AMA President - who is strongest for CL?

[Dennis Toth]

Got the ballot from AMA and there are two candidates for AMA President - Rich Hanson and Randy Cameron. I am not familiar with either of these gentlemen so I'm wondering who our CL group thinks is the better person for supporting control line?

Best,    DennisT

[John Gluth]

Rich Hanson forecast drones as, "the future of Model Aviation".

[Jim Svitko]

Rich Hanson forecast drones as, "the future of Model Aviation".

As far as drones go, and the future of Model Aviation, what I saw at our field might tell you something about that:

The club cleared out an area for drones.  A course was laid out, and for a while, attendance was pretty good, maybe six or eight guys flying there on a given day.  I paid little attention to it.   Now, the site is overgrown with weeds and brush.  I have not seen a drone flier out there in quite some time.

I have no idea why interest dried up.  My guess is that the drone fliers went to another site where there is no AMA membership requirement.  Maybe the regulations drove people away, or the fad has lost its charm.

[Teodorico Terry]

I believe that drones the way most people use them become rather boring quite quickly; the is very little that you can do with them.  We had a few guys interested in racing and were using our heli field to do some informal racing; that was a few years ago. We have had a few people stop by to ask about flying at the field but once you explain to them that AMA is required as well as club membership (somebody has to take care of the facilities) and a State park pass they seem to become un-interested. We only have a couple of members who get interested in drones early on and managed to keep their interest; one likes to custom build his and the other uses them for work (home inspection). Along with regular R/C aircraft instruction our club also offers heli and drone training.

So, after the heli field was expanded it was done in a way which would also allow for C/L flying which is nice. We have a group of 5 or 6 who fly on a semi regular basis; I am probably the one which uses it the most. I also use the R/C side since I fly pattern as well. Generally speaking I am not fond of drones because they have drawn unwanted attention and regulation to the more traditional forms of R/C.

This is probably one of the few times I will actually rant, but in my view, the EAA has done a better job of advocating on behalf of model aviation than the AMA when it comes to recent regulations. We will see what the long term prospect of the hobby becomes. Knowing that the AMA did not advocate well on behalf of the largest segment of their membership makes me think that C/L and F/F are really not all that important to them.

[Dan McEntee]

     The drone thing has really died down , if you have been paying any attention to it at all.. The commercial side of sUAV operations has pretty much sorted itself out, like I thought it would. They are a very useful tool in the right hands, and it appears that the FAA has that end of it figured out, finally!!   After working the retail side of the hobby industry for 35 years or so, I can tell you drones are pretty much like R/C cars.  R/C cars have been around a long time and have had many advancements and improvements over time, but the numbers of people that operate them haven't really grown much because it's just a toy to most people, and they get over them pretty quickly. Sales for new ones remain strong because people that have already dabbled in them a little bit, have screwed them up so badly that there is no resale market for them, and add to that, people that do try to resell used stuff usually are asking way too much for what they have. So, consequently, they end up on the garage shelf or under the basement steps. Anyone wanting to get started pretty much has to buy new stuff. You almost never meet or see anyone that is a life long R/C car enthusiast. Pretty much the same for drones. The market for them took off like a scalded cat, companies came and went like a fart in a whirl wind, and then add in the government intervention, even though that really didn't deter some idiots just doing what they wanted with them where ever they wanted. Like Terry mentioned, anyone that was thinking about getting serious about them and operating them responsibly, get turned off by the extra expense of the logistics that go along with owning and operating them. Some people I have talked to found that once you got one, got it set up, and learned how to operate it, they got the "is that all there is?" syndrome and didn't know where t go from there. There really isn't that much that you can do with them. I've tried watching the races, and it seems that in each race only one or two, if that many ever finish a race because they are always running into something. There is so much time in between races that you have to have announcers that can really come up with and shovel some serious BS too fill the time. Locally, it's pretty much the same as for R/C cars, or most amateur racing of any kind, in that most people just don't have the temperament that it takes to learn and become competitive. They all think that they can just spend money and buy a trophy. We are in the middle of the "everyone gets a trophy" generation and no one knows how to lose gracefully. Like the saying goes, you CAN"T win them all, but the fun is in trying to, and they just don't get that.  It's the same for model airplanes of any kind. When I had to explain to a customer what it took to build and finish even the most simple rubber power model, the eyebrows go up, the eyes get big and they say. almost 100% to a person, "Oh, you have to build it???" "Yes mam/sir, that's why the sign above the door says "Hobby Shop!" We are not a toy store, but do have stuff that you can buy and play with the same day, but in the end, what have you learned?" I don't see thing improving before I turn toes up and leave this world. Who knows what it will be like in two more generations. Maybe things will improve ?? Who knows !
  Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

[Mike Griffin]

Just to add what Dan has written and I might add, very well.

3 years ago, a friend of mine who was a pilot on my flight crew in CAP, called me and asked me if I would like to come out of retirement and work with him developing an aerial imaging company to do site inspections and real estate photography.  long story short, the real estate venture did not work out but I managed to hook up with a forensics engineering company and for the last three years, we have been very successful in working with them as a drone team doing site inspections.  Between the two of us we own 5 high end quadcopters made by DJI and Yuneec.  These are very expensive and very sophisticated machines that are equipped with precision gimbals and high resolution cameras with infrared capabilities.  Normally we get called in to shoot the job when there is some sort of disagreement between the owner, insurance company and the attorney. 

In order to run this business and follow the rules, we must get LANNC clearance before we launch at every job site and if we are in controlled air space, depending on how far we are from an airport, we may or may not get clearance to launch and the DJI Drones we own,  will not take off if you are in violation and therefore, we miss out on jobs that are not cleared by the local airport and the FAA.  We have applied for exceptions from the FAA but it can and often does, take weeks to receive that clearance.  We have a lot of business but the FAA really doesnt want anybody to fly these machines because of the red tape you have to go through.  Yet, you can get on You Tube and see IDIOTS on there doing some really risky and downright dangerous stunts and this makes is very hard on people like us who do follow the rules and stay in compliance because we depend upon these machines for our business. 

The latest the FAA has come up with is that in a year we will be required to install a transponder on every one of our machines and that means that anyone with a cell phone can track you down, kill you and take your drone and equipment.  This is taking to the point of being ridiculous and many people are throwing up their hands and just ignoring these edicts.

With the invention of these machines, it has opened the door to avenues that were not available in the past but as with anything, there are people who do not get their Part107 license and violate air space regulations on a regular basis.

After the tornado that hit Arabi, Louisiana back in March, Mark (my business partner) and I contacted the Cajun Navy and offered our services free of charge to help out the victimized homeowners.  We walked around with the Cajun Navy Ground Force Volunteers who were offering food, water and clearing debris, and offered to take photos and videos of the damage to their roofs and homes.  We then gave them two CDs of the photos so they would have a record of the damage for themselves and one to give to the Insurance Companies.  No one turned us down and were extremely grateful that we would do that for them.  During a crisis like that, most people are not thinking about the Insurance Company disputing their claims.  They are just interested in survival at this point.

The technology that is contained in one of these DJI quadcopters is mind boggling, or at least to someone like me.  We have done mapping with these machines in disaster zones and stitching them together for FEMA and GOSHEP.

They can be a very useful tool and in certain circumstances, can be credited with saving lives that might otherwise have been lost.
Mike

[Joe Ed Pederson]

Got the ballot from AMA and there are two candidates for AMA President - Rich Hanson and Randy Cameron. I am not familiar with either of these gentlemen so I'm wondering who our CL group thinks is the better person for supporting control line?

Best,    DennisT

Back to the original question, please.  I've read a very good reason for not voting for Rich Hanson, but is there a reason to vote for Randy Cameron?

Joe Ed Pederson

[john e. holliday]

I myself at my age and physical shape is considering not renewing my membership.  I have had it since 1956 .   I thought it allowed me to attend flying contests and fun flies.   Brodaks was the last one I attended courtesy of daughter ans son-in-law.   But several years before when I was allowed to drive I attended a combat meet.  As I walked down the pit line and canopies I was told I had to stay on spectator side of fence as I was not an entrant.   So I watched awhile and then left.  Have not been back since even though now I am not allowed to drive any distance. 

But I may renew so I can read my Model Aviation on line.

[Dennis Adamisin]

Back to the original question, please.  I've read a very good reason for not voting for Rich Hanson, but is there a reason to vote for Randy Cameron?

Joe Ed Pederson

Candidate statements are here: https://www.modelaircraft.org/2022campaign

I have met both of them, i think both are good guys and long time AMA Executive Council members.  I have not had any CL-specific conversations with either of them.  That also means that they have been in the "inside" of the whole shared airspace & drone conundrum.

Neither of their campaign statements really tilt the scales towards the CL side.  Both talk about drones in the context of keeping modeling open to new technologies - Question is whether hobby drones are a technology or just a commodity-toy.  Serious commercial drones are certainly not toys, but the AMA has nothing to offer that segment either.

Richard Hanson is the long-time incumbent.  His statement talks about nearly finishing the legislative work that has consumed AMA for the past 14 years and to work on protecting airspace for aeromodeling. 

Randy Cameron is a former FF & CL flyer.  His statement talks about trying to bring drone flyers into AMA.


I do not have any compelling opinions on which would be better for CL.   Randy Cameron specifically mentioned trying to bring drone flyers into AMA.  I dunno, I think that ship has sailed; drone flyers have discovered that they do not NEED AMA any more than buyers of Cox Ready to Fly models did.  While I normally resist voting for long-time incumbents, (they always burn out) I think in this case Richard Hanson may represent the best chance of "staying the course" and riding out the current legislative battles for all of aeromodeling and not just recruiting drone buyers.

[Joe Ed Pederson]

Thanks, Dennis.    That helps.

Joe Ed Pederson

[Steve Helmick]

I did something I have never done before...threw out my ballot, for the simple reason that the ballot came weeks before the magazine with the candidate's statements. But if one of you would like to vote twice, there's no apparent reason not to do so.  Steve

[James Mills]

Randy Cameron was the rep in my area for some time and was a nice guy when we spoke.  He seemed very receptive to Control Line and published some control line write ups in his district report.

James