President's Perspective
It is our intent to build on these relationships.
As we begin 2010, I will use this month’s column to recap some of the events that AMA undertook in the past year in support of our membership.
Flying site acquisition and retention continues to be a serious concern. In 2009, AMA continued—and in fact doubled—its involvement with the League of Cities (LoC) with good results. LoC is an organization comprising elected officials from municipalities and counties within a state. Most states have their own LoC.
One of our continuing objectives in 2009 was to do more to promote the idea that public and municipal lands are appropriate venues for model aircraft flying sites, and this was the message we took to the conventions. This year we doubled the number of LoC conventions we attended. Our booths were staffed by a combination of AMA district vice presidents, associate vice presidents, and member volunteers.
At each event we received a number of positive responses from those attending the conventions. Many visitors to our booth indicated that they had open lands that they felt would be appropriate for a model aircraft flying site. In each case we followed up that contact with additional information and alerted clubs in the area of the opportunity to meet with local officials to discuss the possibility of creating a new flying site in their community.
The program is working well and we will be expanding it in 2010.
AMA has received a number of inquiries from our members concerning the future of 72 MHz frequencies set aside for model aviation use. Although the advent of spread-spectrum technology has opened up a whole new world for RC modeling, we still have a significant number of members who continue to fly on 72 MHz and are not inclined to stop using perfectly good equipment.
The area in which these frequencies reside is becoming a popular target for other interests, including the wireless industry. Although not a large threat right now, as more modelers move away from these frequencies, it will become increasingly difficult to argue their need and value for model aviation.
For decades AMA has retained a Washington, D.C., law firm to address any issues we have as a result of legislation or regulation that would impact the use of all frequencies set aside for aeromodeling. In mid-2009, we re-established our relationship with the firm that represented AMA before the FCC several years ago during the frequency reallocation issue. Our intent is to position ourselves to advocate for our members on issues that come before the FCC. We will work to retain the 72 MHz frequencies for the foreseeable future.
Our biggest challenge in 2009, and what will likely continue to be our greatest challenge in 2010, is our work with the FAA and impending regulation regarding the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs) in the National Airspace System (NAS).
The FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which was empowered to make recommendations that will be used to create a regulatory basis for sUASs, completed its work in March 2009 and submitted the finished product to the FAA. Those documents were released for public review the following May. Since that time, AMA has been drafting our response to the ARC recommendations as well as developing and refining a set of safety guidelines that will eventually be presented to the FAA.
The FAA’s philosophy for oversight of the aeromodeling activity is to regulate model aviation by exempting it from regulation, then referring it to an accepted community-based safety program. The guidelines currently under development will serve as AMA’s program. When AMA’s internal process is complete, which is expected to be in the first quarter of 2010, the draft of our proposed program will then be presented to AMA’s Special Interest Groups, the hobby industry, and the modeling community for review and input. Then the draft will be finalized and presented to the FAA. AMA’s ultimate goal is to ensure that model aviation enthusiasts can enjoy aeromodeling much as we have for the last seven or more decades.
On October 30, 2009, AMA held a dedication ceremony and grand opening of the new Claude McCullough Education Facility at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC). The facility was built entirely through member donations, including a significant one from the estate of former AMA president Claude McCullough.
AMA believes that model aviation is a stepping stone for young people to future careers in aviation and aerospace. This facility will present new opportunities for AMA to expand its educational outreach efforts. It will be used to introduce and educate school-age children, college students, and adults through model aviation. AMA has a long history of advancing education through aviation. This new facility will allow us to further that tradition.
AMA’s leadership believes that building relationships with other aviation-oriented associations has the potential to benefit all of us. In early November, AMA was invited to participate in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s (AOPA’s) Annual Summit held in Tampa, Florida. Taking part in the Summit allowed us to meet and visit with a number of AMA members who stopped by our booth while attending the convention. We also spoke with countless AOPA members and other aviation enthusiasts.
This past month, at our invitation, AOPA participated in the annual AMA Expo held in Ontario, California.
In early December AMA hosted an initial meeting in Muncie with representatives from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). The daylong meeting identified a number of areas of common ground between our organizations. It is our intent to build on these relationships.
President's Perspective - 2010/03
A buzz phrase on the Internet last year was "social networking." Millions of Americans, and tens of thousands of AMA members, use the Internet and social networking sites to communicate and stay connected with each other.
In 2009, AMA created a presence on several of these sites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Additionally, we launched our first Members-Only Internet Discussion Forum in June. The forum is intended to be an online resource to discuss AMA issues. While AMA membership is required to post to the forum, everyone is able to read posts.
AMA intends to take advantage of the communication conduit these sites provide to our members; however, we will not overlook more traditional means of communicating that many of our members still prefer.
The IAC was incredibly active this past summer when AMA played host to several major events, including:
- Extreme Flight Championships
- IRCHA Jamboree
- Indiana Warbird Campaign
- 83rd National Aeromodeling Championships
These events drew thousands of modelers to the IAC as well as nearly 10,000 spectators combined. AMA was also the host for the 2009 World Radio Control Helicopter Championship. The 10-day competition drew participants from 21 countries.
Events such as these give us the opportunity to showcase model aviation as a credible recreational activity. Building this credibility has the potential to benefit all of us as model aviation enthusiasts.
In 2009, we continued to build on programs such as:
- Take off And Grow (TAG)
- AMA Flying Site Assistance Grant Program
- Charles H. Grant Scholarship Program
Each of these is intended to support our members by helping them conduct events in their communities to attract new interest in aeromodeling, providing financial assistance to help with developing or purchasing flying sites, or providing financial assistance to some of our younger members who are entering a level of higher education.
Although AMA does much more, these are a few of the 2009 highlights.
The coming year will provide a number of new opportunities for the Academy. Several initiatives will be implemented throughout the year that will provide additional benefits to our members as well as position us to be stronger advocates for model aviation and our membership.
While continuing to build on all of the issues I've written about, we intend to focus heavily on promoting model aviation as a recreational and educational family activity. We're also building relationships within the aerospace and education communities that I'll be writing more about in future columns.
I want to thank each of you for being a member. Membership in the AMA means different things to each of us; however, the common denominator is a love of model aviation. Part of being a member is the camaraderie and friendships that are built when we are with others who share a common interest. As the saying goes—priceless.
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson AMA President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
