AMA IN ACTION Advocating for Members

Randy Willis, of the FAA At a recent IACP presentation about law enforcement’s use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), Randy Willis, an FAA air traffic control specialist, laid out an approximate timetable for the establishment of six sUAS test sites across the country. Mr. Willis noted that FAA personnel are currently […]

Outback Joe’s all set to go missing … but never fear, UAS is here! There are literally thousands of potential uses for civil and public use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), but some of the most compelling arguments center on their use in humanitarian missions. UAS can be an indispensible tool […]

Carlsbad, CA gets a visit from the only flying B-24 Liberator *bomber*  left anywhere in the world of the roughly 18,000 built. (There is one cargo B-24 flying.) The B-24 was WWII’s most widely used big bomber and was notably involved in the infamous Ploesti raid. This is the Collings […]

Though UAS may be the future of aviation, please remember those past and present who made it possible. Rich Hanson AMA Government and Regulatory Affairs

Looking to learn more about the commercial and public use world of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and the issues involved in integrating UAS into the national airspace? AOPA has developed an online course aimed at debunking the myths and creating an awareness within general aviation regarding the issues involved in integrating […]

U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced today the formation of the Senate Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Caucus. The mission of the bipartisan caucus will be to […]

On Sep 6th, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report entitled, “Drones in Domestic Surveillance Operations: Fourth Amendment Implications and Legislative Responses”. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures and the CRS report assesses the Fourth Amendment implications relating to the use […]

This event started as trash talk between two contributors to a national security blog. They decided to host a drone “smackdown” to see if one guy’s machine could take down another. Ben Wittes, architect of the event, is the founder of a national security blog called “Lawfare” and a Senior […]

John Villasenor has written several articles on the issues surrounding the introduction of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace and has espoused the distinction between recreational model aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles dubbed as “drones” by the national media. John is a professor at UCLA and a nonresident senior fellow at […]

On Sep 14th, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report on the progress to integrate UAS into the national airspace. This report updates an earlier report published in 2008. In addition to evaluating FAA’s progress on UAS integration, the report also addresses several over unresolved issues including security and […]