flyinrog,

Do you already know how to fly?
Do you have a location suitable to fly?

If you answered yes to both these questions then go fly without the AMA and get your 8 pizza's instead

Do you also feel this way about car insurance? Can't operate a motor vehicle in NY without it. Go to the bank for a car loan they are going to want collusion and comp in addition.

For most clubs and flyers its just part of the costs associated with the hobby. Believe me I don't like paying 58 bucks to fly but The closest club does so I do!!!

Freudian slip, there?

More like bad spelling. Goto remmmmember to use spell checker next time......

I meant parkflyers and just parkflyers. Didn't mean to mislead. I am well aware of the vast and complex arena of electric airplanes. I obviously over simplified regarding electrics. Sorry.

Question - Is RC flying more dangerous than driving a car? You could argue either way, but my point is that both are really priveledges and not rights. At least the AMA doesn't require you to pass a test to fly the way you have to do a drivers license.

Of course I'm sure there are a lot of whiny pseudo-anarchists who don't have drivers licenses either.

I'm going to have to go with ROG on this one! Seriously, have you read the "policy"?- roughly this- $1,000,000.00 coverage- but $1,000,000.00 deductible at AMA's discresion. Would you pay for worthless car insurance?
Whiny pseudo-anarchist's? sure, in every walk of life, care to tell us more about this, GB?

Jetts

In my defense ,
Crashem, perhaps I speak in haste,I am talking about occurences that happened(not to me) back in the early nineties when I flew a .40 trainer, this is when sportflyers started because the AMA was saying every claim was negligent and would not pay, I recall that a guys battery pack cut a reciever wire and anyway a perfectly good bipe went through a fairly new corvette top, negligence is what insurance is for .... auto insurance,I have it. its the law and yes I would have it anyway. yes I do fly and it is in a schoolyard early in the morning on the weekends so no one is around, but when I go glow and to a local field I will have to go AMA, are things different? is the mag better? can I get the AMA card with out the crappy mag, for half price? and why not? because again, its like a union, which were great for america back in the 30's, now they are just driving jobs to mexico.....

not a personal thing Crashem, I'm sure your a fine fellow flier but I think things could be done way better through the AMA..

NO offense to you......Rog

RIGHT ON, R. O. G.- RIGHT ON!


Jetts

the insurance is more then worth it but i will have say one of the guys on one of the the replays did make one mistake you do not have to be at a "club field" ama insurance is coverage no mater where you fly (just like car liablity you still are cover in a parking lot just like the highway)we talked to their insurnce dept. before our club was charted as long as you fly within ama safety
rules.ama charters clubs not fields.but by all means join ama you won't regret it you'll have piece of mind.
roy

I have a spotless driving record but still pay for auto insurance. I can't think of a state where you can drive w/o insurance. That's the way it goes and $48 is nothing compared to the cost of other things in our AWESOME hobby.

Besides, like everyone else, good luck finding a club that will take you under their wings (pardon the pun) w/o the AMA backing you.

My two cents....

O.K. guys, here I go. I couldn't resist any longer. the field dues at the club I fly at are $60.00 a year. Add the $58.00 AMA dues and you get a grand total of $118.00 a year. THAT IS LESS THAN $10.00 A MONTH!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE COMPLAINING ABOUT????? I don't know about anyone else, but I spend 6 times that amount for cable t.v and I get a whole lot more enjoyment from flying. I also spend way more than that on glow fuel every year, not to mention all the other dollars spent on the hobby. One thing that not too many people ever think about or mention is the fact that the AMA represents our interests as modelers/fliers with all of the government agencies that regulate our flying. That alone is worth every penny of the dues. If we did not have organized representation at the government level, we probably would not be flying at all anymore. Take the Torrey Pines incident, for example. That dispute was settled in our favor in short order. The AMA also serves as the "Smithsonian" of modeling. We all need to recognize and be grateful for all of the people that spent their whole lives making modeling easier and more enjoyable for us today. I am so tired of the selfish, self-serving "what can you do for me" attitudes that I see everywhere today. I love hearing about modeling "in the old days" next time you go to the field and fly your ARF w/ your computer radio with all of the fancy mixing and auto-pilot, just think about the guys that would spend countless hours toiling over the building board constructing a beautiful scale ship, knowing the radios of the time were not very predictable, but he did it anyway because he LOVED MODELING!
O.K. I could go on longer, but I think I have said enough. I would also like to say that I am not one of the "crotchety old, arf-hating, 3-d hating farts" that I might sound like! I enjoy and embrace all types of r/c as well as all types and ages of modelers. Now, can't we all just get along and be happy w/o looking at the AMA as "Big Brother" and look for a way to make the hobby more enjoyable for someone else?????

Regards,

Jeff

Thousands of 16 year olds gets behind the wheel of vehicles everyday. Do they have to have insurance, you bet! Millions of "experienced" adults get behind the wheel everyday. They, by law, have to have insurance. Think about how many times you have seen an idiotic driver get road rage over something menial. Now imagine him flying an 8-25 lb. guided missle. I gladly pay and support AMA dues for the clubs I fly at. If someone is concerned over the cost of AMA dues, then they are definately not going to afford this hobby.