[laffs] Fw: FAA Restrictions
- From: "Gene Hatfield" <hatter@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 06:11:49 -0600
----- Original Message -----
From: Darwin Loomis
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 7:04 PM
Subject: Fw: FAA Restrictions
AMA: FAA Seeks To Restrict Model Aircraft Flight
Academy Of Model Aeronautics Warns About Heavy Restrictions Coming From
Washington
The Academy of Model Aeronautics tells ANN that the FAA is set to place "heavy
restrictions" on the hobbyists who fly model aircraft. In a circular sent to
ANN over the weekend, the AMA indicates that the agency is poised to impose
severe restrictions on the model aviation hobby, sport and industry that will
have a potentially devastating impact on a recreational and educational
activity pursued by hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts, tens of thousands of
employees and an industry that generates more than $1 billion in revenue.
According to the AMA, the FAA created an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) in
2008 tasked with proposing recommendations for small unmanned aircraft systems
(sUAS) that have been proliferating, particularly those in the commercial
realm. The ARC’s charge was to draft recommended rules relative to establishing
regulations for commercial sUAS and to define model aircraft – nothing more.
AMA’s members are strictly hobbyists, sportsmen and educators. They are
recreational users that do not participate in commercial activities. AMA was
assured that the recreational modeler would be exempted from regulation.
In 2008, the ARC began its work with 20 members, more than half of which were
from the commercial and public sectors with partisan interests. AMA was the
lone seat for the hobbyist. AMA’s says its views and concerns were quickly
swept aside in the haste to create enabling regulation for the
commercial/public use sUAS industry. Subsequent protests and historical data
presented by AMA have been repeatedly dismissed.
In March 2009, the ARC submitted its report to the FAA recommending a two-path
approach for model aviation. This two-path approach proposes a “default path”
that contains a devastating set of heavy-handed regulations and restrictions
that will have a detrimental impact on the industry and thousands of
aeromodeling enthusiasts not involved in AMA’s membership or programming.
Alternatively, AMA must develop and fund an acceptable set of standards in
order to overcome the restrictive effects of the default regulations. The
two-path approach is extremely problematic and will adversely affect the
aeromodeling community. AMA voiced strong opposition to this approach in the
ARC’s report to the FAA.
AMA says that over the past 18 months it has worked diligently in an attempt to
develop an acceptable set of standards to address FAA concerns. At the same
time, however, the ground rules continue to change, creating a moving target
and mounting frustration.
AMA believes that the proposed regulations fail to address the substantial
diversity of the hobby and its applications and establishes unenforceable
restrictions, while leaving absent a safety surveillance program to support the
thousands of modelers outside of AMA’s formal structure and standards.
Large Model Aircraft
Although the exact language of the proposed regulation is not yet known, there
are a number of conclusions that can be drawn from the ARC recommendations. The
following are AMA’s areas of concern, the restrictions that are likely to be
imposed and their effect on the model aviation community:
a.. ALTITUDE: As proposed, the rule would impose a nationwide altitude
ceiling of 400 feet. AMA recognizes the need for altitude limitations when
model aircraft are operated in close proximity to airports, and this concept is
supported in AMA’s current Safety Code. However, a nationwide altitude ceiling
for model aircraft is impractical, unnecessary, unrealistic and unenforceable
through any reasonable means of compliance and detection.
b.. SPEED: It is likely that the rule will attempt to limit model aircraft
performance by establishing a set speed limit such as 100 mph. Imposing such a
speed limit will have little to no effect on aircraft performance and is both
undetectable and unenforceable through any practical, cost-effective means.
c.. WEIGHT: As proposed, the sUAS rule will limit small unmanned aircraft to
55 pounds or less, and the implication for AMA’s Large Model Aircraft Program
has not yet been determined. Without an acceptable standard or an alternative
means of compliance, this rule may well curtail a vital element of the modeling
activity that drives creativity, innovation and technological development.
d.. TURBINE BAN: The blanket prohibition of gas turbine engines suggested in
the ARC recommendations does not consider the wide range of products currently
in the marketplace. The inclusion of this prohibition in the proposed rule will
impose a significant and unjustified economic impact on the industry.
e.. AIRPORT PROXIMITY: It is understood that the FAA is considering going
outside the ARC’s recommendation and extending the “area of concern” around the
nation’s 19,760 airports beyond the current 3-mile radius that has been the
standard for more than 29 years. The intent to extend this radius has
absolutely no statistical basis, has no supporting data and has no accident or
incident correlation. Doing so would exponentially impact the number of
existing flying sites affected by the rule. Extending the radius by as little
as 2 miles (to 5 miles) would nearly triple the area of concern and create more
than 1,784,000 square miles in which “no fly without permission” restrictions
would be imposed.
It is the position of the AMA that, based upon the direction the rule is
headed, it is clearly evident that the intent is not to objectively evaluate
the model aircraft operations and realistically assess the risks. It is rather
to unfairly eliminate model aviation from the safety equation by arbitrarily
eliminating it from the airspace it has revered and safely used for decades.
The organization urges all who are in favor of full analysis, regulatory
restraint and fair play to help AMA save a hobby, a dynamic sport, a vital
educational pursuit, and a $1 billion industry from what it says is undue
government intervention that will have devastating consequences.
FMI: http://modelaircraft.org/, www.faa.gov
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