View from HQ - 2015/06

The following
was published
April 13, 2015,
in newspaper The
Hill. A complete
and comprehensive
source of
Congressional news,
The Hill is read
by opinion leaders, including 100% of
Congressional offices, the White House,
political pundits, association executives,
lobbyists, and corporate leaders.
“Drones are everywhere—flying
in TV ads, helping film the latest
Hollywood blockbusters, inspecting
bridges and pipelines, and, of course,
they’re a hot topic in Washington.
As policymakers work to manage this
technology, they should be careful not
to put a longstanding, educational and
family oriented hobby at risk.
“Hobbyists have flown model
aircraft—sometimes referred to as
unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)—
since well before manned aviation.
And with over 100 years of experience
comes a long history of safe and
responsible flying. In 1936, twentytwo
years before the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) was created,
the Academy of Model Aeronautics
(AMA) first began developing its
community-based safety and flight
training programs. Today, these
safety guidelines have evolved to
accommodate new technologies, new
modeling disciplines, and a diverse
community of more than 176,000
members that safely enjoy this fun,
educational hobby. Model aviation
enthusiasts span from 6 to 96 years old.
“In the FAA Modernization and
Reform Act of 2012, Congress
recognized the effectiveness of this
community-based approach and
prohibited the FAA from creating
‘any rule or regulation’ to manage
this community. By no means, did
Congress intend to give hobbyists a
free pass. Instead, it left risk mitigation
and the development of appropriate
safety guidelines for the operation of
model aircraft devices to communitybased
organizations, like AMA.
“AMA strongly supports protecting
individual privacy and prosecuting
intentionally careless and reckless
behavior. But it’s also important for
policymakers to understand that
banning or placing further restrictions
on the hobbyist community, which
has been flying safely for 80 years, is
not the way to prevent instances of
irresponsible flying.
“Through AMA’s years of
experience, we’ve found that
education—not regulation—is the best
and most effective way to manage
the recreational community. Our
robust safety programs, implemented
throughout our 2,400 clubs in the
United States, hold AMA members
accountable to a high standard of
safety, responsibility and privacy. They
are the reason for our longstanding
and stellar safety record.
“Still, we recognize that newcomers
to the hobby might not yet be
involved with AMA or an AMA club.
To help educate more recreational
flyers, AMA cofounded the Know
Before You Fly campaign along with
the Association for Unmanned Vehicle
Systems International (AUVSI),
the Small UAV Coalition and in
partnership with the FAA. Together,
we’re working with manufacturers to
include in their packaging information
about where to fly, where not to fly
and how to operate UAS responsibly.
We want these safety guidelines to be
the first thing consumers read when
they’re getting ready to fly.
“For many of these recreational
users, flying model aircraft is more
than a hobby. It’s a stepping stone
to promising careers. Many famous
aviators, including astronauts Neil
Armstrong, Robert ‘Hoot’ Gibson,
aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan and
pilot Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger,
were influenced by model aircraft at a
young age.
“In support of this, AMA and
our thousands of clubs are involved
in numerous science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM)
projects throughout the country. Our
members understand model aviation
is fertile ground for the innovations
that will one day be the future of this
technology. We must be careful to
protect this hobby if the U.S. is to
remain the leader in the industry.
“As interest in drones continues,
Washington policymakers are rightly
focused on how to ensure safe airspace
for everyone. AMA and its members
are also committed to maintaining
safety and we have a time-proven,
community-based system that works.
“Congress should hear out
the advice and concerns of our
community, and together we can work
toward a brighter future for all flyers.
We look forward to working with
policymakers who want to protect
our hobby and learn from our safety
model.”