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.
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NPRM 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.
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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 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
Continue readingSenate Democrats urge FAA bill settlement
The US Senate is urging renewed talks on the FAA re-authorization bill; however, progress continues to be is stymied over labor issues and federal subsidies for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingFAA Workers Return to Work
In a bipartisan move, a deal was struck today to end the FAA shutdown… However, the long-term FAA re-authorization bill is still stalemated over labor issues and federal subsidies for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingFAA’s James Sizemore addresses aeromodeling questions
Should I buy a Turbine? Will model manufacturing be curtailed as a result of the proposed sUAS regulation? These questions are best answered in a video clip from the AMA open membership meeting at Joe Nall Week, 5/12/2011. In response to a member’s question, James Sizemore from the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) addressed these issues in his remarks.
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.
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