FAA Regulations in the Forecast - 2011/03

18 MODEL AVIATION
A VERY IMPORTANT issue is literally up
in the air for everyone who is interested in
model aviation. It appears that government
regulation of aeromodeling is in the making,
and all AMA members are encouraged to
learn about and actively engage in this critical
development in our hobby and sport.
FAA officials attended the Academy’s
Expo 2011 in Ontario, California, where
representatives from the FAA’s Unmanned
Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) participated
in an open membership forum on Saturday
January 8. They offered insight into the
FAA’s proposed small Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (sUAS) regulation that is due to be
released for public comment this summer as a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
The discussion played out in front of a
packed house of concerned AMA members
and aeromodeling enthusiasts, because the
topic of discussion focused on the potential
impact that this regulation will have on model
aviation.
Joining the FAA’s James Sizemore and
Lynn Spencer on stage were AMA President
Dave Mathewson and AMA Government
Relations and Regulatory Affairs
Representative Rich Hanson. The hour-long
assembly was held in a large meeting room
that was filled to capacity.
Dialogue was both spirited and
informative, and it included a number of
enlightening and productive exchanges.
Dave Mathewson commented:
“We sincerely appreciate that James and
Lynn traveled from Washington DC to
California to continue their work with us on
this critical issue, and to meet with the AMA
membership.
“We’ve all been working hard for
sometime now to
find ways to ensure
that all model
aviation activities
are able to safely
continue in the
future much as they
have for the last 75
years.”
The Big Question
Regarding
Regulations—Why?
According to those
who are deeply
involved in this
issue, primary
factors that led to the
FAA’s instigating
proposed regulation
for small unmanned
aircraft are:
1. The everincreasing
complexity
and congestion of the National Airspace System
(NAS).
2. The proliferation of sUAS being
developed for commercial and public use.
3. The advancements in technology and
the dramatic increase in the performance
capabilities of today’s comparatively more
sophisticated model aircraft.
Photos by the author
FAA Regulations i
Those who visited the 2011 AMA Expo in Ontario
CA were invited to attend an hour-long open
forum, to hear news from FAA representatives
about the regulatory process.
Postcards were provided to forum attendees, to formalize
questions. A popular topic was the enforcement of FAA regulations.
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What Has the AMA Been Doing to Protect
Model Flying Privileges? In June 2008 the
FAA commissioned an Aviation Rulemaking
Committee (ARC) comprising 20
representatives from within the sUAS
community, various agencies within the
federal government, law enforcement
organizations, and educational institutions.
The Academy was invited to participate,
represented by Rich Hanson.
The ARC was charged with drafting
recommendations for the FAA to consider
when creating guidelines for the operation of
sUAS in the NAS. The ARC completed its
work in late March 2009, when it submitted
its final report to the FAA for review in
drafting the NPRM.
The AMA has maintained that there is a
solid line between recreational model
aviation and commercial sUAS. It contends
that the former consists of miniature aircraft
that are operated strictly for sport,
competition, education, and science—not for
commercial purposes.
Mirroring guidance provided in FAA
Advisory Circular AC91-57, the AMA
believes that model aircraft must be
operated safely away from people,
property, and full-scale aircraft, and that it
must be fully within line of sight. Without
this distinction, aeromodeling could be
swept up into potentially stringent
regulations that are far more applicable to
the commercial operations of sUAS.
However, it is unknown to what extent
model aviation will be affected by the new
regulation, and the FAA is unable to
comment, by law, on the specifics of the
proposed rule until the NPRM is
published.
What we know at this point is that the
ARC recommended that there be a
provision in the rule to allow model
aircraft operations—that are conducted in
March 2011 19
s in the Forecast
FAA to
establish
regulations for
aeromodeling
in national
airspace
Dave Mathewson listens as FAA UAPO representative Lynn Spencer discusses
regulatory topics that were brought up during the forum.
by Michael Ramsey
accordance with an FAA-accepted set of
standards—to be exempt from the rule. To
date, the FAA leadership in the UAPO has
consistently held that this has been, and
continues to be, its regulatory approach to
model aviation.
During the past year and a half, UAPO
representatives have been involved in
providing guidance to the AMA in its
effort to develop a set of standards that, if
accepted and adopted by the FAA, will
The four members of the discussion group were relaxed with each other and opened up
to the Academy membership about concerns presented.
03sig1x.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 1/25/11 8:33 AM Page 19
serve as an alternative means of complying
with the new sUAS regulation.
Is the AMA Doing All It Can at This
Point? Following is Dave Mathewson’s
reply to that question.
“I’m comfortable that our current
approach to the issue has positioned us well.
We have built a solid strategy and put
together a strong team of model aviation
experts to work through the regulatory
process.
“After the ARC submitted its
recommendations, which you can find on
our Web site, we brought together an
made the commitment to stick to the process.
When questions come up or there is a fork in
the road, we try to have a face-to-face meeting
with people from the UAPO to get their input.
And I’ll tell you it’s not all flowers and roses.
“We have differences on issues, but the
process we follow helps us work through
them. I’m really optimistic that we’re on the
right track.”
Tough Questions Fielded by the FAA: James
Sizemore—an AMA member from the
Washington DC area—and Lynn Spencer
were as forthcoming as they could be, given
the rules of the federal regulatory process,
without breaching the confidentiality
directives to which they must adhere. Only a
few people at the FAA know what is in the
proposed rule.
Many AMA members submitted questions
to James and Lynn.
“Was there a specific incident that led to
this situation? Have we done something
wrong?”
Absolutely not was the essence of their
reply. They claimed that the FAA holds in
high regard the Academy’s outstanding selfpoliced
safety record that has been established
throughout the last several decades. Both the
FAA and AMA are faced with making our
approach to safety and operations even better.
This tied into an important consideration
and question from AMA member Cameron
Smith of California, combined with a question
from Maria Shuberty of Virginia. She asked:
“Does the FAA consider that by potentially
over-regulating the model aviation hobby, it
may reduce the number of young people
interested in aviation and discourage them
from becoming tomorrow’s pilots and aviation
innovators? Have you considered the
importance of model aviation for our youth,
for the ongoing science engineering and
educational benefits going forward?
James responded:
“I would like to share with you that the
leadership of the FAA isn’t looking to curtail
model operations that are safe. In fact, they
want to enable them, because many in the
FAA got their start in aviation, from building
balsa models and learning to fly, going from
there to their aviation careers.”
Several companies in the model aviation
industry that are dedicated to some of the more
advanced modeling disciplines have contacted
the AMA with concerns about their future.
The FAA reps were asked for their take on this
issue.
James and Lynn replied that it remains
their intent to support model aviation going
forward in whatever form can be conducted
safely. According to them, the FAA believes
that a rule will be created in good faith
because it will be done with the knowledge of
what’s going on, what the community wants to
do, and how they would do it safely when the
standards come to them for approval.
James explained:
outstanding group of aeromodelers to work
on developing standards for model aviation
that, when coupled with the final rule, will
allow model aviation to continue much as it
is now.”
That group consists of nearly a dozen
volunteers and AMA staff members who have
tirelessly conducted weekly teleconferences,
face-to-face meetings, webinars, and almost
daily e-mail exchanges since its inception in
May 2009.
Rich Hanson said:
“We probably still have a year or more to
go to get this done, but these guys have really
There were standing-room-only conditions during the forum. Despite the attendees’
intense interest, their professional conduct was genuine and showed sympathy to the
obvious concerns.
20 MODEL AVIATION
The meeting was led by AMA President Dave Mathewson and AMA Government
Relations and Regulatory Affairs Representative Rich Hanson, who has been working
with the FAA for three years.
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March 2011 21
Although the FAA is unable, by law, to explicitly
discuss what is in the proposed rule to be issued in June,
you can and should let your federal representatives know
what you think about this pending set of restrictions on
model aviation.
The AMA’s Government Relations Web pages, which
you can find at www.modelaircraft.org/gov, will serve as
your hub of information. There you can find background
information, the latest developments, how to contact your
senators and representatives, and even how to identify
them if you don’t know who they are.
All AMA members—indeed, all who love aeromodeling—should familiarize
themselves with the issue and let your voices be heard. MA
—AMA HQ
“It really transfers that responsibility back
onto the individual who’s doing the
operation. So for the industry it could be
perceived as a big plus—that with the right
regulation and the right standards in place, it
actually will cause a growth in the industry.
Whereas currently, where there’s not any
regulation, there’s no enforcement.
“AMA is not a regulatory body or
enforcement agency. So there is no way to
address those kinds of outlier events or
outlier operations that are on the fringe.”
Enforcement of regulations was of
particular interest to those who attended the
Expo forum. How can it be done practically?
Who will do it?
According to Lynn, FAA officials with
badges won’t be lurking in the weeds,
attempting to “catch” aeromodelers who are
in violation of the regulation. She said:
“I don’t know how many millions of
model aircraft and sUAS flights occur
annually. We all have limited resources.
“I would liken it to a speed limit sign
probably about every half mile on the road.
Behind every one of the speed limit signs is
not a California Highway Patrol officer, but
there is a law that says you have to do the
speed limit. But if we get into an accident,
and we show that we didn’t have our driver’s
license, and that we didn’t have a registration,
then we are going to get a ticket.”
Some of the most interested modelers are
those who operate high-speed turbines and
high-altitude sailplanes. Will there be heavy
restrictions on these disciplines? Will they be
so onerous that those forms of aeromodeling
will be fully debilitated?
Again, the FAA couldn’t speak of the
proposed rule. And those are two of several
scenarios that the AMA standards workgroup
is hashing out.
James said:
“I believe that I can tell you that what
AMA presents to the FAA will be
considered. And if you work with your
standards group to make sure that turbine
operations are accurately and sufficiently
covered in whatever is presented, we will
give due diligence to that.
“We have not said, and we have not asked
for, and have not led you all to believe in any
way in developing the standards for those
operations. Know that you are in pretty good
hands with your leadership and that we’re
working diligently to address it.”
What Can AMA Members Do Going
Forward From This Point? Now is the time
for all who care about the viability and future
of aeromodeling to familiarize themselves
with this issue and prepare to respond, if
necessary, to the proposed rule when it’s
published this summer. This complicated
issue is not only important to AMA, but to all
who look skyward.
James Sizemore said:
“People let us know when they are aware
of something potentially hazardous in the
NAS.
“Rich [Hanson] stated earlier that you are
successful today because you have very
conscientious people who are dedicated to
the hobby, who want to make sure that fun
for yourself is fun for everybody else that
comes to a flying field. We are all safety
officers when it comes down to it.”
AMA’s standards workgroup and all
members who have weighed in to date are to
be commended for their diligent attention to
a critical issue facing the Academy.
To learn more and prepare to contact
your representatives in Washington DC,
visit the AMA’s Government Relations
page; there you will find a wealth of
information and resources. The Web site is
listed under “Sources.”
And if you haven’t done so, sign up for
the AMA Today monthly e-newsletter via
the address in the “Sources” list. In addition,
there is lively discussion on this topic on the
AMA online forum, and, of course, keep
reading MA every month.
The AMA has your back in
aeromodeling. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
AMA Executive Council member James Rice suggests questions from the audience to
Dave Mathewson. Members wanted to know if aeromodeling will be allowed to continue.
Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Sources:
AMA’s government-relations page
www.modelaircraft.org/gov
AMA Today
www.modelaircraft.org/publica
tions/AMA_Today.aspx
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