Recently the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate both released their draft versions of FAA Reauthorization. In these bills, AMA was successful in securing higher altitudes in uncontrolled airspace, clarifying large model aircraft operations, and providing additional protections for educational UAS operations. However, AMA’s work isn’t done. […]
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Drone Safety Day Events
On April 29, 2023, explore drone safety events in the community and industry during the fifth consecutive Drone Safety Day! Launched in 2019, Drone Safety Day is an annual campaign dedicated to increasing awareness on the importance of practicing safe drone operations. Your passion for ensuring that drone operators can […]
Continue readingOregon State Parks Proposes New Rules for Drones and Model Aircraft
Oregon State Parks has just released new proposed rules for drones and model aircraft. The proposed rules would enable users to fly freely throughout Oregon State Parks, rather than being restricted to designated “drone zones.” The rules would also create no-fly zones in areas such as campgrounds, wildlife-safe zones, and […]
Continue readingAMA Opposes Missouri House Bill 1619
The Missouri House of Representatives recently proposed House Bill (HB) 1619, which would essentially criminalize capturing photos and/or videos of an individual in a public setting with a UAS. Although AMA agrees that individual privacy is important, we feel HB 1619 is too restrictive in its attempt to protect said […]
Continue readingRepresentative John Cyrier Proposes New Bill in Texas
On March 9, 2021, Representative John Cyrier (R-Texas) introduced House Bill No. 3403. The bill proposes that it be a criminal offense to fly any unmanned aircraft outside of the direct line of sight of the operator, above unauthorized private property, attempts to set altitude restrictions, and imposes a fee […]
Continue readingDrone Safety Awareness Week
On November 16-22, 2020, AMA will participate in the FAA’s Drone Safety Awareness Week. Drone Safety Awareness Week will engage UAS users and other stakeholders to help educate the public about drone operations and safety. AMA has scheduled events during the week for our clubs and the public to attend […]
Continue readingAMA Leads FAA Drone Advisory Committee Sub-Group
In February 2020, the FAA asked the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) for ways to help the drone community to fully adopt the safety culture that is ingrained in manned aviation. In response, the DAC formed four subgroups to provide recommendations for manned operators, recreational UAS operators, small commercial UAS operators, […]
Continue readingAirspace Classification
There are two broad classifications of airspace: controlled and uncontrolled. Class A, B, C, D, and E are categorized as controlled airspace. Class G is uncontrolled airspace. Class G airspace extends from the surface to the base of the overlying Class E airspace. New recreational UAS operating requirements state that to operate in controlled […]
Continue readingSafety Risk Management Process for Controlled Airspace
The AMA Government Affairs team has been working with clubs that are in controlled airspace to secure Letters of Agreement (LOA) for their flying sites. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 requires all flying sites within controlled airspace to have a LOA with air traffic control (ATC) facilities. Throughout the past year, AMA has been working with a team within the […]
Continue readingAMA Government Affairs Update 5/22/2020
The AMA Government Affairs team continues to work with Congress and the FAA despite the ongoing pandemic.We have been able to conduct telephone meetings and participate in virtual video conferencing in order to continue our efforts to advocate for the hobby. In the past few weeks, we have seen developments […]
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