This is where MA and AMA shine bright. AMA is working directly with EAA in a partnership program that will tie EAA Young Eagles to AMA’s educational programs and our local clubs. Interested? Contact AMA Education Director, Bill Pritchett, at: billp@modelaircraft.org for more details…
Continue readingAMA’s host city newspaper weighs in
The Muncie StarPress, AMA’s host city newspaper weighs in… Click the link below to read an article, editorial and related comments on the AMA, model aviation and government regulations.
Continue readingNational 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.
Continue readingCongress Reconvenes to Complete the FAA Re-Authorization Act
After a two week spring break, Congress reconvenes this week and will take up the work of completing the FAA Re-Authorization Act. Both the Senate Bill (S. 223) and the House Bill (H.R. 658) have passed their respective houses and have been sent to Conference Committee for reconciliation. The Senate has officially called for a conference on the legislation and has named its conferees. The House is expected to respond to the request this week. The AMA remains hopeful that the model aviation exemption provided in the Senate version of the bill will be accepted and moved into the final bill.
Continue readingConference Committee to Consider Language to Protect Model Aircraft
The political process of creating legislation is more of an art than a science, and the fact that H.R. 658 does not include an exemption for model aviation (MA) does not necessarily mean there wasn’t support for such an amendment. Quite honestly there is a significant amount of backing in the House for our issues, and numerous Representatives have come forward with pledges of support and offers to assist in protecting MA from onerous regulation.
Continue readingHouse approves (H.R. 658)
No April Fools…
Yesterday, 4/1, the House voted 223-196 to approve the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act (H.R. 658). The bill would reauthorize the FAA’s operations and programs for four years, at an overall funding level of $59.7 billion. The House bill essentially rolls back FAA spending authorization to 2008 levels. The House bill does not include an amendment mirroring the one included in S. 223 which exempts modeling activity conducted in accordance with a community-based set of guidelines from regulation.
Continue readingWhere Do We Go From Here
As AMA’s Congressional Awareness Campaign draws to a close, it’s reassuring to know that the AMA membership and the modeling community responded quickly and decisively to AMA’s call for action. Tens of thousands of modeling enthusiasts, supporters and aeromodeling stakeholders responded and made their concerns known to their elected officials. Members of Congress responded with dozens of letters of support and pledges to advocate for the hobby. Local and national media were alerted to our issues and hard-hitting articles were presented that questioned the need for such overreaching regulation.
Continue readingWhy…?
This is probably the single most prevalent question posed by the aeromodeling enthusiast when discussing the inclusion of model airplanes in the proposed small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) regulation. Why is it necessary to regulate model aviation?
Continue readingOur Message is Being Heard
Over the past two weeks tens of thousands of AMA members and model aviation supporters have written over 80,000 individual letters to members of Congress expressing their concern regarding FAA’s intent to regulate model aircraft, and there are clear signs that our message is being heard. Scores of Congressmen have responded to their constituents with letters of understanding and support. Below are excerpts from a few of the letters sent from Capitol Hill. Though an amendment protecting model aviation has not yet been introduced into H.R. 658, we now have several supporters in the House and at this point the legislative process is taking its course. Last Thursday the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act was sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary and is expected to return to the floor next week. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees, but at this point we are seeing positive movement in the House of Representatives and we are optimistic that Congress will act to protect model aviation from unnecessary and potentially debilitating federal regulation.
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