Drones and privacy concerns
Bob Brown
The New York City area has been the focus of a recent event. A drone flying near a full-scale aircraft on approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport was highlighted on television and in national newspapers. The irresponsible person guilty of this certainly created a black day for modelers.
Unfortunately, there are people in society who lack common sense and disregard authority. The Academy is spending countless hours and dollars attempting to negate this unhappy situation.
The question of privacy and legislation to protect it has exploded in the past month. As I am writing this column, 35 states have some type of legislative proposals that could affect model aviation. Most of the problem lies in the fact that the public does not know where and how members of the Academy fly.
Also problematic are recent media reports focused on the use of drones within our country. Although the issues are centered on privacy, each state is unique and must be handled individually.
We have been able to positively respond in several states. However, each AMA member may be asked to assist in representing the hobby. The states involved in pending legislation are indicated on the map on this AMA website: http://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov/drone-legislation.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
