Originally Posted by
ira d
I also don't think had the AMA come out against drones it would have helped anything, I think when people say distance from drone they mean the AMA should have told its members not use the advance
technology that allows for beyond line of sight operation. I for one don't want the AMA telling me I can't use anything that is legal and also if someone is going to fly their RC aircraft in a illegal manner
they will still do so no matter what the AMA says.
I think the problem for the AMA is they need to say what the FAA says and stop saying that AMA members can keep flying as they always have and we may get either 700' or 1200' agreement with the
FAA when the FAA is not saying such. Also I think if the the FAA does grant waivers for higher than 400' they will apply to all modelers not just AMA members because to do otherwise will open up more
problems. I think if the AMA would get on the same page as the FAA maybe things would be different.
And I have to totally agree with this.
The AMA leadership has unabashedly spread misinformation over the past few years. To tell the membership to continue on as it's always done had been a disservice at best and asking for trouble with lawmakers/enforcers at worst. At the same time, we have heard repeatedly that the AMA has been trying to get concessions that would apply only to it's members, something that the FAA COULD NOT DO as it would show preferential treatment to an organization's members and not all modelers. This is a fundamental difference to what the NRA has successfully been doing. The NRA has been fighting against regulating or banning weapons for all citizens, not just it's own members. They also ARE NOT trying to change the laws to being worded in a way that requires anyone that wants to own or shoot a firearm has to be a member, unlike the AMA trying to get the legislation worded in such a way as to require membership to be able to fly anything R/C. This is a major reason why the NRA has been successful with their lobbying while the AMA hasn't. At the same time, the FAA has had to overcome the AMA's section 336 legislation, something that tied the hands of the FAA when it came to protecting full sized aircraft from the recent proliferation of camera equipped "drones". Congress and the FAA, predictably, responded by removing 336 and, figuratively speaking, slapped down the AMA.