President’s Perspective - 2010/06

June 2010 5
’ll begin this column by welcoming fivetime
Space Shuttle pilot and commander,
Robert “Hoot” Gibson, as AMA’s first
Ambassador. In this volunteer role, Hoot will
be AMA’s national spokesperson representing
AMA to the media, participating in various
functions, and especially focusing on education
to promote model aviation as a fun,
recreational, and educational family activity.
In addition to being a member of the United
States Astronaut Hall of Fame, Hoot is a
longtime modeler and AMA Life Member. He
has competed in a number of AMA National
Aeromodeling Championships and other AMA
sanctioned competitions.
While he was a Navy test pilot, Hoot built
and flew a model F-16A. This aircraft was one
of the early turbine-powered jets to fly at the
RC Scale Nats. Today, Hoot enjoys flying
electric-powered jets.
We are looking forward to working with
this naval aviator, airline pilot, astronaut,
world-record holder, and avid model flier to
build the credibility of model aviation and
promote what we do as model aviation
enthusiasts.
There is not much new to report this month
on the FAA’s ongoing sUAS regulatory
process, although there has been much
activity resulting in some progress.
On March 23, 2010, AMA’s Government
Affairs Representative, Rich Hanson, District
VIII Vice President and Safety Committee
Chairman, Jim Rice, and I met in Washington
with a number of representatives from the
FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Program Office
(UAPO).
The purpose of the meeting was to meet
with the new UAPO manager, Rick Prosek;
President’s Perspective
AMA President Dave Mathewson
I
Good things are on the way.
UAPO’s team leader for the sUAS rulemaking
process, Steve Glowacki; and Majid
Kamalabad. Majid has been assigned to work
with AMA to provide FAA support in
developing our guidelines for model aircraft.
We were able to discuss a number of
AMA’s concerns as a result of the FAA’s
presentation at our January Executive Council
meeting. Additionally, we discussed the
timeline of the process going forward as well
as the form and format that the FAA would like
the documents that we will eventually submit
for consideration to follow.
Earlier that day, we met with our
Washington consultant, Mitch Rose, to
continue bringing him up to speed on the issues
and discuss the role he will play as the
regulatory process plays out. Mitch attended
the afternoon meeting with the UAPO and was
introduced to the members of that office.
Sometime in May, possibly by the time this
issue of MA reaches you, the internal
workgroup drafting our initial documents will
be meeting in Muncie, Indiana, accompanied
by Majid from the FAA. As the process
evolves, I want to assure you that the final
documents will be presented to the entire
modeling community for review and comment
before we submit them to the FAA.
In early April,Mitch Rose attended the
Toledo Weak Signals annual R/C Expo and
had the opportunity to meet with
representatives of many of the major entities in
the aeromodeling community.
The show provided the perfect opportunity
for us to introduce Mitch as well as give others
an opportunity to ask questions, hear Mitch’s
thoughts, and gather insight as to where the
regulatory process may take us in the future.
It’s important that the entire aeromodeling
community works collectively to assure that
model aviation activities are allowed to
continue much as they have in the past. Toledo
presented an opportunity to continue bringing
the community together.
Last in the FAA arena, I attended a National
Aeronautic Association luncheon in
Washington DC in early April. FAA
Administrator Randy Babbitt was the key
speaker.
I was seated at the same table as
Administrator Babbitt and former FAA
Administrator Marion Blakely. This provided
me with an opportunity to speak briefly with
the current and former administrators
concerning their vision about how sUAS will
integrate into the national airspace and how
model aviation fits into that vision.
I can tell you that both, as you might
expect, were well versed on the sUAS
issues. However, they also had good insight
into what we do as model aviation
enthusiasts. The message I conveyed was
that model aviation has an impeccable
seven-decade history of operating safely in
the national airspace. The recent
proliferation of public-use, commercial
sUAS doesn’t change that fact.
Although we understand the need for
safety and the FAA’s responsibility to
ensure safety in the national airspace, we
need to be careful. We cannot let what we
do as model aviation enthusiasts get caught
up in the black hole of regulation that has
come about because of the need to address
safety concerns brought about by this new
era of sUAS.
There are signs that economic recovery in the
US may be underway, at least in the model
aviation community. I attended the Toledo
Weak Signals’ R/C Expo. It was busy and I
understand that attendance was up.
Most of the vendors I spoke with were
pleased with the show. This compares to the
AMA Expo in Ontario, California, in January
where we broke attendance records. I heard
that the organizers of the North West Model
Hobby Expo in Washington State were pleased
with their event and the Westchester Radio
AeroModelers Show had a positive bump in
2010. Good things are on the way. MA
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson
AMA president
[email protected]
Mission Statement
The Academy of Model Aeronautics is a world-class association of modelers organized for the purpose of
promotion, development, education, advancement, and safeguarding of modeling activities.
The Academy provides leadership, organization, competition, communication, protection, representation,
recognition, education and scientific/technical development to modelers.
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