Clubs Dues and Pros/Cons

[Hegemone]

I did a search and only saw mention in passing of various club related stuff. I just looked into my local club and was a little shocked and a little disappointed at the price for the privilege of fly on their field. The price seems a little like gate-keeping to me.

They require the following::

• Available to those 19 and over at the annual cost of $108.00 (prorated monthly) and a one-time non-prorated $15.00 Initiation fee.
• You must have a current AMA OPEN membership with AMA number to make RVRC application.
• Applicant must agree in writing to abide by all AMA and RVRC operating procedures and documents.
• Applicant must have attended two or more RVRC “functions” being meetings and/or field visits, be sponsored by two current RVRC OPEN members, and attend the RVRC club meeting to be voted into membership.
• OPEN members are voting members and may hold office.

There membership is about 80 and the club seems to be based out of small local hobby shop. No mention of specific perks other then "events." The field appears to be in a more industrial setting and right next-door to a county part that allows flying with a current AMA membership and $25/yr flying pass.

Is all of this consistent with your local clubs in terms of price, benefits, and etc..? So what's your club dues and thoughts on AMA? what are the pros/cons of membership in clubs like this based on your experiences?

 

[dronerdave]

I belong to 2 clubs. One is held at an active airport and another at a navel base abandon to the county and NASA. At the airport I can fly any day of the week. At the navy base we are scheduled to fly on certain days and if NASA needs a particular runway we must give it up to them. All of the members in each club must show current AMA membership and fly within AMA rules. This is the insurance that is required by the property owners and the club. Both clubs are 40 bucks per year which covers a few BBQ's per month. A lot depends on what the land owners charge the clubs to use their facilities.

 

[sjnovakovich]

Similar prices at a model club near me.

 

[Former Member]

In my opinion, that price is cheap! The last time I saw club dues that cheap was in 1990 when we ran a club off a piece of farm land. Now, club dues are $250 per year and there is a 6 month waiting list to join.

Further, my RC car club had a track. Membership was $250 for the year, and $5 per visit. Non-members pay $10 per visit.

 

[MavicMikeK]

I've been a member of our club for over 10 years and we have about 60-90 members of varying ages but mostly in the 40-80 age group. The dues are $80/yr ($60/yr for seniors) which includes a fun-fly monthly contest to win $15-25, monthly raffle drawing to win $50-150 (must be present to win or rolls over to next month), monthly catered picnic and our great yearly event at the Georgia Fairgrounds of the largest RC Swap Meet in the state. You must be an AMA member to fly on our field which is AMA approved. We have 80 acres that include a large fixed wing flat ground area and another smaller control line field. We have an air conditioned clubhouse, gas generator, outhouse, covered picnic tables, covered flying tables, etc. Here is a link to our website with photos and a drone fly-over showing the land and buildings. We are a chartered club of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, Club # 228. All flyers at our field must also be members of the AMA.

GAMA - Home Check it out and watch the drone video link!

 

[Former Member]

I've been a member of our club for over 10 years and we have about 60-90 members of varying ages but mostly in the 40-80 age group. The dues are $80/yr ($60/yr for seniors) which includes a fun-fly monthly contest to win $15-25, monthly raffle drawing to win $50-150 (must be present to win or rolls over to next month), monthly catered picnic and our great yearly event at the Georgia Fairgrounds of the largest RC Swap Meet in the state. You must be an AMA member to fly on our field which is AMA approved. We have 80 acres that include a large fixed wing flat ground area and another smaller control line field. We have an air conditioned clubhouse, gas generator, outhouse, covered picnic tables, covered flying tables, etc. Here is a link to our website with photos and a drone fly-over showing the land and buildings. GAMA - Home Check it out!

Thats a deal.

 

[dronerdave]

Guess I'm feeling lucky at this point. At times our site gets really busy. The naval base is prime for jet planes and we have a combo of aircraft. Took this with my Mavic a year or so ago:

Phone shot:

I like to fly but enjoy still photography. On average our days at the naval base is similar to large aircraft fly-ins and from time to time we have some giant scale. I've got some great shots working with the pilots. Here are a couple of pics if anybody is interested: