U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-TX, chaired a Congressional hearing in Houston, TX to discuss proposed federal legislation intended to ensure unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will not be used by government agencies for unwarranted surveillance or voyeuristic activity. Representatives from the law enforcement community and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) addressed the congressional panel and responded to their concerns.
Click the link below to read the article in the Houston Chronicle..
Use of drones in community policing ‘unchartered territory’
Rich Hanson
AMA Government and Regulatory Affairs
If you go to the article, there is a picture of a Rep. Michael McCaul holding a picture of a hobby aircraft with the following caption. “U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, displays an example of the kind of remote-controlled aircraft used as drones for surveillance . . .” This is not even a good video platform model but an unstable ducted fan model of a 1960s era jet fighter. This is the kind of total ignorance by people makeing rules that are going to destroy our hobby. I hope AMA will take action to educate this Congressman and others that are pushing for the FAA and other agencies to create legislation that will impact our hobby.