Granpooba

My Feedback: (5)

Just received this message from a fellow club member. It states what the law makers in Albany, New York are proposing. Can not even begin to believe that the attempted controlling of DRONES has come down to putting something like this in the hands of law making idiots !

Their will be a meeting in regards to this proposal next week in Albany. I know that many hobbyists intend to attend the meeting.

Pending local legislation is threatening your right to fly. A newly proposed Albany County law would make it illegal to fly anything"controlled remotely." This includes all remote control airplanes and helicopters! It is critical you understand how such legislation could affect you regardless of where you live.

"Drone" and Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) legislation has proven to easily migrate across New York State. Recently one New York county introduced local UAV legislation because another county 200 miles away had done so, even though the second county's sponsoring legislator admitted she hadn't received drone complaints from her own county residents. Albany County sets the stage for New York State. What is passed in Albany County can quickly be introduced in Rensselaer County, Schenectady County and beyond. Wherever you live.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

That has been attempted before in NY, closer to the city actually. Get in touch with your local AVPs, and District II VP Eric Williams and let them know about this. Ask for specifics from the fellow club member to pass along as well. If public commentary is allowed, try to have something prepared ahead of time and keep it factual, civil, and to the point. If there any clubs in the area that have sponsored any functions the town, or schools, military etc, have them appear as well to discuss the benefits of the club, and good deeds etc etc. Perhaps this can be a wake-up call as well to try to involve the local town/city/municipality in club events so that you form some relationships with them, and have another advocate fighting for you. The Club officials in the Haverstraw, NY area have done a fantastic job of relationship building with the town, and it's paying off tenfold.

Good luck.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

It looks like you are getting your RUDE AWAKENING...!!

Granpooba

My Feedback: (5)

Me, rude awakening ????????? Noooooooo, as I have actually been expecting something like this for a long time now.

But if things like this are allowed to happen then sadly it appears that the entire RC Hobby is in for the coming awakening !

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

No, he meant that for someone else. But it's a not a rude awaking, this has been going on for some time now.

If people have been expecting this for some time, there is a chance that they have been preparing for this as well. Being on good terms with your club neighbors etc etc. I don't think people are going to allow this to happen, they should be doing something about it. See above for a few ideas. It's not a guarantee it will work out, small town politics can be tough.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Well, how is this thread any less a waste of time than the other discussions about the drone issue...?

cj_rumley

Not likely to spread to Oneida Co, where one of the nation's six designated UAS test sites is located on and around the former Griffiss AFB in Rome. I spent most of my youth there, directly under the corridor the Buffs lumbered through on take-off. Some of them made craters in the surrounding area during the early flight tests of terrain following radar guidance. Threat of drone mishaps pales in comparison to what was happening back then. Hope the proposed laws crash and burn.

rcmiket

I would get everyone I could to contact the AMA and make a strong request that some of the " $1 million on government relations to keep model aviation free of onerous restrictions and regulations" be used to help fight this.

Mike

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

Is there an actual link to this story?

i googled it and found nothing.

I live in Suffolk County but want to stay on top of it as well.

EDIT: Found the original post by District II VP Williams with this:

http://app.albanycounty.com/legislat.../2015-LL_Q.pdf

Thanks,
Bill S.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

So it looks like the AMA is involved, that's good to see. Do you have a link to the post from Williams? It would be nice to see if there is an update on what is going on, and what the result of the proposed legislation is.

mike31

My Feedback: (67)

Another reason to get out of NY!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Too bad we didn't have enough money and sense of direction to get the point across to the public and local governments that we shouldn't be lumped in with drones because they aren't what we do....oh wait...we DID have the money and the opportunity to do that once.....

rcmiket

L. A. just recently passed a ordnance along theses lines also. Seems like were losing the battle.

Mike

rgburrill

Once again a big "thanks" goes out to those few a-hls who think their fun is more important than peoples' safety and privacy.

Gizmo-RCU

My Feedback: (27)

AMA has had many opportunities to come out strongly opposing illegal Drone activitys when they happen. These are usually free chances that let the public know there are diffrent types of RC and AMA has been around for many years and supports responsible flying only.
If the present AMA powers that be thinks they are going to have any impact/control over this years Christmas bunch of Drones flown by folks who don't give a hoot about rules, regulations, AMA or the impact on others, GOOD LUCK!
Best approch in my humble opinion is to very publicley distance the AMA from those doing unsafe/illegal acts.

Silent-AV8R

Fortunately that law is far less restrictive, but still oversteps what local jurisdictions should be able to do.

bruceal

I'm the president of the Hudson Valley Radio Control Club in Haverstraw, NY. Earlier this year Rockland County passed "drone" legislation. As soon as we were made aware of what was happening, we set up a meeting with the legislator who drafted the bill, and the Rockland County Sheriff that thought it was neccessary. They both had valid points. The legislator wanted to protect people's right to privacy and the sheriff cited an incident in Florida where a "drone" was used to drop contraband into a jail.


We pointed out that our club flies within LOS, and that we are not the ones peeping in windows or performing illegal acts by the jail. Now at this point in time there has never been a reported incident of any of these activities. They agreed that our club is indeed an asset to the community. Every year we put on an air show for the public and buddy boxing is a big part of it. We even get the County Helicopter to show up and be put on display. The Town of Haverstraw is heavily involved and gives out free hot dogs and drinks to the people. This past August they gave out 1100 hot dogs and we buddy boxed over 100 kids.

When I started this club, my goal was to be a friend to the community. And being involved with local politicians I find that this is the right approach. We operate off of a closed landfill overlooking the Hudson. We pay the Town nothing and they pay for our bathroom, advertise our air show, provide free food for the event (they even cook and clean up) and even sponsor the Guillow Gliders that we give out at our event.

Awhile back I got some heat on these forums because our club didn't allow FPV. Well, we still don't. We are across from a large marina, County park and an active heliport with real helicopters. Our field is just not a good fit for FPV and we let the lawmakers know it. And I'm glad that we did; earlier in the Summer a "drone" crashed next to a nuclear power plant that we just happen to be able to see from our field.

Let's face it, we really weren't much of a problem until the "drone" phenom started. Now we see lawmakers looking to ground anything that flies via remote control. And after Christmas things will be 10 times worse! What can we do? All we can do is to keep promoting ourselves in a positive way, and get lawmakers to crack down on malicous activity and not the hobby as a whole. This is a never ending process, but neccessary to the survival of the hobby.

ma_mulcahy

The reality is that it is only a matter of time before someone starts loading a giant scale FPV aircraft with several pounds of high explosive to wreak massive damage. Sad but true.

And just like guns, if they make RC illegal, the only people that will have the gear will be criminals and terrorists.

rcmiket

Agreed but once laws are put in place it never gets better. Normally it's the opposite.

Mike

Hydro Junkie

Just consider the source of the problem and remember it's all "knee-jerk" reaction by our elected office holders

FLAPHappy

My Feedback: (209)

Bruce: I said almost the same thing over a year ago in the thread "another drone pilot does it again" in the first statement. I knew then these drones operators would screw it up for everybody, and it's happening now, and will do more in the future. Violating Flight Safety Rules and Stupidity, will get you every time!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

BINGO...!
The news agencies would have gladly taken FREE input from the AMA.
A golden opportunity for FREE publicity and to educate the public.
Hasn't the AMA chimed in on camera about ANY of these episodes yet...?
A medium sharp PR Guy is supposed to know this, huh..?

CESSNA 421

My Feedback: (17)

I think everyone saw this coming except the AMA.

mr_matt

My Feedback: (10)

Well we could educate them that they should outlaw only radio control aircraft with cameras installed.

100% of the problem drones are then banned, maybe .5% of law abiding, traditional RC modelers are affected. Wish the AMA had taken this approach.

Remember if we DON'T segregate "drones" (camera carrying drones from traditional RC), then BY DEFINITION any negative regulation or law like this will affect traditional RC, BY DEFINITION.

mr_matt

My Feedback: (10)

And before anyone misunderstands, my definition of "traditional RC" is someone who flies for the pleasure of watching the aircraft and in some cases controlling it.

In my book, racing quads fit this definition (even though the FPV part of what they do violates FCC regualtion). They are enjoying model aviation.

Flying tripods (aka all of the mainstream camera equipped drones) are NOT traditional RC in my book. I prefer not to go down the regulation toilet with them.