President's Perspective-2012/11

As I am writing this in September,
much of my focus has been
on a long-awaited meeting
between James Williams, manager of
the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
Integration Offi ce (the restructured
Unmanned Aircraft Program Offi ce),
Bill Crozier, other FAA offi cials, AMA
Executive Director Dave Mathewson,
our Government and Regulatory
Affairs Representative Rich Hanson,
and me to discuss Public Law 112-
95, the proposed Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, and its consequences for
model aviation.
AMA’s position is that Public Law
112-95, passed by Congress and signed
into law by President Barack Obama
in February 2012, exempts model
aircraft from regulation provided certain
safety criteria is met and the activity
is conducted within the auspices of a
community-based safety program.
We provided the FAA representatives
with a copy of the AMA Safety Program
and asked that it be recognized as
complying with congressional intent.
We suggested that a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) to identify AMA
as a community-based organization as
described in the law again be considered.
The intent of this document would
be to defi ne the criteria for enacting the
model aviation provision and create a
liaison between the AMA and the FAA
aimed at maintaining safe aeromodeling
operations within the National
Airspace System (NAS).
Staff members from the
UAS Integration Offi ce voiced
concern regarding Congress’s
approach, stating conformity
with federal law requires
a regulatory approach to
maintaining the safety of the NAS. They
expressed their belief that management
of model aircraft activity should be
handled through a set of consensusbased
standards accepted, adopted, and
established through an FAA-published
Notice of Applicability.
Ultimately the FAA representatives
agreed to review the AMA Safety
Program and to consider establishing an
MOU. Nothing defi nitive was decided,
but the FAA committed to replying to
the issues in 30 to 45 days.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle
Systems International (AUVSI) is the
representative organization for the
commercial global unmanned systems
and robotics community. While in
Washington, Rich Hanson, and I met
with representatives of the organization
to develop a basic understanding of each
other’s programs.
Although the AUVSI represents
a slightly different community of
unmanned aviation, it is obvious that we
should look into coordinating our efforts.
I had a positive meeting with FAI
President Dr. John Grubbström and
FAI Executive Director Bob Henderson
during the International Radio
Controlled Helicopter Association
(IRCHA) Jamboree in August. Our
discussions focused on the need for
the FAI to provide more value for its
members outside of the competition and
record arena. The IRCHA extravaganza
illustrated the enthusiasm and value of
noncompetitive events.
The FAI is beginning to recognize the
need for diversifi cation and now has a
shareholder company in Switzerland
named FAI Air Sports Marketing and
Events SA (FAME). This new company
will allow the FAI to respond more
quickly and effi ciently to requests for
new or special competitions from host
cities and FAI Air Sports Commissions.
FAME will provide the services and
assistance needed to develop new events.
Other FAI-related items, including
education, were discussed. The FAI
views the AMA education program
as being outstanding, fulfi lling the
instructional needs throughout the
world.
Perhaps the most rewarding event
of the meeting was the recognition of
the National Model Aviation Museum.
Dr. Grubbström will fi le the necessary
applications to the FAI for the
museum to be nominated as an FAIrecommended
museum. Both offi cials
were impressed by our efforts with
our government advocacy, education
programs, and our membership
processing department.
Until next time …