President's Perspective - 2010/11
As many already know, Jim Cherry left AMA at the end of August. We wish him well as he rejoins his wife, Lynn, in Panama City, Florida. Jim was hired in 2006 and served as our Executive Director (ED). During his tenure he brought innovation to the Academy. His League of Cities program has introduced hundreds, if not thousands, of community officials to model aviation. The program spread the message that model aviation is an ideal educational and recreational family activity and is a viable use of appropriate municipal properties. This program has resulted in several new flying sites throughout the country.
Jim’s Program of Work (POW) plan brought accountability and direction to AMA Headquarters’ operations. This document, created annually, is a combined effort of the staff, the ED, and the AMA Executive Council (EC). It serves as the organization’s roadmap for the coming year. The POW sets goals, objectives, and timelines and helps guide the organization.
Jim also played an important role in helping to draft our recently released Strategic Long Range Plan.
When Jim first came to AMA in 2006, Lynn remained at their home in Florida to manage family issues. Jim sacrificed being with his wife and family in his effort to lead AMA. He is now back in Florida, remodeling a new home they bought there last year and enjoying spending time with his twin grandsons.
One thing I’m sure of is that Jim won’t miss the Muncie, Indiana, winters!
Joyce Hager will again serve as interim ED. She has been with the organization for more than four decades and served as ED from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s. Her most recent position was Staff Administrator in which she managed the AMA Headquarters’ staff.
AMA is developing a number of new concepts and programs. We have an excellent staff, and with Joyce’s leadership, the EC is confident that the organization will continue to make strides going forward.
FCC Rulemaking Update
In past columns I’ve written about the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), intended to “simplify, streamline, consolidate and update” Part 95 of its rules. Frequencies set aside in the 72 MHz band for model aviation would be regulated under Subpart D of the revised Part 95.
The deadline for filing comments to the NPRM was September 3, 2010. AMA’s FCC attorney and Electronic Technology Committee reviewed the NPRM, identified no obvious threats, but saw the need to address some minor issues.
Although many model aviation enthusiasts have switched to 2.4 GHz equipment, AMA has thousands of members who are quite happy using their current 72 MHz radios. They have no desire or need to make obsolete their current radio systems.
AMA will continue to work to maintain the use of frequencies set aside for modeling in the 72 MHz band for the foreseeable future. Our formal response to the NPRM, filed on behalf of its membership, can be read on the AMA Web site at www.modelaircraft.org/files/ama-comments_on_part_95.pdf.
FAA Ruling May Be Challenging to AMA
Things continue to move forward, albeit relatively slowly, with the FAA regulatory process for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) that will have some collateral impact on model aviation.
AMA’s internal workgroup, comprising members with considerable experience representing a number of modeling disciplines, continues to draft an initial set of standards that we will present to the FAA. The purpose of these standards is to create a path in which model aviation enthusiasts may operate outside of the “default” set of regulations that were proposed to the FAA by an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) in March 2009.
Rich Hanson, AMA’s Government Affairs Representative, and the Safety Committee chairperson, Jim Rice, traveled to Washington in early September to meet with representatives from the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO). The purpose of that meeting was to share with the UAPO the direction that we are taking with our standards and to ask for guidance to ensure that the form and format of our work was moving in the right direction.
The results of that meeting have raised some additional concerns for us. We have scheduled a follow-up meeting with UAPO manager Rick Prosek. This meeting will have taken place by the time this issue of MA reaches you. I will update you on the results of this meeting next month.
Flight Restriction Discussions Continue
We also continue to work to find some satisfactory resolution to the FAA’s Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) policy that had some negative impact on model aviation.
At AMA’s request, the National Aeronautic Association brought together the various air-sport organizations in the U.S. to meet in Washington with a representative from the FAA. That meeting was somewhat productive, and the door was left open for further discussion. A follow-up meeting is planned.
Many of the TFRs issued, especially those issued as a result of VIP travel, are most often at the direction of the Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I’ve written to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, explaining our concerns and offering to assist in a review of the TFR policy to find a solution that will maintain the level of security needed in a TFR without being overly and unnecessarily restrictive to recreational modelers.
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson AMA President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
