President’s Perspective
I'm sure the cover of this month's MA got your attention. That is the intent. The question on the cover is reasonable for model aviation enthusiasts to ask. The small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) regulatory process continues to move forward, and in a few short months the FAA will release its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) detailing the proposed rule and opening the subject for public comment.
As we near the public comment period, it's imperative that aeromodeling enthusiasts become aware of the issues at stake and the challenges that lie ahead. It is imperative that we make our congressional representatives aware of our concerns and mindful of the potential detriment unnecessary regulations will have on a meaningful and viable recreational activity.
AMA has been at the table since the onset of the proposed rulemaking process in early 2008. We are committed to continuing to work directly with the FAA in an effort to safeguard the interests of the aeromodeling community and to ensure the future of model aviation.
A clear, compelling case for regulating model aircraft has yet to be made. It is essential that our elected representatives be enlightened to the crucial nature of this issue and the societal benefits of model aviation.
Please read the feature article in this magazine covering this subject and visit our Government Relations web page at www.modelaircraft.org/gov. The site provides background material and information about how to contact your representatives assertively and respectfully. What follows is some of the important background information.
Where have we been and how are things going?
For the past nearly two years, since the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committee's (ARC's) recommendations were released to the public, AMA has been developing a set of standards that, once adopted by the FAA, will allow modelers who follow these standards some latitude from the restrictions anticipated in the (default) rule.
The FAA is prohibited from discussing the contents of the NPRM until it is released for public comment; no one outside of the FAA knows exactly what will be in the rule. This has created a challenge for our workgroup that is developing AMA's standards. The members are being asked to piece together part of a puzzle and make it fit a complete puzzle without the luxury of seeing any of its other pieces.
This has been a difficult, and at times frustrating, process. If you've followed my columns for the past year, this is evident, especially in the November 2010 issue. I wrote that column in September after we had returned from a meeting with members of the Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) in Washington, DC. From AMA's perspective, it was not a particularly good meeting.
Since then things have improved considerably. Shortly after the meeting, there was a change in the UAPO staff working with AMA, which marked an improvement in communication between the two groups.
We have received more help and guidance from the primary UAPO staff members working with AMA—James Sizemore and Lynn Spencer—in the last few months than we have from the UAPO in the past year and a half.
James and Lynn traveled from Washington, DC to California for a two-day meeting with our workgroup before the AMA Expo, and a tremendous amount of progress was made. They participated in an open discussion forum, speaking directly to our members and answering their questions. This new level of engagement has helped significantly.
What are the AMA standards that will be submitted to the FAA, and who is developing them?
AMA's standards are primarily composed of documents we've had in place for years. The foundation of our work is the AMA Safety Code and its supplemental documents, including our Turbine Waiver Program and our Large Model Aircraft Program.
Several other documents are being drafted that will serve as supporting guidance to ensure safety in our operations. Additionally, the FAA has identified several areas of concern that it would like to see addressed in our standards. All of these issues reflect the FAA's obligation to ensure safety in the NAS.
Our intent is that our standards will be adopted and combined with the rule; modelers who comply with both will continue to operate much as they do today. Our intent is to preserve all model aviation activities. We advocate for each of our members, regardless of modeling discipline.
AMA's standards workgroup comprises a diverse cross-section of the model aviation community. Each member is an acknowledged expert in his chosen discipline and has worked tirelessly on the process.
Meetings, weekly hours-long conference calls, and countless e-mails have been the norm for this group. A list of the members of the workgroup, along with their short biographies, can be found on the AMA web site.
When the standards draft is complete, it will be vetted by the model aviation community including manufacturers, distributors, retailers, AMA SIGs, the modeling media (both electronic and print), and our members. There will be an opportunity for everyone to comment before the standards are eventually submitted to the FAA for consideration. In essence, AMA will be conducting its own NPRM.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
