We’ll keep in touch
One of our goals at AMA Headquarters is to make sure that you have all of the latest aeromodeling news. This includes updates on the ever-evolving FAA situation, how you can get your hands on the hottest new products, and news about how the sport is growing. If you rely solely on the print editions of Model Aviation or Park Pilot for the latest news, you should know that the news sometimes changes by the time those magazines reach your mailbox. But don’t worry—we have other outlets to get this information to you!
There are roughly 40 business days between the time that we first receive materials for Model Aviation magazine and the day that you get the print edition. Because Park Pilot is published quarterly, the time between shipments of each edition is even longer. This is simply the nature of how magazines are produced.
As I write this, the date is February 4. If you are reading this on your tablet or smartphone, it is likely March 15. If you just retrieved your copy of the April issue from your mailbox, it is probably sometime between March 23 and March 28.
Whatever information we include in this issue about the most recent FAA decisions and news is what is current as the magazine goes to press. Sometimes things change the day before we send the files to be printed, and we make last-minute alterations. Other times, the FAA releases a big announcement while the magazine pages are being fed through the printing press.
As technology has changed and evolved, so has AMA. We now have a handful of electronic newsletters, a monthly aeromodeling news show on YouTube, and a few websites that are frequently updated. We also distribute the latest information through blogs on our website, a Facebook page, and Twitter. New social media posts are added nearly every day. We also use mass email.
Our newsletters are sent to you through email. AMA Today, a biweekly electronic newsletter, often includes information about government relations, clubs, upcoming events, what’s in the next issue of Model Aviation, and items on sale in the National Model Aviation Museum store.
Our monthly electronic newsletters include Ground Control and Flightline. Ground Control provides specific information for club officers, contest directors, Leader Members, and associate vice presidents. You don’t have to fall into one of these categories to subscribe.
Flightline is geared toward our Youth members and includes topics of interest to a younger generation of pilots. Anyone with an email address can visit www.modelaircraft.org, click on publications, then newsletters, select a newsletter, and click the subscribe button to receive this publication. Most archived issues can also be read on this website.
Cloud 9 is a printed newsletter that is sent to National Model Aviation Museum patrons. It shares information about museum development, acquisitions, plans, and needs. You must be a museum patron to receive this newsletter.
We have a newsletter geared specifically toward AMA Foundation donors called The Torch. It is emailed quarterly to anyone who donates at least $10 to the AMA Foundation. Included is information about how donor funds are being used, and has donor highlights and inspirational stories.
In late spring and early summer, one of our most popular publications, NatsNews, is produced daily and printed for those who visit the International Aeromodeling Center, in Muncie, Indiana, for the Nats. A link to it is also sent out via an email, to which you can subscribe. Archives are posted at www.modelaircraft.org.
All of these newsletters might sound like a great member benefit and pique your interest, but you might not be receiving them. Perhaps you used to see them in your mailbox, along with other emails from AMA, but after a while, they stopped coming. Maybe you have clicked something along the way that caused you to opt out of them, or we might not
have your current email address. The bad news is that you are not receiving important emails from us. The good news is that there is a solution.
The first thing you can do is log in to your account on the AMA website and make sure we have your correct email address. Then you need to link your membership. For some tips on how to do this, go to www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/gettingstarted.aspx. If you have any questions, you can contact our Membership department at membership@modelaircraft.org.
If it appears that all of your information is correct and you are still not receiving emails from us, then you likely have unsubscribed to our group emails, or your email spam filter is set up to block some of our messages.
Since 2010, AMA has been using a customer management email system called ExactTarget to send out group emails. These messages will say they are from AMA, but might include certain words that your email account has been set up to block. To fix this, go to the settings menu on your email account and make sure that words such as free, adult, contest, and any others that might appear in emails from AMA, are not included in your list of blocked words.
You can also add modelaircraft.org to your contacts, include AMA in your list of approved emails, or whitelist AMA so that it is not considered spam.
If you are receiving emails from AMA, but would like to choose which ones you receive, there is a simple way to do that. When you get an email from us, scroll down to the bottom of the email and click on manage subscriptions. This will allow you to check and uncheck boxes for the different types of emails that we send to our members. Next to that is
If you are still having problems, email Ben Flesher at benf@modelaircraft.org. Include your name, AMA number, and your old email address if it has changed. You can also call him at (800) 435-9262, ext. 275.
Now that you are set up to receive emails from us, including membership renewal notices, you can expect to receive important communications in a timely fashion. If there is a pressing issue, such as the FAA’s requirement that all sUAS pilots register, we will keep you up to date. We often do this through email because it is one of the quickest and most effective ways to communicate.
If you are not interested in reading a newsletter, but still want to know the current AMA news, then you might consider watching AMA Air. Episodes of this entertaining show, and hundreds of other AMA-produced videos, are posted on AMA’s YouTube channel. AMA Air has its own website, air.modelaircraft.org, where you can watch past episodes and subscribe to receive email notifications when new episodes are posted.
The emails include a link to new videos, which are released at the beginning of each month. If an important issue comes up, such as government relations, special episodes are sometimes produced and posted to the website.
If you don’t have an email address, or a way to access email, ask a family member or a flying buddy to set up an email account for you, or to contact you and share his or her email notifications from AMA.
We want to stay in touch with you. Please make sure we have your current email address, and don’t be a stranger!
—Rachelle Haughn
rachelleh@modelaircraft.org
ADVOCATING ON YOUR BEHALF
A cornerstone of our protections as recreational model fliers rests with the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which includes the Special Rule for Model Aircraft. The AMA spent a year helping draft this into law with the mandate that the FAA “may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.”
In an effort to strengthen and clarify the law, on January 27 and 28, 2016, a dozen AMA members, staffers, and Executive Council members walked the halls of Capitol Hill. We met with representatives of 37 offices to advocate on behalf of our members for the protection and enhancement of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft.
As a result of our ongoing advocacy efforts, we are seeing proposed amendments and revisions by Congress for the Special Rule for Model Aircraft. Encouragingly, many early drafts include our suggestions to better define airports and the notification process, as well as expanding flying protections to include education initiatives. We are also helping Congress understand how technology should or should not be legislated to create safety in the airspace.
The bill is changing daily and it is too early to tell if all proposed changes will make it into law. As this article suggests, we encourage you to visit www.modelaircraft.org/gov, social media and check your emails for updates. Additionally, we will be updating club leaders, AMA Leader Members, and contest directors so they can be vessels of information.
—Chad Budreau
chadb@modelaircraft.org
AMA Government Relations Team
