need to do. This could leave you screwed if your homeowners caps out. Or the coverage may be there to prevent you from double covering yourself like personal injury protection (onn your car)and Health insurance(whether personal or provided by your employer).

This is the way insurance works all insurance. If you get in a car accident and break your nose and your car insurance covers it under Personal injury protection then your health insurance cant cover it, if your PIP only covers half then your health insurance picks up the slack. It is to prevent double coverage otherwise you could get arider on your homeowners and get the AMA insurance dive bomb a car and get double the money.

How can you afford a 172 and not have $200 to spend on a hobby such as this?
Joining the AMA and the local club was the best money I have spent on this hobby so far!