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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: RC Storick on July 24, 2014, 05:31:43 PM

Title: AMA and the FAA
Post by: RC Storick on July 24, 2014, 05:31:43 PM
FAA grants comment extension at the request of AMA
  
At the request of the AMA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted a 60-day extension for the public comment period (Docket No. FAA-2014-0396) for FAA's Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft established by Congress as part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The 60-day extension establishes the new deadline for comments as September 23, 2014.

In the United States Department of Transportation/FAA notice due to publish in the Federal Register on July 25, 2014, the FAA noted the following:

"On July 16, 2014, the Academy of Model Aeronautics submitted a request to extend the comment period by 60 days, citing the need to "educate the aeromodeling community, clarify the issues, and respond to questions regarding the impact that the interpretive rule has on various aspects of the modeling activity." The FAA agrees that additional time for the submission of comments would be helpful, and therefore has decided to extend the comment period until September 23, 2014. The FAA expects that the additional time for comments will allow the affected community to prepare meaningful comments which will help the FAA to determine what clarifications to the interpretation may be necessary."
Your Action is needed now

The administrative rulemaking notice and comment process is the means by which the FAA can address these concerns and make any definitive changes to the rule. Your comments need to be detailed, meaningful, and constructive.

We are asking all of our members and everyone who has an interest in the future of model aviation to participate in this process.


http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/AMAInterpretiveRuleResponse.aspx

I am not sure we fall into the category with the knucklehead quad copter pilots but better not take any chances. You never know with this government.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Tony Drago on July 24, 2014, 05:51:01 PM
I like the part about.
 The Special Rule For Model Aircraft Established By Congress. Must be a few hundred pages long.
No wonder they need time to interpret it.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Jim Kraft on July 24, 2014, 05:54:03 PM
I hope they don't pass it so they can see whats in it.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Tony Drago on July 24, 2014, 07:52:16 PM
I got a hunch that none of those clowns in Congress ever put together and tossed a Guillows glider.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: RC Storick on July 24, 2014, 08:01:13 PM
Well no matter what lets be heard. There are over 500 users a day who log on here and a bunch more that don't log in. I am urging everyone who reads this post to air you opinion to the FAA via the link.

http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/AMAInterpretiveRuleResponse.aspx

You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Tim Stagg on July 25, 2014, 07:59:24 AM
Done,

Thanks for the link Sparky!!
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Avaiojet on July 25, 2014, 08:06:34 AM
I'm sure the HOLLYWOOD movie industry will get all kinds of exemptions.

Sometimes talking can do more damage than being silent.

Going unnoticed isn't all that bad a thing either.

A good name for a model could be, "Low Profile."
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: 55chevr on July 25, 2014, 11:00:39 AM
Another one ...


http://time.com/3033869/seattle-drone-space-needle/


Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Carl Cisneros on July 25, 2014, 02:05:30 PM
I just reviewed the info and made my comments on it.

I hope the FAA wakes up and listens to the us flying folks.

And as always, it takes just a few to ruin it for everyone...........................
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: john e. holliday on July 26, 2014, 08:40:45 AM
I tried the links several times and I guess it is me or the computer, but I kept getting sites that had nothing to do with airplanes,  model airplanes,  FAA and the AMA.  So as long as I don't have a quadcoptor or radio control plane how can they stop me from flying a tethered airplane?
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: RC Storick on July 26, 2014, 08:57:17 AM
when they say model airplanes they will mean all models. I don't think they will separate RC from CL or FF
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: wwwarbird on July 26, 2014, 08:58:46 PM
when they say model airplanes they will mean all models. I don't think they will separate RC from CL or FF

 That's what I've always thought too. It takes them a lot less brain power to do it that way, which is something they don't have an excess of.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Bill Heher on August 02, 2014, 11:53:54 PM
I had responded to the AMA / FAA during the NPRM ( Notice of Proposed Rule Making) stage of the new act, asking for them to specifically include statements that Control Line Model Airplanes were either exempt or non- applicable to the rule. The reply was that CL planes are not considered "Aircraft", due to the fact they were continuously tethered to the surface.
It makes sense - kites routinely fly 10x higher than a C/L aircraft, tethered balloons are used for advertising and rides, etc, they would have to include all these other "tethered" flying objects.
The challenge will be the general public, they don't read CFR / FAR regulations, they depend on the media for their general information, and the media focuses on the rouges and rebels, so that is what the public thinks.

Example: the infamous FCC 1991 RC frequency "Narrow Band" rule. I flew R/C then, sent my radios in to Futaba and got them Gold Stickered. They were now legal or use all across the US, even though 1 was AM band.

Fast Forward 5 years, and I was told multiple times by various Club Experts that my radios were " Illegal" since they were not either FM or PPM or PCM, whatever the latest craze was. When I would press them for details, they usually couldn't tell you where to find the regs.  News Flash, my 25 year old radios are still legal! And my C/L planes are too!
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: RC Storick on August 03, 2014, 08:45:18 AM
Lets also look at it this way. If we don't help the RC guys and they loose their fields due to BS a lot of us control line types will loose our fields to soccer. When they go we go. The problem is not us, it is they guy who goes to the hobby shop and buys a quad copter and fly's it in his back yard with a camera on it to spy on his next door neighbor. I don't real think it has to do with interference from modelers flying in real aircraft space.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Will Hinton on August 03, 2014, 04:18:44 PM
Thanks Robert, for posting this - I just submitted my comments.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Bill Heher on August 03, 2014, 07:33:53 PM
In the RPV world, the FAA is involved due to the integration of these new "aircraft" into the National Aerospace System, and the resultant revenue stream from the certification and licensing of both the Aircraft, the operators, and the companies that deploy them will be eagerly sought after by all the assorted local, state and federal govt's. Recreational R/C will still be a viable activity, provided it does not interfere with the commercial aspects of the industry.

It is possible the R/C community may benefit- if RPV commercial activities grow at the rate that other new technologies have- the industry will need a pool of talented and educated potential crew members. They may invest in traditional R/C activities to keep the prospective talent pool from drying up.

It is always the same - Follow the Money!
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Steve Helmick on August 03, 2014, 10:24:35 PM
Lets also look at it this way. If we don't help the RC guys and they lose their fields due to BS a lot of us control line types will lose our fields to soccer. When they go we go. The problem is not us, it is they guy who goes to the hobby shop and buys a quad copter and fly's it in his back yard with a camera on it to spy on his next door neighbor. I don't real think it has to do with interference from modelers flying in real aircraft space.

During my visit to British Columbia last weekend for the WCSC, the latest rumble was about some jerk flying a Quad Copter off the end of Vancouver International Airport. They're very serious about grabbing this guy, so you might just read about it in the news in the near future. It's not just the USA with the problem, anyway.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: 55chevr on August 04, 2014, 03:08:10 PM
Latest from the NYC metro area.  Schumer is a vocal advocate of big government.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/08/03/sen-charles-schumer-calls-for-federal-rules-on-drone-use/

Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Hoss Cain on August 10, 2014, 06:36:15 PM
Lets also look at it this way. If we don't help the RC guys and they loose their fields due to BS a lot of us control line types will loose our fields to soccer. When they go we go. The problem is not us, it is they guy who goes to the hobby shop and buys a quad copter and fly's it in his back yard with a camera on it to spy on his next door neighbor. I don't real think it has to do with interference from modelers flying in real aircraft space.

Good Points Robert. In addition, the entire hobby business will probably come to nothing more than whatever a yard flying facility can host.
Now there are a large number of RC modelers that are fussing big time over the FAA's desire to have RC members and clubs using flying
facilities that are within 5 miles of any kind of airport facility. There are some serious problems festering up in this area. There are a large number
of modelers jumping in on the quad-copter thing seemingly because it is there. The models that show up at any facility are simply a very small
number of those being crashed somewhere else.  ~^
When I owned a Hobby Shop, in the '70s, Mt Prospect, IL I was really astounded at the kits and balsa going out the door as compared to what I saw at the local area flying facilities. There were many around the area.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Sean McEntee on August 10, 2014, 07:51:03 PM
"Schumer said drones pose a threat to safety and privacy. They have interfered with airspace, been used to spy on people and been used to deliver drugs, the New York Democrat said.
'This year, a drone was caught flying into a maximum security prison in South Carolina carrying marijuana,' Schumer told reporters, including WCBS 880’s Ginny Kosola and 1010 WINS’ Glenn Schuck."

    One think that I would like to see added to the list of "what makes a 'drone' a 'drone'" is the outfit of ANY kind of payload or equipment not directly related to the basic operation and control of the aircraft, and operating them outside of designated aeromodeling sites.  That includes cameras.  That way, anyone flying anything with a camera falls under the FAA's gavel, and the FPV guys are covered.

    Whats REALLY going to be fun is watching these guys get nailed for making these kind of airspace incursions after Jan 1, 2014 for not being ADS-B compliant  S?P
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: 55chevr on August 10, 2014, 08:11:15 PM
How many do you think will actually get nailed?    Remember these are outlaws.  They don't respect laws, hence the term.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Brett Buck on August 10, 2014, 08:36:21 PM
Latest from the NYC metro area.  Schumer is a vocal advocate of big government.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/08/03/sen-charles-schumer-calls-for-federal-rules-on-drone-use/



     He would also trample his grandmother if she was between him and a camera. He's the worst sort of person in politics.

    Brett
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: 55chevr on August 11, 2014, 05:42:12 AM
C Schumer represents what is wrong with government. He never met a microphone he didn't like.  He just was on the news about exercise monitors being an invasion of privacy.  A self proclaimed public advocate instead of representative law maker.  The real problem is it seems senators are elected for life.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Hoss Cain on August 12, 2014, 10:55:06 PM
FAA grants comment extension at the request of AMA
  **************

At the request of the AMA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted a 60-day extension for the public comment period (Docket No. FAA-2014-0396) for FAA's Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft established by Congress as part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The 60-day extension establishes the new deadline for comments as September 23, 2014.
Thought I would throw this in for all the thoughts that many modelers never consider. With the tremendous amount of $$ flowing into the Drone world, AMA is helping out. At the last AMA EC meeting, there was a very close election for a budget -- SUAS Events Budget for 17 months.
This is a program to provide information about the Drones and their situation. The vote passed by ONE (1). IIR Correctly, the AMA President gave the last single vote for YES.  Doesn't the current AMA magazine, Model Aviation, provide all that information?

BUdGET:  STAFF: $95,000.oo   Travel: $30,000.oo,  Website:  $15,000.oo, Other:  15,000.oo, MARKETING: $95,000.oo

Kind of like Schumer and his pals, right!   y1  BTW this is not here-say. I was in that meeting. Yes, I am on the ballot for 2015 Executive Vice President.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: john e. holliday on August 13, 2014, 10:26:45 AM
Now for the layoffs because they don't have enough  money.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Hoss Cain on August 14, 2014, 12:28:37 PM
Now for the layoffs because they don't have enough  money.

Hello John:

I do not think the AMA hiearchy will make any lay-offs. The current AMA upper staff is far more prone to increase their numbers than move any out, unless they mistakenly let someone have different ideas than those of the top masters. Like government, the AMA rather have more than less
 and those "more" must sing the thoughts and deeds of the upper chosen few.

Main Point for this post is that I just recently purchased a magazine (more like a booklet) at a Radio Shack. Title is "MAKE" and it is quarterly as I surmise. This one is an older Jan. issue.  The web is simply makezine.com . OTHOH there are a large number of various contacts and web sites.
makezine.com/offer __  markf@makezine.com is Editor-in-chief ___  Subscription requests:  MAKE, P.O.Box17046, North Hollywood, CA 9165-9588

This publication is something else in "drones", and a great (funny) explanation why "drone" is an incorrect name, plus electronics way beyond my simple brain.
It's well worth the investigation.
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Mike Keville on August 17, 2014, 09:18:26 PM
Hoss:
Good luck in trying to help return real modeling to today's Academy of Multirotors & ARFs.  
Title: Re: AMA and the FAA
Post by: Steve Helmick on August 17, 2014, 09:29:06 PM
I finally broke down and wrote a letter on the FAA's website, per the link provided. The main thrust was to remind the AMA and inform the FAA that not all model airplanes are RADIO controlled, that ours fly in a hemisphere with a radius of 70' maximum allowed, and that tactical use would be pretty much zip. I did NOT volunteer that we actually fly at an airport, or even close to an airport. I figured that it would be best not to make it long and full of confusing details. Bureaucrats, you know.  ;D Steve