We now know that the release of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the small Unmanned Aircraft Systems rule has officially slipped to ‘Spring 2012’. However, there’s still a chance we may see the NPRM sooner rather than later and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the proposed rule […]
Continue readingCategory: sUAS
sUAS NPRM Slips to ‘Spring 2012’
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 […]
Continue readingWe Are Weeks Away from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Most everyone should be aware by now that the FAA is working on developing new regulation aimed at enabling the operation of commercial and public use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace system (NAS). FAA intends to include criteria for recreational UAS (model aircraft) in the new regulation and indications are that this criteria will be significantly more restrictive than the guidelines established in the current advisory circular, AC 91-57. However, the regulation is also expected to include a provision that will allow community based organizations such as the AMA to submit their own set of standards for model aircraft (MA) operations, and if accepted and adopted by the FAA can be used as an alternative means of complying with the UAS regulation. AMA has a workgroup in place that has been developing just such a set of standards, and we are optimistic that these standards will allow aeromodeling operations to continue in the future in much the same way as they have in the past.
Continue readingFAA Works To Get Rule Out Soon
In a recent article on ModelAirplaneNews.com David Vaught reported on FAA’s announced delay in the projected release of the sUAS NPRM. Though the FAA has officially pushed the release date back to February 2012, there is an ongoing effort within the agency to get the rule out as soon as possible. At a recent seminar in San Diego an FAA spokesperson advised there is still a slight chance of getting the rule out in December; however, it is more likely we’ll see the proposed rule shortly after the first of the year.
Continue readingNPRM Delayed
Information just received from the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) indicates the release of the sUAS NPRM has been delayed once again. Due to delays in the internal review process, it’s unlikely the NPRM will meet the previous target date of mid December. The UAPO is now projecting February 2012 as the new release date for the proposed rule.
Continue readingAMA Attends the 2011 AUVSI North America Conference
Information received at the recent AUVSI conference indicates the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for FAA’s proposed regulation for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) is on track for release in mid December 2011. It’s anticipated the new rule will address model aircraft operations and will provide a provision for community based organizations such as the AMA to submit their own set of standards. If adopted, these standards will provide the modeling community an alternative means of complying with the sUAS rule. At this point AMA is hard at work in developing a set of standards aimed at allowing the aeromodeling enthusiasts to continue enjoying the hobby in much the same way as they do today.
AMA is also preparing for the release of the NPRM. Once released there will be a 90-120 day public comment period allowing AMA members and other stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule. AMA is working toward providing its members a simple and effective means for responding to the NPRM. It will also provide analysis and commentary on the impact of the proposed rule and suggestions for improving the rule before the Final sUAS Rule is published in late 2012.
Turning Our Back on Technology is Not The Answer
The advent of unmanned aircraft in the US civil environment brings with it a whole host of societal and cultural issues that go far beyond the concern and perceived need to regulate model airplanes. A recent article on the use of sUAS to do aerial “hacking” and other nefarious activities should make us all pause to consider what’s happening in our National Air Space: https://www.darkreading.com/security/vulnerabilities/231300240/index.html
Continue readingGPS, Safety Board, and No Fly Zone Issues
General aviation (GA) safety has made the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) top 10 most-wanted list for 2011. AOPA takes exception with the board’s findings.
Read the full article here from Aviation Week.
National spotlight getting bright on Model Aviation and FAA’s proposed sUAS regulation
Aeromodeling, AMA, and the FAA were subjects of a couple high profile international publications including today’s front-page Wall Street Journal, and a more troubling article on FPV in the latest issue of the Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine.
Continue readingsUAS Rulemaking Updates
On May 12th representatives of FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) attended the Joe Nall fly-in at the Triple Tree Aerodrome and met with the attendees at the AMA annual meeting. For the most part they appeared very impressed with the professional manner in which the event was conducted and the level of safety achieved at the various venues and concurrent MA operations.
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