AMA - FAA AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION

[Chris]

From: R R [mailto:gjc02790@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 12:27 AM
To: All Club Members
Subject: AMA - FAA AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION
Importance: High

Hello All,

Well as discussed at the December meeting the FAA has issued its long awaited ruling on the registration of model aircraft. As this news is just breaking there are still so many unanswered questions and instead of raising alarm here in our own club, my suggestion is that we discuss this in detail at the January 2016 meeting. I would advise though that each and every member receiving this email log on to the AMA's website and educate themselves with the new regulation and process that will now for sure take place sooner than later. Please prepare questions that you may have and we will try to answer them or get them answered as to leave no one in the dark on this very important matter. The majority of member feedback that I have received so far is one of frustration and I can completely understand that some as do I believe that this is an infringement on a hobby which is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. We know what the short term goal of the AMA/FAA is, but the biggest unknown is where all this is going? As I mentioned at the December meeting the only way that we can ease this regulation is to try to stay one step ahead of it. Although the preliminary registration fee is a minimal $5.00, no one has made it clear to me what is the penalty if a member does not register? what will the ongoing role of the AMA be? does the FAA now have jurisdiction over model aircraft? and many other unanswered questions that will arise. So this is just an FYI email not an alarm to rush to your computers and register anything!! Lets collectively as a club take this one step at a time and see what the next few weeks brings and have an open constructive discussion about this and a game plan at the January meeting. Chris Ferreira has posted a link on the clubs website http://www.bristolcountyrc.org/ for everyone to easily access all this information.

Thanks,

Gary C.
BCRCC President

[Neons]

This is a copy of an email I received today from our club President. 12/17/2015
I pasted it here for you to read.
Bob P.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello All,

Below, please see updated information from the AMA concerning the recent Aircraft Registration decision, Please be respectful and do not send a barrage of emails out to other members.

Thanks Again

Gary C.

BCRCC President

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear AMA Members,


Yesterday, the AMA Executive Council unanimously approved an action plan to relieve and further protect our members from unnecessary and burdensome regulations. This plan addresses the recently announced interim rule requiring federal registration of all model aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds.

AMA has long used a similar registration system with our members, which we pointed out during the task force deliberations and in private conversations with the FAA. As you are aware, AMA's safety program instructs all members to place his or her AMA number or name and address on or within their model aircraft, effectively accomplishing the safety and accountability objectives of the interim rule. AMA has also argued that the new registration rule runs counter to Congress' intent in Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, otherwise known as the "Special Rule for Model Aircraft."

The Council is considering all legal and political remedies to address this issue. We believe that resolution to the unnecessary federal registration rule for our members rests with AMA's petition before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This petition, filed in August 2014, asks the court to review the FAA's interpretation of the "Special Rule for Model Aircraft." The central issue is whether the FAA has the authority to expand the definition of aircraft to include model aircraft; thus, allowing the agency to establish new standards and operating criteria to which model aircraft operators have never been subject to in the past.

In promulgating its interim rule for registration earlier this week, the FAA repeatedly stated that model aircraft are aircraft, despite the fact that litigation is pending on this very question. The Council believes the FAA's reliance on its interpretation of Section 336 for legal authority to compel our members to register warrants the Court's immediate attention to AMA's petition.

While we continue to believe that registration makes sense at some threshold and for flyers operating outside of a community-based organization or flying for commercial purposes, we also strongly believe our members are not the problem and should not have to bear the burden of additional regulations. Safety has been the cornerstone of our organization for 80 years and AMA's members strive to be a part of the solution.

As we proceed with this process, we suggest AMA members hold off on registering their model aircraft with the FAA until advised by the AMA or until February 19, the FAA's legal deadline for registering existing model aircraft.

Holding off on registration will allow AMA time to fully consider all possible options. On a parallel track, it also allows AMA to complete ongoing conversations with the FAA about how best to streamline the registration process for our members.

In the near future, we will also be asking our members to make their voices heard by submitting comments to the FAA's interim rule on registration. We will follow-up soon with more detailed information on how to do this.

Thank you for your continued support of AMA. We will provide you with more updates as they become available.

Kind regards,


The AMA Executive Council

Bob Brown, AMA President
Gary Fitch, AMA Executive Vice President
Andy Argenio, AMA Vice President, District I
Eric Williams, AMA Vice President, District II
Mark Radcliff, AMA Vice President, District III
Jay Marsh, AMA Vice President, District IV
Kris Dixon, AMA Vice President, District V
Randy Cameron, AMA Vice President, District VI
Tim Jesky, AMA Vice President, District VII
Mark Johnston, AMA Vice President, District VIII
Jim Tiller, AMA Vice President, District IX
Lawrence Tougas, AMA Vice President, District X
Chuck Bower, AMA Vice President, District XI

[Neons]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... l-networks

The FAA greatly exaggerated and outright lied about "close calls."

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format ... %2F%2F.pdf

This is what companies like amazon and best buy wanted to do to our skies:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/28/90582 ... very-drone

What the FAA and DOT are proposing are ILLEGAL according to the 2012 Modernization and Reform Act.

http://dronelawjournal.com/

You can expect many legal challenges to these rule proposals after Dec.21,2015. They will start charging $5 after Feb 19, 2016

If you are planning to register, keep in mind that its only $5. I would not rush into this just to save a few bucks.Even the free no charge requires you to register a credit card.

[Neons]

This is a AMA/Gov FAA comments page. It is posting talks and events as they come in to AMA. Be aware the FAA’s current action has caused an additional 14 AMA-chartered clubs in the D.C. metro area to shut down operations, despite our organization’s 80-year history of responsible flying.

On another note, hold off on any registrations with the FAA rules. There are now reports of hack web sites that look like the FAA reg sites. They are taking your money and stealing private info on you and your credit card information. If you get caught in a scam and they use your info. Lot's of luck to you.

http://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov ... /#comments

Another link came in today with the end of the year and into the new year to go to to release your steam or to read comments from other modelers. Go Here. Read the replies also.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... n%201%2016

[Neons]

In a landmark decision the FAA rule is no longer valid. They have 60 days to Appeal.


//http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ ... -challenge

[jerryn]

Last week the FAA started to talk about new rules for R/C and automated model aircraft. A new requirement will be a transponder on every model aircraft. Does the FAA realize how ridiculous this requirement is ? Not only are transponders expensive but they are heavy, require a lot of battery power, and could possibly interfere with r/c control.