Not allowed to fly

[Sheepdog]

Any one else come across this.

I joined a club.#

It seems that I am not allowed to fly unless I have a qualified, person with me. I need to practice my flying etc for a Drone/helicopter.

Bit difficult unless a qualified person is present. So that means I cannot use the club facilities, until I have a qualified person present.

Duh!

 

[DoomMeister]

I assume you paid dues to the club.

Is there a person the club considers to be a qualified pilot with the drone/helicopter to check you out?

What aircraft are you flying at the club field?

 

[Phaedrus]

Any one else come across this.

I joined a club.#

It seems that I am not allowed to fly unless I have a qualified, person with me. I need to practice my flying etc for a Drone/helicopter.

Bit difficult unless a qualified person is present. So that means I cannot use the club facilities, until I have a qualified person present.

Duh!

What club?
Location?

 

[RPR]

I’m confused of why people would buy a drone and fly at an AMA field.

 

[Phaedrus]

I’m confused of why people would buy a drone and fly at an AMA field.

We have a fair number of people who come out to fly at our club. We also have a very active quad racing group with a course that remains set up most of the time.

None of that has anything to do with the OP. He did not say which club, where it was located, what he wanted to fly, etc. If he is brand new I do not see anything wrong with having some supervised time before he is cut loose.

 

[ChuckBridges]

I checked out our local flying club in Lethbridge. I found that they have a bias against multi-rotors. They only allow UAV's at the end of one runway, and only if there are no RC models in the air. I decided not to join, there are places I can fly without their bias. I would have liked to have learned from them, but not under those circumstances. No I did not build my H as they built their planes. Yes, I can repair it. Yes, I did pay for it and respect it.

 

[Phaedrus]

Very few people in the RC hobby build their own planes now, and not for some time. Almost Ready To Fly (ARF) models are the majority of the market new. And electric power is the standard in a lot of places.

 

[PatR]

Joined a club in southern Washington in 2009 because it was close to where I was staying and on the way to/from work. I didn’t take a plane when I joined up, just walked up and did the paperwork.

Next weekend I got out there early with a 35% 540 and as they had nice fence posts close enough to tie up to elected to tie the tail of the plane to the post for start up instead of waiting for someone else to show up.

Got her off the ground and was making a couple laps to develop SA with the trees and buildings that bordered the field. At the entry into the normal wind approach there was a water treatment plant with big, round percolator ponds you really wanted to avoid.

So about the second casual lap some guy walks up behind me and tells me “newbies” have to fly supervised until they are signed off as competent. I just looked at him and said something like “Are you chittin me?” and proceeded to do 3 harrier landings in a row, touching down in the same spot every time, rolling out 5’ to a full stop, with one take off with a snap to knife edge as soon as the wing could clear the deck, one take off into hover, and one with a climb to get enough altitude for a couple of waterfalls.

I landed, same touch down spot, taxied in, cut the motor, and told him to let me know when he felt I might be competent. Turned out he was a club officer and couldn’t fly anywhere near as well.

 

[Phaedrus]

Fun to screw with their minds, isn't it?

 

[AH-1G]

There's a club less than ½ mile from me, when I mentioned I would like to fly my drone here once in a while, they mentioned I was always in the back of the line.
In other words, I may be flying and if another member came along I would have to set aside my flying "DRONE" for traditional aircrafts. Even if I become an AMA member.
Another AMA field absolutely would not accept drones on their field.
Arrogant old B......ds.
So it may that they don't want you around??

 

[ChuckBridges]

"So it may that they don't want you around??"

Yup, this is the feeling I was given. If I'm not good enough to fly when there are others flying, then you're not good enough for my dues. I decided to use that money to fly elsewhere, like, in the mountains!

 

[PatR]

If an AMA chartered club and field won’t let an AMA member fly because they don’t approve of their type of model, complain loudly to the AMA. The club could lose their AMA charter.

This kind of crap has been going on forever at some clubs, with clear prejudice demonstrated against people that fly helicopters, 3D, foamies, or anything that departs from the types of aircraft or flying styles a club is accustomed to flying. The attitude of old and narrow minded members is part of why the AMA could not grow their membership for over a decade.

 

[RPR]

I became an AMA member, and a member of a field, when I got into pylon racing, but not for long. During the period of my membership, there was a handful of us “youngsters” that the old farts petitioned to be removed due to our style of flying, and sees us a liability. My peers had the funds to burn (Young IT and software engineers) and we made things flip, and spiral, and when they crash, I was the guy, who rebuild, and builds. This was also the early days of 3D Helis.

Long story short, we despised the AMA and every AMA fields. We became renegades, as they call it, there where so many scare posted on Ezone, and RunRyder, how 3D helicopters are unsafe, theories, and possibilities that main blades coming off, system failure...yada,yada,yada... Also getting sponsored, during my days was quick and easy, a selected few of us got sponsorships that gave us the leverage to change views, and inject ideas.

So, we “the youngsters” from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas made a stand and formed our own group and acquired fields, where anyone can join for free, we laid our or own rules, without prejudice, and system of frequency flying. On these fields, we traded notes on 3D flight, formed an AOL chat group [emoji23] posted events. And when 3D flight became full blown, you will not see a red blooded 19-30yr old pilots in the AMA field, during park flyer revolution, the AMA was loosing membership, until they started charging and became more lenient, but it was too late.

The first prototype of the DJI Phantom flew its maiden flight in Bayside RC, here in Fremont, Ca (Bayside RC, closed down due to the development of the BART Train station) I was a part of that project. Then, I had to leave overseas to serve Merica.

FPV drone operators of today feel the same way about these sanctioned fields. I took my son to a none sanctioned field, and they are saying the same thing that was said during my days, with similar opinions about AMA fields, and groups of old farts that all they do is preach. These fields, and its members are slowly dying. Each year Ircha is running out of funds to host a fun fly event.

Welcome to the drone revolution that the AMA dislike.

 

[Phaedrus]

If an AMA chartered club and field won’t let an AMA member fly because they don’t approve of their type of model, complain loudly to the AMA. The club could lose their AMA charter.

Probably not. AMA grants clubs full authority over their club sites. So clubs can allow or prohibit types of aircraft as they see fit. My club does not allow turbines. Some heli clubs do no allow fixed wing. Most soaring clubs do no allo power planes, and electric only clubs exclude all IC powered aircraft.

Now, if the club rules do not clearly and specifically prohibit a given type of aircraft and the "ban" is based on a FOG (****ing Old Guy) not liking what you fly, then you may have recourse. First with the club itself. Then possibly with the AMA. But the AMA handles what they vies as internal club issues with kid gloves and will generally not get too deeply involved. You might also talk to the District VP to see if he can help. This sometimes helps. But I never once saw a club get any kind of sanction in 17 years as an AMA District Associate VP in the largest single AMA district.

 

[Phaedrus]

I'll add that not all clubs feel this way. Saturday at my field there were 15 quad racers flying, 3 or 4 fixed wing FPV guys (and we are now starting fixed wing FPV racing), helis, small electrics, and a large number of giant scale planes. So not all AMA clubs are like the worst of them RPR mentions.

 

[RPR]

I'll add that not all clubs feel this way. Saturday at my field there were 15 quad racers flying, 3 or 4 fixed wing FPV guys (and we are now starting fixed wing FPV racing), helis, small electrics, and a large number of giant scale planes. So not all AMA clubs are like the worst of them RPR mentions.

I will revert and add to my earlier comment. Los Angeles clubs that are ran by a young committee are more open that is why they remain open, funded, and a friendly club to join.

 

[Phaedrus]

Here's our BoD. One young guy and a bunch of old guys.

ORANGE COUNTY MODELERS ASSOCIATI

 

[Ty Pilot]

I was also a very active modeler (and fairly young) when the face of RC began to change and the wave of electrics and drones started showing up. My view of things is; at THAT time, the people that were flying these type of 'RC' were doing so because they lacked the skill to even fly a four channel trainer. As the wave of ARF's flooded in, the skills to build and in some respects; maintain and operate, an RC aircraft was diminished in new modelers. As that segment of the hobby began to explode, RPR is right; the AMA and most of the older modelers could not see what was coming and held on tight to their beliefs and traditions. They did not notice that there were new disciplines of flight that were indeed rich with skills that many RCers never had. Sign of the times.

I left the AMA and all of it's problems in 2007 and never looked back until I needed to find a place where I could fly and film at will without being bothered. Low and behold, there is an AMA field (electrics only is in the AMA charter) literally two miles from home. When I contacted the President and inquired if there was still a bias against 'Drones' among any AMA members he laughed and said 'thats all we fly' ?

But there was a problem: he was relocating to Maine and of the seven (7) yes - seven members - no one wanted to be the President and he feared the club would fold. ? I didn't hesitate and asked if I could join and then volunteer to assume any responsibility; should the other members decide it was okay. Long story short one week later I re-joined the AMA and was President of a club. Strange how things change but somehow stay the same. I was recently contacted by a local who is into RC fixed wing and he wanted to know he could fly his RC models there. When I found out he flew some gas and glow models I had to tell him - 'Sorry, we don't allow those type here - its against club and city rules'

 

[Mrbrucedw]

A local Airport where I kept my Cessna 182, invites the RC people to fly the last Sunday of each month. This was no problem until just this last month when they published that you had to be an AMA member to fly there. I politely told the FBO that I would just move my plane to another airfield and pay my hanger rent there. Just an FYI, the picture on the FBO's web page was taken on a Sunday by one of my drones.

 

[PatR]

The previous discourse well illustrates my decision to abandon the AMA in 2017. The AMA is not “there” for aerial modelers, the AMA is “there” for the sole purpose of generating revenue to maintain the AMA. They provide optics of representing model aviation but dedicated representation is just an illusion. Everything they have been doing for the past 5 years has been dedicated to assuring the continuance of the AMA, not dedicated to the protection of aero modeling as a whole.