We are pleased to share with you that earlier this week, AMA led the first stakeholder meeting on recreational UAS regulations in conjunction with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). In the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Congress directed the FAA to work with industry stakeholders to implement the new provisions. This week’s meeting was an important step toward advising the FAA with the best approach to move forward.
The following statement is attributed to Tyler Dobbs, Government Affairs Director of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), and Doug Johnson, Vice President, Technology Policy, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), regarding the first stakeholder meeting on federal regulations for recreational unmanned aerial systems (UAS):
“Regulations for recreational drone operators should be easy for the public to understand and rigorous enough to ensure safety. We are proud to have led the first meeting of stakeholders to help the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) craft this exact approach. At the meeting we also discussed safety and knowledge tests for recreational model aircraft and drone operators, and the process for recognizing community-based organizations. We look forward to working with the recreational drone community and the FAA to strike the appropriate balance between innovation and safety.”
The meeting took place on Tuesday, April 23 in Arlington, VA. In addition to AMA and CTA, the following groups were in attendance: The Toy Association, the University of California, Fresh Air Educators, Flite Test, MultiGP, UASidekick, the Drone User Group (DUG), the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Horizon Hobby, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the Alliance for Drone Innovation (ADI) and the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP).
We will continue to take a leading role in crafting these new regulations for the recreational UAS community, and keep you updated along the way. Thank you for your continued support of AMA. As always, please reach out with any questions at amagov@modelaircraft.org.
Kind regards,
AMA Government Affairs Team
