AMA IN ACTION Advocating for Members

November 9th, Air Force officials briefed Capitol Hill staffers on the possibility of locating a “Remote Split Operations Squadron” at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. This would be a much-sought new mission for the 107th Airlift Wing which the Pentagon proposed shuttering last spring. Though the change of mission […]

In May 2011, would-be terrorist Rezwan Ferdaus of Asland, Mass. planned to convert a radio control model aircraft into a weaponized drone and fly it into the US Capitol building. The FBI learned of his suspicious activity through contacts in the aeromodeling community and ultimately arrested Ferdaus before he could […]

U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-TX, chaired a Congressional hearing in Houston, TX to discuss proposed federal legislation intended to ensure unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will not be used by government agencies for unwarranted surveillance or voyeuristic activity. Representatives from the law enforcement community and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems […]

The “FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012” signed into law as Public Law 112-95 in February 2012, contains a “Special Rule for Model Aircraft”. The language in this provision instructs the FAA Administrator to not enact rules affecting model aircraft activity conducted within the safety programming of a nationwide […]

As reported by Central District News… SPD’s public display of their Draganflyer X6 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (AKA “drone”) Thursday at Garfield Community Center was supposed to give people a chance to see the camera-toting remote-piloted helicopter in person and give residents the chance to ask questions about how it would […]

A team of participants from Rocket University is building a fuel cell-powered unmanned aerial vehicle and support systems to perform missions such as wildlife surveillance around the expansive Kennedy Space Center. Michael Dupuis previously worked on the space shuttles’ fuel cell systems and is now leading the unmanned aerial systems group’s […]

Members of Congress influential on aviation matters have asked an independent government watchdog to review whether the Federal Aviation Administration is making progress on meeting Congress’ mandate to develop a plan for managing the growth and integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace. In 2010 an FAA official reported […]

It’s a great question and the basic answer is yes… However… Aeromodeling enthusiasts have mounted cameras on their model aircraft for years and taken aerial photographs of the local flying site, their backyard and even themselves as they remotely operate their aircraft, and the ability to do so still exists […]

This is a very interesting question… the answer to which is not as simple as you might imagine. The issue of property/privacy rights vs. access to the public airways is extremely complicated. Over the years the decisions on this issue in state and federal courts have differed as new technologies […]

A Canberra team has won $10,000 for developing an un-manned aerial vehicle (UAV) which could help rescue stranded bushwalkers. Team Leader Stephen Dade and his team ‘Canberra UAV’ claimed first prize at the Outback Rescue Challenge after their UAV successfully located a dummy bushwalker. The team of 10 amateurs worked […]