President's Perspective - 2012/03

6 Model Aviation March 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
as CL Subcommittee Chairman for 33
years will never be matched.
Doc is also known throughout
the world for his expertise in the
field of genetics. He was recently
published in the New England Journal
of Medicine. Although he maintains
a busy professional schedule, he
has agreed to continue to assist the
Academy. Thanks again!
The Expo was also the site of the
AMA Executive Council meeting. The
current council is certainly a group
of professional men who are highly
capable of providing direction for the
Academy. I am sure the teamwork of
the membership, AMA Headquarters,
and the council will allow the Academy
to prosper.
The FAI budget for 2012 was
approved during the meeting. The
Council has no desire for the Academy
to become an isolationist within the
aeromodeling world; however, the
FAI philosophy has to be modified
to incorporate the needs of everyone.
Focus has to be on eliminating archaic
thoughts and activity and becoming a
benefit to all. I will be meeting with
other air sports groups within the
National Aeronautic Association (NAA)
to initiate a catalyst on our behalf.
District VIII VP Jim Rice and his wife,
Linda, presented a check for $2,500 to
the AMA Scholarship Fund. This muchappreciated
donation was generated
from proceeds from the 11th Annual
J.H. Rice Memorial Fly-In.
Would it be possible for your club to
establish a goal to do something similar
this year?
Establish a goal for your club
president’s perspective
Bob Brown, AMA President
[email protected]
The new year is still in its infancy
and the Academy has been busy.
The FAA issue is paramount in
every modeler’s mind. AMA is spending
an unbelievable amount of time and
money on the problem. I am confident
that those involved have every member
of the Academy included in their
thoughts.
A short synopsis of my activities
during the past month include several
days at AMA Headquarters; aligning
the mechanics of our FAA awareness
plan; attending weekly Model Aircraft
Standards workgroup meetings; meeting
with representatives of the FAA; and
narrating a forum between the FAA and
our membership at the AMA Expo.
Considering all of this activity, one has
to realize that constant changes within
schedules appear. In the past several
weeks, we thought the FAA Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would
be released sometime during January
or February. However, “unanticipated
issues requiring further analysis” have
created an additional delay.
We project that the NPRM will be
released sometime in the spring of
2012. When it is released, the Academy
will advise members of the specific
direction needed for reaction. Please
update your contact information on the
AMA website at www.modelaircraft.
org/profile.aspx.
A forum was held with the FAA at
the AMA Expo. This forum included
Lynn Spencer, FAA’s Unmanned
Aircraft Systems Safety/Standards
Leader; James Sizemore, Team Leader
of the FAA Airworthiness and System
Engineering; Rich Hanson, AMA’s
Government Relations and Regulatory
Affairs Representative; and myself.
The forum included a synopsis of the
AMA/FAA activities and a questionand-
answer session. The Academy
has placed a video of the forum on
our website at www.modelaircraft.
org/aboutama/gov.aspx and on
YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/
modelaircraft?feature=watch.
AMA Expo 2012
Everyone who attended this year’s
Expo appeared to enjoy it. Members
of AMA’s Executive Council spent
considerable time meeting with the
membership. AMA Executive Vice
President Gary Fitch, District X Vice
President (VP) Lawrence Tougas, and I
spoke with members waiting in line to
enter the show.
Several people asked why we were
doing this. The simple answer is,
“Without knowing your desires, how
can we represent you?” Incidentally,
next year we hope to reduce the length
of the lines.
A thank-you is in order to the
speakers at the show. Their diversified
topics provided information for several
interests.
I took great pleasure in presenting the
Hall of Fame plaque to the family of
Bill Young. Bill was certainly a deserving
recipient.
Jonathan Gaffney, the president
and CEO of the National Aeronautic
Association, and I presented Dr.
Laird “Doc” Jackson with the FAI
Aeromodelling Gold Medal. Doc and
I have been great friends for several
decades and I took much pleasure in
presenting him with this prestigious
award. Doc’s knowledge and efforts Bob Brown (L) and NAA President Jonathon
Gaffney (R) award Dr. Laird Jackson with the FAI
Aeromodelling Gold Medal.