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Continue readingNoise Ordinance Repealed For One Community
Score One for Model Aviation – The Mat-Su Borough Assembly in Wasilla, AK recently voted unanimously to repeal a section of its code that restricted the sound limit for model aircraft. The limit set in 2008 was unrealisticly low and effectively eliminated MA from all residential and noise-sensitive areas. Click the following link and read the article in the “Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.”
Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Article
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 Speaks Out in Response to the Plan to Use MA as a Terrorist Weapon
ABC affiliate KSAT in San Antonio Texas discusses the recent threat with Mark Smith, Interim President of the Academy of Model Aeronomics.
Continue readingTwo Calls To Action From The Industry
Our partners in aviation (AOPA/EAA) need your support… Please sign the White House petition to dump the GA user-fee plan. We’re looking for 10,000 sigs by the end of the week!
Continue readingMember Feedback
In regards to your October column, Drones vs. Model Airplanes, I can’t agree with you more. The advances in electronics and miniaturization in the modeling industry represent a paradigm shift on how we will be operating remote controlled vehicles from now on.
Continue readingMan Accused of Plotting Attack with Model Aircraft
A Massachusetts man was arrested yesterday and was charged with plotting to convert model aircraft into explosive laden military drones to launch an attack on Washington, DC. He also converted and supplied undercover agents with at least 7 cell phones to be used as remotely operated detonators for improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This scheme did not emanate from within the modeling community. This was not an aeromodeling enthusiasts. This was a terrorist bent on improvising a weapon of war from legitimate technology for his own horrific purposes.
Continue readingMember Feedback
In a recent Letter to the AMA Model Aviation Editor, AMA member Frank Phelps from Spring Hill, FL presented some thought provoking insight to the small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) rulemaking issue…
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
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