Joining AMA

[SSgt Duramax]

Didn't know where to put this so I am just sticking it here.

I am considering joining the AMA for the sole reason that there is a RC field located relatively convenient to me (~10 minutes) and I would like to get full enjoyment out of my faster planes without having to worry about losing them in a populous area, and I have a glow motor that needs to get used for something big and heavy.

I have my reservations about joining the AMA, and they are:

1. I really don't like the club mentality and politics. The SCCA wore me out on that, I know how things can be, and I know members back home.

2. What is the point aside from being able to fly at fields, which incidentally I think is stupid as heck.... I have to join a club to join another club. This really perplexes me as I can load up 10 guns and thousands of round of ammo and drive to the gun range, flash my range membership card ($25 for lifetime) and pay them 10 dollars an hour to use whatever range I want. I can go unload my pistol, go plink some with the AR, and then go to the long range and zero my sniper hunting rifle. However, to go fly a toy airplane, I have to pay $75 per year to some organization which does little for me and then pay $85 a year to a club on top of that. I think the club membership makes sense, but the AMA doesn't.

3. This insurance.... what good is it? Does it cover me if I am say flying my wing at my local football field and it happens to say strip a servo and go through someones window by accident? Or does it just cover me at AMA fields. I also saw the membership that costs less (like $10 I think) but it only covers planes up to 2lb and 60 mph (how can you enforce that and why??? Are their RC Plane state troopers that go around making sure you aren't overweight and speeding?) and I don't really see the point in that anyway.

But, I think I would like access to this field. I have also found a couple of other places that are safe to fly that have some more area, so I am not sold on it. Plus, the $160 could buy me a couple of really sweet EPP parkflyers that I could fly anywhere. Discuss.

 

[luvmy40]

I'm kind of in the same place. There is a flying park on my way home from work. The land is donated by the city and maintained by a local RC club. You must be an AMA member to join the club. The rub is, there is a rules posting at the park that says the field can only be used by the club and only for sanctioned, scheduled events. No other use is authorized. I have never seen anyone flying there. Not once in ten years.

It seems to me that the AMA and it's related clubs are more into flashing their exclusivity than actually promoting and supporting the hobby. I could be wrong.

I wish Edgewater was a little closer. It's a bit over an hour drive.

 

[JasonK]

Didn't know where to put this so I am just sticking it here.

I am considering joining the AMA for the sole reason that there is a RC field located relatively convenient to me (~10 minutes) and I would like to get full enjoyment out of my faster planes without having to worry about losing them in a populous area, and I have a glow motor that needs to get used for something big and heavy.

I have my reservations about joining the AMA, and they are:

1. I really don't like the club mentality and politics. The SCCA wore me out on that, I know how things can be, and I know members back home.

2. What is the point aside from being able to fly at fields, which incidentally I think is stupid as heck.... I have to join a club to join another club. This really perplexes me as I can load up 10 guns and thousands of round of ammo and drive to the gun range, flash my range membership card ($25 for lifetime) and pay them 10 dollars an hour to use whatever range I want. I can go unload my pistol, go plink some with the AR, and then go to the long range and zero my sniper hunting rifle. However, to go fly a toy airplane, I have to pay $75 per year to some organization which does little for me and then pay $85 a year to a club on top of that. I think the club membership makes sense, but the AMA doesn't.

3. This insurance.... what good is it? Does it cover me if I am say flying my wing at my local football field and it happens to say strip a servo and go through someones window by accident? Or does it just cover me at AMA fields. I also saw the membership that costs less (like $10 I think) but it only covers planes up to 2lb and 60 mph (how can you enforce that and why??? Are their RC Plane state troopers that go around making sure you aren't overweight and speeding?) and I don't really see the point in that anyway.

But, I think I would like access to this field. I have also found a couple of other places that are safe to fly that have some more area, so I am not sold on it. Plus, the $160 could buy me a couple of really sweet EPP parkflyers that I could fly anywhere. Discuss.

Given how 'amiable' the site will be is going to be more driven by the other members then all the fees. I would suggest going to the field and talking to the members, see what type of rules the site has (some sites have some crazy rules like you must have a balsa gas plane within x period of time and that is the only things you can fly there. Or no FPV/quads/etc) and see what type(s) of personalities there are.


My understanding on AMA "insurance" is that it is a secondary insurance, except when flying at an AMA field/sanctioned event, so you would be required to file against your home owner's insurance first. And I think there is some unexpected exceptions there also. I basically see it as a 'extra' cost to use an AMA field/event, not something that does you much good otherwise.

If you only have 2lb and lighter craft (doesn't sound like the case here), there is a cheaper "park flyer" AMA option, which can help with that part of the cost, that is all I have, as I don't have anything 'heavy'.

 

[tomlogan1]

Didn't know where to put this so I am just sticking it here.

I am considering joining the AMA for the sole reason that there is a RC field located relatively convenient to me (~10 minutes) and I would like to get full enjoyment out of my faster planes without having to worry about losing them in a populous area, and I have a glow motor that needs to get used for something big and heavy.

I have my reservations about joining the AMA, and they are:

1. I really don't like the club mentality and politics. The SCCA wore me out on that, I know how things can be, and I know members back home.

2. What is the point aside from being able to fly at fields, which incidentally I think is stupid as heck.... I have to join a club to join another club. This really perplexes me as I can load up 10 guns and thousands of round of ammo and drive to the gun range, flash my range membership card ($25 for lifetime) and pay them 10 dollars an hour to use whatever range I want. I can go unload my pistol, go plink some with the AR, and then go to the long range and zero my sniper hunting rifle. However, to go fly a toy airplane, I have to pay $75 per year to some organization which does little for me and then pay $85 a year to a club on top of that. I think the club membership makes sense, but the AMA doesn't.

3. This insurance.... what good is it? Does it cover me if I am say flying my wing at my local football field and it happens to say strip a servo and go through someones window by accident? Or does it just cover me at AMA fields. I also saw the membership that costs less (like $10 I think) but it only covers planes up to 2lb and 60 mph (how can you enforce that and why??? Are their RC Plane state troopers that go around making sure you aren't overweight and speeding?) and I don't really see the point in that anyway.

But, I think I would like access to this field. I have also found a couple of other places that are safe to fly that have some more area, so I am not sold on it. Plus, the $160 could buy me a couple of really sweet EPP parkflyers that I could fly anywhere. Discuss.

You haven't seen anything yet. Once you join AMA there is constant requests for money. The AMA magazine which is mostly advertising makes a point of listing those who have contributed to the organization. Never is there any real evidence that your annual dues are contributing to the hobby. The sad part is that the local governments have bought into the idea AMA insurance would protect them from litigation resulting from a crash at a flying field. AMA insurance is a scam.

 

[Merv]

I wish the FTCA would offer liability insurance.
At one time they talked about offering insurance, I’ve not seen any updates in some time.

 

[Piotrsko]

Buying open ended million plus liability insurance is kinds expen$$$ive. Last I heard the AMA was self insured..pretty sure flitetest doesn't have those deep pockets.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

I'm not going to try to convince you. I'll just say for me it is worth it to have a nice smooth place that I assume will become a FREA when that goes down.
Lucky for me, this club needs members badly so they will take anyone with an AMA membership and a checkbook. If it wasn't for that I'm sure someone who flys mostly DTFB planes would not be welcome.

 

[SSgt Duramax]

Buying open ended million plus liability insurance is kinds expen$$$ive. Last I heard the AMA was self insured..pretty sure flitetest doesn't have those deep pockets.

Yeah, I guess my question was "how worth it" is the insurance.... Does it cover me whenever I am flying as I am a member of the club, or just at sanctioned AMA events. The point of joining the club is to be able to fly in a place where I have less chance of causing damage, but if I do want to fly at the local football field, and say the wind catches one of my planes and throws it out of the flying area, or I have a technical malfunction and the plane leaves and hits a car, is that covered?

I'm not going to try to convince you. I'll just say for me it is worth it to have a nice smooth place that I assume will become a FREA when that goes down.
Lucky for me, this club needs members badly so they will take anyone with an AMA membership and a checkbook. If it wasn't for that I'm sure someone who flys mostly DTFB planes would not be welcome.

I feel the same way. That is the approach I am sort of taking with it. I reached out to them, and I hope to hear something back. I don't want to go into it with any preconceived notions.

You haven't seen anything yet. Once you join AMA there is constant requests for money. The AMA magazine which is mostly advertising makes a point of listing those who have contributed to the organization. Never is there any real evidence that your annual dues are contributing to the hobby. The sad part is that the local governments have bought into the idea AMA insurance would protect them from litigation resulting from a crash at a flying field. AMA insurance is a scam.

Oh, I have experience with that. I hate the fact they are the only game in town, and they have a monopoly on it. From the outside, and my semi libertarian way of thinking, it looks like they are bowing to the government to maintain control of the hobby. I am sure there are well intentioned people in the organization, just like every organization.

I'm kind of in the same place. There is a flying park on my way home from work. The land is donated by the city and maintained by a local RC club. You must be an AMA member to join the club. The rub is, there is a rules posting at the park that says the field can only be used by the club and only for sanctioned, scheduled events. No other use is authorized. I have never seen anyone flying there. Not once in ten years.

It seems to me that the AMA and it's related clubs are more into flashing their exclusivity than actually promoting and supporting the hobby. I could be wrong.

I wish Edgewater was a little closer. It's a bit over an hour drive.

That's what I am concerned about. I don't want to pay what amounts to somewhere near $200 per year and only be able to go fly from 1300-1700 every other friday or only during church time or something like that. Half the reason I stopped with the autocross/SCCA thing is that most of the events were held Sunday morning. I always had to make the choice between going to church and going and racing. I am reaching out to them to find out about their operations.

Given how 'amiable' the site will be is going to be more driven by the other members then all the fees. I would suggest going to the field and talking to the members, see what type of rules the site has (some sites have some crazy rules like you must have a balsa gas plane within x period of time and that is the only things you can fly there. Or no FPV/quads/etc) and see what type(s) of personalities there are.


My understanding on AMA "insurance" is that it is a secondary insurance, except when flying at an AMA field/sanctioned event, so you would be required to file against your home owner's insurance first. And I think there is some unexpected exceptions there also. I basically see it as a 'extra' cost to use an AMA field/event, not something that does you much good otherwise.

If you only have 2lb and lighter craft (doesn't sound like the case here), there is a cheaper "park flyer" AMA option, which can help with that part of the cost, that is all I have, as I don't have anything 'heavy'.

Yeah, the insurance was one of the things, like if I buy AMA for a year, don't like the club, and decide to fly elsewhere, would I have wasted $75? Their only rule is no turbines, they allow quads (I assume that is what drones means) and basically everything else.

The Prop Busters engage in many facets of the Radio Controlled model airplane sport/hobby, encompassing sport and aerobatic flying, fuel, gas, and electric power, fixed wing and helicopter aircraft & drones, no turbines. Licensed AMA members who are visiting in the area are invited to come fly with us. Spectators are welcome at any time.

So I have reached out to them, but I guess the best thing to do would be for me to go out and see how they operate. I am trying to keep an open mind about it. They have a link to spads on their site, so I guess they cant be that bad. They don't seem too "stick in the mud" but we shall see. Not sure how much my homeowners insurance will help me off my property though.

 

[Bricks]

If one of the club members will sponsor you you can fly for I think is 90 days be covered by AMA and you would have to talk to the club whether you would have to join first. It is a way for non members to get a better feel of whether they want to join a club or not. I do not believe AMA insurance covers you if you are not at a sanctioned field. Your home owners policy would have to pick that up unless there is an exclusion stating such.

I do not like the AMA aspect either but we have such a great bunch of guys it`s the price I have to pay for being part of that. As far as club dues goes much of that is rent ( we do not own the land ) equipment, grounds up keep and improvement's. We just put in a new runway last year we first asked for donation which by golly covered the new runway, which is good as our old lawnmower puked and had to buy a different one from club funds.

 

[Tench745]

Yeah, I guess my question was "how worth it" is the insurance.... Does it cover me whenever I am flying as I am a member of the club, or just at sanctioned AMA events. The point of joining the club is to be able to fly in a place where I have less chance of causing damage, but if I do want to fly at the local football field, and say the wind catches one of my planes and throws it out of the flying area, or I have a technical malfunction and the plane leaves and hits a car, is that covered?

As long as you are following the AMA safety guidelines, you are covered no matter what or where you fly, but that coverage doesn't kick in until any other applicable insurance (homeowners, fire, personal liability, auto, etc) has paid out. I think most people will never cause enough damage to use it, but it's there if you need it.

I feel the same way. That is the approach I am sort of taking with it. I reached out to them, and I hope to hear something back. I don't want to go into it with any preconceived notions.

This is a good mindset to head in with. Let the people/club show you who they are. And talk to a couple different people flying different planes. One of them may be the old codger no one likes and another might be a like-minded individual.

That's what I am concerned about. I don't want to pay what amounts to somewhere near $200 per year and only be able to go fly from 1300-1700 every other friday or only during church time or something like that. Half the reason I stopped with the autocross/SCCA thing is that most of the events were held Sunday morning. I always had to make the choice between going to church and going and racing. I am reaching out to them to find out about their operations.

We have two semi-local rc fields where I live, both about a 30 minute drive from my home. They are both fairly rural so there aren't neighbors to worry about. Both fields are available for any member to fly at between dawn and dusk. The one exception is when they have an event scheduled, then only event participants can fly, for obvious reasons. The one field used to require you to pass some sort of flight test with one of their instructors, but as far as I can tell that is no longer a requirement. I joined the other field for a summer because I wanted to start flying bigger and faster planes, but they were very welcoming and interested in my little foamboard planes. The bigger faster planes never really materialized, so I let my membership lapse.

So I have reached out to them, but I guess the best thing to do would be for me to go out and see how they operate. I am trying to keep an open mind about it. They have a link to spads on their site, so I guess they cant be that bad. They don't seem too "stick in the mud" but we shall see. Not sure how much my homeowners insurance will help me off my property though.

The AMA gets a bad rap, but not every chapter is as bad as they're made out to be. Like every club you get different personalities. Sometimes it's just one or two people you can avoid and other times those people have scared everyone else away. Some of it will depend on you and what you want. What is a nice field close to home worth to you? If you're a national AMA member, some clubs will let you fly there a few times, usually supervised, before they require you to become a member of their chapter. If this club offers something like that I encourage you to go try them on for size and see how well they fit you.
Sometimes it's really nice to go fly somewhere you don't have to watch for dogs or kids; you don't drive to the field and find a football game in progress or have to worry about a neighbor who thinks you're flying too close to their property, etc etc. These are questions only you can know the answer to.

 

[tomlogan1]

I think you have to differentiate between AMA and clubs. There are several clubs where I fly and everybody gets along. Because the field is in a public park, you do not have to belong to a club. The county charges $30 per year for a permit and that pays for mowing the grass. The two paved runways, the solar charging system and pavillion are paid for by an organizaton, GSLMA, which interfaces with the goverment. So if you don't want to join a club you pay $30 per year to fly whenever you want unless there is a schedule event.

 

[L Edge]

I see one of your interests is heli's. Show up in a public field or town park with one of the larger size electric or nitro's. Heli's swinging that mass of blades can cause serious damage/death to a human or animal if you had an accident. Guess who would pay the bills?

I used to fly in a town park and would only be in the air when no was around. Guy drives up and let's his large dog out(no leash), and sits in car. I try to land. Dog goes for chopper. I get air-born so blades don't hurt or kill him Dog doesn't respond to man's commands. Because I knew how to auto, went high and corner of large park, shut off engine and auto silently before dog got to heli. Enough said.
Solved that problem by going to nearby industrial park and got owner's permission to fly in fenced off area.

Hey, at least if you belong to a AMA club, if your under their guidelines, you would at least get a review of whatever happens with AMA insurance. Heli's are high maintenance, parts loosen up, battery/engine die, accidents will/do happen.

 

[SSgt Duramax]

I see one of your interests is heli's. Show up in a public field or town park with one of the larger size electric or nitro's. Heli's swinging that mass of blades can cause serious damage/death to a human or animal if you had an accident. Guess who would pay the bills?

I used to fly in a town park and would only be in the air when no was around. Guy drives up and let's his large dog out(no leash), and sits in car. I try to land. Dog goes for chopper. I get air-born so blades don't hurt or kill him Dog doesn't respond to man's commands. Because I knew how to auto, went high and corner of large park, shut off engine and auto silently before dog got to heli. Enough said.
Solved that problem by going to nearby industrial park and got owner's permission to fly in fenced off area.

Hey, at least if you belong to a AMA club, if your under their guidelines, you would at least get a review of whatever happens with AMA insurance. Heli's are high maintenance, parts loosen up, battery/engine die, accidents will/do happen.

Luckily it isn't very large but I do understand what you are saying. I always put things away when others are around. A 2-3 pound plane with the prop freewheeling smacking you at 30 mph would still hurt, and we know how litigious folks are. I probably would have a far greater chance of hitting someones property than a person, although I want neither to happen. I bet my heli would still do some damage though.

 

[L Edge]

Luckily it isn't very large but I do understand what you are saying. I always put things away when others are around. A 2-3 pound plane with the prop freewheeling smacking you at 30 mph would still hurt, and we know how litigious folks are. I probably would have a far greater chance of hitting someones property than a person, although I want neither to happen. I bet my heli would still do some damage though.

What about you? Stand 5 feet from hover and have a blade go? Plug in a battery with the throttle full open and forgot throttle cut.? Try to stop the blades(to pick up your heli) and miss. Forget the bolt/nut on your main shaft and watch the flying blades spin as it goes into the air 20ft spinning in acrobatic mode. Chances of you getting hurt if you are by yourself, best if others are around.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Guys! Awesome thread. On so many other social media platforms, a conversation like this would have drawn me in due to multiple reports of arguing and name calling. This has been a great conversation from multiple viewpoints. Thank you.

 

[SSgt Duramax]

Guys! Awesome thread. On so many other social media platforms, a conversation like this would have drawn me in due to multiple reports of arguing and name calling. This has been a great conversation from multiple viewpoints. Thank you.

It went exactly as planned. Which is what I was hoping for. Obviously folks feel some sort of way about them. I am personally indifferent. Do I want to join a club to join another club? No. Do I hate the AMA? No. I haven't joined them. I couldn't tell you. Like I said, not all SCCA members are bad, and it is really the local area members that make it or break it. There are things these older organizations can improve on, but there is also a reason they still exist.

This is why I am glad about FTCA though and they have support. You don't normally have to be a SCCA member to participate in races, and you don't have to be a NRA member to race, and that is because they have competition, which is a good thing.

What is really odd, is that there aren't any local groups. I am a member of the San Antonio Sports Car Association, they sponsor autocrosses and operate in a semi-SCCA capacity, but aren't SCCA.

I guess kind of what I am wondering is why do all local clubs make AMA membership contingent. Is there some sort of kickback/benefit from the AMA that makes it a worthwhile requirement? Is it just because of the insurance? Is it to weed out possible idiots? Or is it one of those "cause it's always been done like that" things.

 

[WillL84]

I think you have to differentiate between AMA and clubs. There are several clubs where I fly and everybody gets along. Because the field is in a public park, you do not have to belong to a club. The county charges $30 per year for a permit and that pays for mowing the grass. The two paved runways, the solar charging system and pavillion are paid for by an organizaton, GSLMA, which interfaces with the goverment. So if you don't want to join a club you pay $30 per year to fly whenever you want unless there is a schedule event.

I wish there was something like that around here. The best I can find that's non-club is the school complex right near my house. It's three schools popped around a large central field. There are a couple clubs, both are about 15-20 minutes from me. I've been in email contact with one of them and might go check them out some day when there's a bunch of people up flying.

I'm also "meh" on the club thing. I've been there done that and sometimes it really sucks. I'm also not a people person and don't really do small talk well so I'd prefer to load up my plane and go somewhere where it's just me and the plane. Fly around, drain my batteries and go home.

Plus my wife and I do foster care and as such free time on the weekends tends to be limited. For me to be able to get away for a few hours to drive to a field, hang out, fly and come home isn't always possible. Being able to drive 5 minutes to the schools, fly for 10 and come home is a lot easier.

 

[JasonK]

I guess kind of what I am wondering is why do all local clubs make AMA membership contingent. Is there some sort of kickback/benefit from the AMA that makes it a worthwhile requirement? Is it just because of the insurance? Is it to weed out possible idiots? Or is it one of those "cause it's always been done like that" things.

The club gets insurance of some sort through the AMA, but only if all members are AMA members.

 

[Piotrsko]

If insurance is your hang up, you can find a broker that will provide whatever you need. My traditional comment is that it will be pricey. I used to have Directors&Others style insurance for a couple millions payout. It's what I called stupid person liability and it was $100 a year but required a base homeowners policy of at least 500k with the same company which was Allstate. However this was 30 years ago and many places stopped doing business since.

[Rant on]
Y'all know that the AMA insurance does NOT pay on member to member claims? It's in the acceptance documents So if my heli hits your car and breaks the windsheild, you are paying out of your pocket unless you go to small claims court and receive judgement.
[Rant off]

 

[WillL84]

[Rant on]
Y'all know that the AMA insurance does NOT pay on member to member claims? It's in the acceptance documents So if my heli hits your car and breaks the windsheild, you are paying out of your pocket unless you go to small claims court and receive judgement.
[Rant off]

Well WTF is that then? That seems kinda silly IMO