On Thursday, April 11th, Idaho Governor “Butch” Otter signed into law new legislation restricting the use of unmanned aircraft (drones) within the state making Idaho the second state to enact ‘Drone” legislation. It is also the first state to create legislation excluding “model flying airplanes” from the definition of “unmanned aircraft”. The new law […]
Continue readingNH House Tables Bill to Strictly Regulate Aerial Drone Use
Wednesday, 3/27, the New Hampshire House voted 278-8 to table HB 619, effectively killing the legislation forbidding the use of aerial drones in New Hampshire except by government officials with “credible evidence” that there is a high risk of a terrorist attack. It will now take a two-thirds majority vote […]
Continue readingCRS Report: Integration of Drones into Domestic Airspace
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently released its report on the legal issues surrounding the “Integration of Drones into Domestic Airspace”. The report discusses the legal aspects of airspace authority, property rights, trespass, nuisance and personal privacy. The CRS also addressed past and present case law as it relates to […]
Continue readingCivilian Drones in Crosshairs Amid Privacy Worries
Insitu ScanEagle over the airport in Arlington, OR (Don Ryan/AP) With military budgets shrinking, drone makers have been counting on the civilian market to spur the industry’s growth. But, the industry worries that it will be grounded because of public fear that the technology will be misused. Some companies say the […]
Continue readingSenators Examine Domestic Drones’ Effect on Privacy
An opening shot in an expected battle to limit use of domestic drones came Wednesday when 24 civil liberties and privacy organizations submitted a formal petition to U.S. Customs and Border Protection demanding that the agency stop flying 10 unarmed Predator drones along the Mexican and Canadian borders until clear […]
Continue readingWashington State Drone Legislation Dies
A bill recently introduced in the Washington state legislature addressing privacy and civil liberties concerns with the use of drones died before a vote. While the primary reason given was the lack of time to consider the bill due to more pressing issues, there was significant opposition within the state […]
Continue readingTen New States Added to the List of States Taking UAS Legislative Action
The list of states pursuing restrictions on the use of unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS (‘drones’) continues to grow. The Academy’s Government Relations Team has been diligently working to continue to update members on the progression of legislation by posting information on an informational map posted on the AMA’s website: […]
Continue readingWhat Is a Drone, Anyway?
Are traditional model airplanes “drones”? In a word, no. Here’s why: Model airplanes have been around for well over a hundred years and actually predate manned flight. Models have been used for decades to test aircraft design theories and to validate full-scale performance. Some models are small-scale replicas of real […]
Continue readingA New Challenge Faces Model Aviation
Anyone who has been following the FAA’s effort to regulate the operation of small unmanned systems (sUAS) will know that this effort has revolved around safety in the national airspace (NAS). AMA has worked with the FAA, and played a significant role in this effort since the creation of the […]
Continue readingProof… The Spirit and Alure of Aviation Lives On
“Please take a look at this video I found on YouTube. Now that’s what aviation is all about. That young lady’s achievment of solo flying a glider, her spirit, her being brings joy to my heart and hope to my soul.” …Al Mosh Look for the smile on this young […]
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