April 2009 173
National Record Updates
CONTROL LINE
A Speed (302)
Open 192.04 Jerry Rocha/Pilot Joey Mathison 12/06/08
1/2A Profile Proto (305)
Senior 90.19 Ashley Wilk 10/19/08
As of February 2009
example of a class “C” restricted event.
The event is “restricted” by the fact that
IMAA membership is required. It’s not
“restricted” because they have minimum
size requirements for aircraft flown at the
event. Hope this clears up the confusion.
Behind the Scenes: Now to the subject I
wanted to shed some light on this month. I
know many of you have heard rumblings
about our (AMA HQ) recent close
involvement with the FAA rules
committees. There’s not much detail
available yet, but I thought it would be
good to at least begin to bring the
membership up to speed with what is
available.
Communication and clarification in our
ranks is of utmost importance here, because
rumors and misunderstandings can be very
damaging, as many nonmodelers are
interested and becoming aware of all we
do.
The ARC (Aviation Rulemaking
Committee) was commissioned by the FAA
to address the issues and write a set of rules
for UASs (Unmanned Aerial Systems) and
model aviation’s use of them, and
integration into the NAS (National
Airspace). The meetings and
demonstrations pertaining to this
committee’s work actually started early in
the summer of 2008, when several smaller
work groups were formed to address the
details and write the initial intent and scope
documents from which the rules would
ultimately be written.
This initial group finished its work in
November and presented the documents to
the FAA. We are now finalizing the
personnel needed to proceed to the next
phase, where the Standards documents will
be written. The next phase will commence
sometime in late February 2009 and could
easily take most of the summer and fall of
2009 to complete.
We (membership of the AMA) are
extremely fortunate in that we have been
using a very good, and time-tested, set of
standards since the beginning of our
organization. Our proven standards and
CLARIFICATION FROM FEBRUARY:
First off this month, I need to make a
correction.
In my February column I was attempting
to explain the event classification system
because of the many phone and mail
questions I answer pertaining to this. I’ve
known for a long time that the system is
confusing, even to me, having to work with
it on a daily basis. And of course there is
one section I’m still somewhat confused
about, and I’ll try and explain it further and
correctly this time.
The issue is with the class “C” events.
It’s always been my understanding that a
class C restricted was a non-rule book event
restricted in some way by type of aircraft or
event or membership.
I was corrected by several members in
that the event restriction was only for a
certain class of people or specific SIG
membership—not type of aircraft or event.
The IMAA Special Interest Group and its
events requiring membership is a classic
Technically Speaking ...
Greg Hahn
Technical Director
[email protected]
track record give us a strong base from which
to work that is looked upon in high regards
by the FAA.
This has also allowed us to essentially be
put in the lead position in many of the work
group efforts. The leadership role is one we
definitely need to keep, and it will be
imperative, especially now, for all of us
(AMA membership) to be on top of our game
and be the best modeling ambassadors we can
be.
Recent Flight Restrictions: Many of you,
especially in and around the Washington DC
and Philadelphia areas, have become aware
of the TFRs (temporary flight restrictions)
imposed on model aviation during hightraffic
times and presidential movements.
TFRs have been in existence for decades but
only recently have they included model
aviation activities.
Therefore, we need to become very aware
of them and abide by them at all times. The
TFRs are posted by the FAA in a form called
a NOTAM (Notices to Airmen), which is
posted usually two to five days prior to their
activation.
Sometimes with large events, as with the
inauguration ceremonies in January, the
NOTAMs are posted many weeks in
advance, giving us ample time to advise the
local clubs and members. But for the most
part, they are short-term and very little time is
given for us to get the word out.
To help us with these new issues, the
FAA NOTAM Web site is http://tfr.faa.gov/
tfr2/list.html and the section of the AMA
Web site pertaining to these matters is
www.modelaircraft.org/membership/clubs/no
tams.aspx. If you live/fly in a high-traffic or
VIP (very important person) area, check these
from time to time and see if there’s a TFR
that will affect you and your club.
Here at HQ, we will continue to stay on
top of this situation and get the notices out to
you as soon as possible. Just be aware that the
ball field is changing and we must become
more aware of our surroundings and how we
deal with the airspace in which we operate.
See you at briefing. MA
Focus on Competition
04sig6.QXD 2/24/09 9:29 AM Page 173
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/04
Page Numbers: 173