Education Through Aviation
Bill Pritchett, Education Director
billp@modelaircraft.org
I receive a lot of communication from our membership and consider thoughtfully responding and being both considerate and professional one of my highest priorities. For the past few years, the FAA challenge and the potential impact it might have on model aviation have magnified my sense of responsibility to our membership.
We might not agree, yet there are things we share, values we have in common, and a love of things that fly. I recently responded to an individual who had spent time on various online locations saying critical things about the AMA, including some things that you might have said or at least thought yourself. This month I give you my response. After reading it, you will get the gist of the initial email to me. It’s my sincere hope that it answers some questions many others might have. I’ve removed names …
“Thanks for your very thoughtful note, membership in the AMA, and being open to a conversation regarding all of this!
“You make some very good points and frankly, I agree with you on many. Especially the concern over being thrown into a bag by the FAA—trouble is that water is not only under the bridge, it’s in the middle of the Pacific. Our mission has always been, and continues to be, to preserve the activities we enjoy today in model aviation. Forget the history and trials/tribulations of our organization for a moment—today, right now, not a single thing has changed for recreational modelers. And, we’re very proud of that.
“There were days in our negotiations with the FAA and legislators that it appeared model flying as we knew it would be no more … strict altitudes limit, sometimes even less than 400 feet; crazy weight and speed limits; extremely onerous paperwork, applications, written tests for operators, etc. I also agree with you about the ‘aerial appliance operators.’ I really like that description! Embracing the new technology was an absolute necessity for us to keep what we had.
“The FAA has always pointed to a CBO (community-based organization) to lead/supervise/administrate flight operations for model aviation, and when the multirotor platform was put into the sUAS category by the FAA, our efforts were again about how to keep what we have. Something to keep in mind is that the FAA has been looking at model aviation for well over 25 years. We’ve been able to avoid it until the new technologies and new media sources changed that.
“I have multirotors and while they are fantastic selfie sticks, I can’t imagine calling it fun to fly one! And yes, the ease of operation has, and will continue to provide evidence of irresponsible individuals. Individuals [who] have chosen to operate outside of a CBO.
“Additional thoughts:
“• The lack of mentoring and training traditionally through a club setting has generated a crop of irresponsible pilots. We believe many of these pilots are not intending to be bad actors, they just don’t know any better. We need to integrate them into a CBO like the AMA, or get them education through the FAA, AMA Flight School, Know Before You Fly, etc.
“• Many of those introduced to model aviation through a multirotor are seeing model planes and helis up close for the first time and end up pursuing them as well.
“• We have successfully convinced Congress, the FAA, and hundreds of cities and states to recognize our commitment to safety and not penalize our members for the action of others. While we ‘make every attempt to follow the rules,’ and should be recognized for the effort, we should also try to bring those who do not into our fold to educate them to be more responsible.
“• One of Model Aviation’s biggest criticisms is that we focus too much on this new technology. Modelers should comply with federal regulations including any FCC certification requirements for FPV. A couple [of] years ago, Model Aviation published a feature article on FPV rules and we continue to reinforce this in the magazine in various columns. (November 2015 ‘President’s Perspective;’ December 2015 ‘In the Air;’ December 2015 ‘AMA News Flying Site Protection.’)
“• Preservation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, allowing us to continue without change for another 14 months was not just luck, but the result of hard work from us and others in the industry. If we did not engage Congress again in 2015-2016, there is a good chance the Special Rule could have been modified in the recent short-term bill. I really do think the special rule would have been modified, even in the rush for an extension, without our voice!
“• We stopped earlier drafts of Congressional regulations on our hobby, which would have easily killed the industry, such as requiring all models to have geofencing (which could include non-electric, Free Flight, and Control Line) and making it illegal to use any flight stabilization which could include gyros, AS3X, SAFE/WISE, etc.
“XXXX, I guess the bottom line is that we’re on the same side—probably more alike than different. I sincerely appreciate that you read the column and took the time to reach out. I have no interest in trying to change your mind—can only hope that a little more insight to the perspective of the AMA would help to understand where we are today, and why.”
Fly and have fun!
