Originally Posted by ghoffman

+1, that is what I do with the 91 and 104. Only if I crash do these planes get carried.
I lost my old EF Vanquish last month when the "instructor" with a #$%&$@ Apprentice unplugged his buddy box with his Tx at full throttle into the fuse on my plane. I was following the club rules and was pulling the battery before the pits. No offer to replace it. Some have asked why I don't fly my 91 at this club..

He probably looked at you kinda funny and wondered why your Vanquish was parked there.

Originally Posted by Judge

AMA actually has very little to say about clubs. Their one real concern is that clubs follow their own bylaws when doing things.

Judge,

Do you know of any AMA document reference that supports what you've said... I'm curious as we had a situation such that it would have been greatly helped if this AMA policy or rule is for real and documentable...!!

"Time to start going to meetings to let your opinion heard instead of complaining after the fact. You don't vote you can't gripe"
There was no meeting to attend. We don't do meetings in the summer as a large number of members go north for the summer. This was a board decision and the Prez explained it does NOT effect large scale planes. We've got starting locations adjacent to the short 10' walkway between the pits and the runway. Our setup is actually VERY good and VERY safe. It just threw me when I thought the rule applied to large scale, which it does not...
"But the thought of carrying a running 40%er is insane. So is starting in the pits.
Either start the airplane along a taxi way or between the runway and the pits."
That's exactly what we have. It's actually very well thought out. The accidents lately have been due to lack of common sense and "age challenged" individuals. We've got members that require assistance loading and unloading their .40 nitros... if that tells you anything.

Originally Posted by les2097

Judge,

Do you know of any AMA document reference that supports what you've said... I'm curious as we had a situation such that it would have been greatly helped if this AMA policy or rule is for real and documentable...!!

I am not sure I understand your question. Are you asking if there is a written statement that the AMA does not generally interfere with club operations? If so, then the answer is no.

I was an AVP in District X for nearly a decade. During that time I was involved in more than my share of internal club politics and the situations they spawned. Here is what I know based on that experience:

AMA stays out of club politics with these exceptions:

1) Clubs try to violate Federal/State anti-discrimination laws. Clubs cannot discriminate based on race, creed, religion,gender, etc.

2) AMA expects clubs to operate in accordance with their Bylaws. This is one main path for unhappy members to get AMA involved in club operations. So a club can decide to make it's members wear pink Tu-tus while flying as long as they do so in accordance with their Bylaws.

3) Clubs must operate safely and not allow egregious violations of the Safety Code or any local laws, etc. Clubs that allow dangerous flying will get the attention of the AMA.

Those are the only three situations where I have witnessed the AMA getting involved with a club's operation.

Keep in mind that a club can limit/prohibit certain types of aircraft and/or restrict membership for reasons that do not violate Federal laws (for instance, limit membership to active duty military is OK, not allowing women to join is not OK).

I fly at 2 clubs that prohibit any kind of turbine aircraft (fixed wing or helicopter). Perfectly fine for them to do so. Clubs also do not have to allow any and all AMA members to fly at their club field. They are free to limit that to members only. Perfectly fine to do so.

So having said all this, what AMA rule are you looking for documentation on??

BTW - here's the link to all the AMA documents pertaining to clubs, rules, forms, etc.:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/documents.aspx

One final comment, if you want to make AMA aware of a situation that concerns you your first contact should be with your District Vice President.

Pink Tu-tus eh? Must have been California!

What he says is 100 percent correct.

Often a VP or AVP might get involved to the point of sitting everyone down for chit chat and trying to find common ground. I mean, we are all here because we love model airplanes.

and indeed that happened years ago when 3d was in its infancy and one of our club members decided it needed to be stopped for safety reasons...he brought with him to one meeting the District 10 VP Dich Hanson, hoping for a favorable ruling with the backing of the AMA, which was not forthcoming. And after a while the club member found other things to complain about.


I'm off to work but I'm running late because I can't find my leotard.

Originally Posted by FGNewbie

and indeed that happened years ago when 3d was in its infancy and one of our club members decided it needed to be stopped for safety reasons...he brought with him to one meeting the District 10 VP Dich Hanson, hoping for a favorable ruling with the backing of the AMA, which was not forthcoming. And after a while the club member found other things to complain about.


I'm off to work but I'm running late because I can't find my leotard.

let not forget the leggings and matching tutu

Originally Posted by FGNewbie

I'm off to work but I'm running late because I can't find my leotard.

I am certain you meant to say:

"special needs spandex"