Preparing clubs to help retain their flying sites in 2015
Flying Site Assistance by Tony Stillman, Flying Site Coordinator
2015 is starting with a bang! I grew up in Florida and I am getting my first taste of winter in the North. Learning to deal with snow and ice has been the theme for me. So far, it is not as bad as I thought, but as I write this, it's only mid-January.
I just returned from AMA Expo 2015 in Ontario, California. The show was well attended and vendors seemed busy and happy with sales at the show. I hope this will be a trend for manufacturers and dealers that will equate to good sales all year and an upswing for modeling activity.
As the AMA Flying Site Assistance Coordinator, I spoke with several AMA members at the show who were having issues with their flying sites. Some were looking for a new site, and others had located a site and were working on creating presentations to use when approaching site owners.
Over the years I have gathered information and documents to help clubs. I have several excellent PowerPoint presentations that clubs have created and shared with me so I can share them with you. These presentations tell the story of AMA, and include specific information about the club, its history, and future plans for the flying site the members are working to acquire.
Along with these presentations, I have built spreadsheets based on information obtained from club surveys. This data gives useful information on the flying sites that AMA clubs are using and can be invaluable to clubs approaching a site owner who is unfamiliar with model aviation.
For example, when speaking with a county official about using a closed landfill for a flying site, you can use the data to show that many AMA clubs are flying on closed landfills and can provide specific locations and clubs that are enjoying them. This information can help break the ice with governmental officials who may have concerns about allowing the activity.
I provide these presentations to many AMA clubs each month. Club members modify them with their own information and goals and end up with a professional-looking presentation to use. Having something already designed, and seeing what others have done and then modifying it for your use, reduces the time and design work required of club members. I have given sample presentations to hundreds of AMA clubs and members over the past three years.
At the AMA Expo, I also had several conversations with club members concerning the new 5-mile radius law that resulted from the 2012 FAA reauthorization bill approved by Congress. The law reads:
SEC. 336. SPECIAL RULE FOR MODEL AIRCRAFT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to the incorporation of unmanned aircraft systems into Federal Aviation Administration plans and policies, including this subtitle, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft, or an aircraft being developed as a model aircraft, if:
(1) the aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational use;
(2) the aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
