In a recent meeting with representatives of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Program Office, it was learned that publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) rule has again been delayed by several months. Going into the 2011/2012 holiday season we believed that the […]
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FAA Administrator Resigns after DUI
Deputy administrator Michael Huerta is now at the helm of the FAA following Randy Babbitt’s resignation. It’s likely a new administrator will not be appointed until after the 2012 election which means Mr. Huerta will be in charge throughout the sUAS NPRM review and Final Rule process.
Read more at the Washington Post
Continue readingLawmaker Predicts Congress Will Reach Accord on Aviation Funding
Breathing life into the stalled FAA Reauthorization Bill… After meeting with his counterpart in the Senate on Tuesday, House Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica remains optimistic that Congress will break a stalemate over critical aviation funding before the current spending plan expires at year’s end.
Continue readingIt Depends Upon Who You Talk To
It appears political posturing is ramping up as the stalled FAA Reauthorization Bill is once again headed toward a shutdown of the FAA. In a recent meeting of the Aero Club of Washington, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate’s transportation committee, accused the GOP of stubbornly holding up the bill in favor of one airline’s fight to stave off the unionization of its work force, and deemed it unlikely that Congress would resolve the bitter deadlock over long-term federal funding for aviation this year.
Continue readingFAA expects to land $5.4B in stopgap funds
Members of Congress appear poised to bring to the floor a bill that will temporarily extend FAA funding through January 2012. The ease with which this tempoary measure is moving forward could pave the way for a resolution this Fall for the long-term FAA Re-Authorization Bill
Read the full article on Politico.com
Continue readingSenate Democrats urge FAA bill settlement
The US Senate is urging renewed talks on the FAA re-authorization bill; however, progress continues to be is stymied over labor issues and federal subsidies for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingFAA Workers Return to Work
In a bipartisan move, a deal was struck today to end the FAA shutdown… However, the long-term FAA re-authorization bill is still stalemated over labor issues and federal subsidies for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingFAA’s James Sizemore addresses aeromodeling questions
Should I buy a Turbine? Will model manufacturing be curtailed as a result of the proposed sUAS regulation? These questions are best answered in a video clip from the AMA open membership meeting at Joe Nall Week, 5/12/2011. In response to a member’s question, James Sizemore from the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) addressed these issues in his remarks.
Continue readingFAA shutdown likely to continue into September
Read reports from USA Today and MSNBC about FAA funding and re-authorization stalled over labor issues and funding for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingCongress Reconvenes to Complete the FAA Re-Authorization Act
After a two week spring break, Congress reconvenes this week and will take up the work of completing the FAA Re-Authorization Act. Both the Senate Bill (S. 223) and the House Bill (H.R. 658) have passed their respective houses and have been sent to Conference Committee for reconciliation. The Senate has officially called for a conference on the legislation and has named its conferees. The House is expected to respond to the request this week. The AMA remains hopeful that the model aviation exemption provided in the Senate version of the bill will be accepted and moved into the final bill.
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