combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Right.
I have people in paid positions to handle the mass media related chores, but there are times when me and my buddies would rather spend a couple days creating our own malfunctioning web pages in our own spare time for free.
We also like to base all of our beliefs on every rarity, fluke, anomaly, outlier and improbability that we possibly can, too.

franklin_m

First, as I pointed out above, there's nine people on staff between PR, Media, and Government affairs. Why should I volunteer to do work they're paid to do? That's ridiculous. Secondly, it has been pointed out to the AMA using the same "contact AMA" feature I used to obtain Chad's statement that disproved your false accusation.

Speaking of that, you were quick to accuse me of lying to a Senate staffer. Since I proved that accusation false, will you be as quick to offer an apology?

franklin_m

Oh, and I found out this today as well. AMA made a big deal in MA and other places about them listing NOTAMS/TFRs on their website. Well, they told me today that they only list "VIP" NOTAMs, and even then, only ones that specifically mention "model aircraft" in the text.



So one that's for wildfires, disaster relief, national security, or other operations won't get listed at all - even though those are just as applicable from a flight safety perspective as any other. Even with the "VIP" ones, despite the fact that they say "all aircraft", AMA "safety experts" paid to do this apparently think "all aircraft" doesn't apply to "model aircraft" because it didn't say so.

And as you might guess, the info they do have posted is both expired and/or wrong, or both. For example:

The link "NOTAM - Washington DC Metropolitan Special Flight Rules Area" links you to FDC 0/8326 (dtd 1 Dec 2010), was replaced by 6/2060 on 9 Feb 2016. Per the first sentence of 6/2060, and I quote: "...this NOTAM and complementary NOTAMS replace FDC 0/8326 to provide updated instructions." Thus the AMA website is linking to a superseded NOTAM...0/8326.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

A word or two misspelled, or a dead link or two on a new site with hundreds of pages click options etc, hardly a big deal to 99.99% of people reading it. Guess the expectation is set on "perfection".

cj_rumley

Dang! I seem to be in agreement with you, Sporty. Mark your calendar, I think this may be the first time!

I don't want AMA to have anything to do with drones, ergo I'm pleased with their crappy drone website for whatever it might contribute to the rapid demise of their silly follow-the-$$$ misadventure.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for any demise, it won't be happening. I know folks want to turn back time and undo what's been done. Not only is it not going to happen, but what difference would it make even if it did? Nothing would change from a govt oversight perspective.

Time marches on. Change happens.

rcmiket

Expecting people to do what they are paid for is a thing of the past. Now letting them get away with it is another story. It's all about accountability and actually managing the people your paying.

Mike

franklin_m

Yep, and the person accountable for the performance of the staff (beyond the individuals themselves) is in the top 1.5% of all incomes in Muncie and the top 3% of all incomes in all of Indiana! Is the above top 1.5% / top 3% management? I don't think so.

franklin_m

It's about expecting professional work from paid professionals.

So am I to assume that when you pay for someone to do something, when they do a crappy job you just accept it?

franklin_m

It's shocking how many in the "choir" are perfectly happy paying people at AMA HQ to not do some work at all, and to do other work poorly. I have to wonder if they take the same approach to spending money to fix car, appliances, etc. in their personal lives? Doubtful.

rcmiket

They have every right as paying members to defend it and we have every right as paying members to point out the obvious mismanagement of it. Maybe things will change.

Mike

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

That's a new data set, source? While were on the topic, why aren't you comparing this position and alleged salary against others of a similar nature. The location of said job is mostly irrelevant, other than in city locations like San Francisco, and New York City. Why aren't you doing an apples to apples comparison??

RC Pilot 007

u curent ama member?

RC Pilot 007

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...op-fiasco.html

u accept?

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

Perhaps if we stop with the loaded comments like "choir", and "sheeple" and "defend", etc etc a more substantive conversation could be had. Not to change opinions of course, that is basically impossible. The all or nothing approach seems divisive no? There might be some folks out there that aren't 100% thrilled about everything the AMA is or isn't doing on their behalf, does that automatically mean they are defenders?

I agree any dues paying member has a right to voice their concern, the question I guess is how far does that go, and how productive is it. Is scouring a site for a misspelling here or there, or nit picking to literal death every decision helpful in any way? Is it changing anything?

Are there more meaningful and productive ways about affecting change?

franklin_m

So what? What would your point be? There's bigtime accountability for stuff like this. I guess you didn't see today's news, where Navy ended the career of the commander in charge of those guys that were captured by the Iranians. I suspect there will be an investigation in this incident too, and more people will likely lose their careers.

franklin_m

For the record...yes.

franklin_m

So when you take your car in for repair, I take it you're ok with a bolt or two left on the floor, grease left on the steering wheel, the oil drained but only one quart put back in, or perhaps the work not done at all but yet you paid for it?

RC Pilot 007

u answer say volumes

RC Pilot 007

u accept profesional job? u pay tax right? yah accountability, get do nothin desk job, keep slary and pension maybe pay time off to

investigatien, take years finish and cost tax payr even more $

RC Pilot 007

may be better then pro droping humV on it we

tax payr pay humV drop $

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

What "say volumes" are those who sheepishly defend and apologize for the AMA in this matter.
You folks would have done quite well in the old USSR where ANY politically incorrect criticism of the government run Hobby Academies / Community Hobby Centers would have earned you a swift ticket back to the salt mines.

franklin_m

You're wrong. Assuming this was a class A mishap (>$2M in damage or any loss of life or permanent total disability), the Safety investigation report has to be completed within 30 days. There's a separate JAGMAN report on a similar timeline. The former is geared strictly toward mishap prevention, the latter geared toward holding someone accountable.

In the case of a Navy event, SECNAV has complete authority to decide the paygrade at which someone retires. The applicable phrase in such cases is they were retired at the "last grade completed successfully." I saw this applied to an O-10 who was retired as an O-6, cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement. I also saw it applied to an E7 who was convicted of stealing a $350 computer. He was retired as an E6, which (quite elegantly) cost him $350 a month for the rest of his life.

No different in civilian world. People are held accountable based on the system in place. My beef is that we're paying people at AMA HQ to do a job, which in some cases isn't done at all. In others, it's done poorly. In the case of the ED, we're paying a top 1.5% salary, and I would not characterize the performance of the staff as top 1.5%.

http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/c...df/605507p.pdf

franklin_m

I once worked for a guy who had a great saying, "If you want to get paid like a big shot, you'd better perform like a big shot." As I've said, our dues are paying someone a "big shot" salary, and the position that person holds makes them accountable for the performance of the staff. When you're paying a PR firm (named in the minutes) as well as nine people to do PR functions in one form or another, then I think it's fair to expect more attention to detail.

It's not that there's one or two broken links or a misspelling here or there. When someone is in a role that puts them in charge of a specific function at HQ, and that function has it's own web page, you'd think they'd look at it once in a while...making sure links still work, point to the right place, documents at the end of the links are up to date, etc. That's the kind of thing I did over lunch at my desk for web pages supporting my organization - but that's just me. Regardless, it should be someone's job to check that. Generally the best is the data owner, but still it should be someone. But that doesn't appear to be happening in many areas of the site - and not at all in some. Flying fields success stories hasn't been updated since 2012, NOTAMs out of date (until I pointed it out), a survey they said would be posted two years ago still not up, etc. Heck, nobody appears to be even paying attention to the "Front Page" images -- where it's still promoting "Drone Day." Wasn't that event almost seven days ago? Yet there's still an ad for it? Maybe it's a phenomenon called "sign blindness" (we see it in safety programs), I don't know. But my fundamental question remains: Is the ED holding anyone accountable for the content accuracy and currency in their functional areas? Doesn't appear to be the case.

AMA says it's trying to go after the younger demographic. Where's the strategic thinking with respect to the importance of having slick mobile friendly web pages to target this group? My kids are on their PC's for school and not much else. The rest of the time it's all smartphones - and here's the AMA with an entire website structure that's ungodly busy from a visual layout perspective, and not mobile friendly. Seems to me that's not a recipe for success.

I'm actually starting to feel sorry for them. It's as if they are in way over their head. Maybe I'm getting old and going soft. I want to help them, but even when I go to the trouble of pointing something out (nicely even - complete with links to the page, the busted URL, and links to the correct one), some of it still isn't fixed weeks later! Surely each and every member of the staff isn't THAT busy.

RC Pilot 007

u have choice

u no like ama dont be member

tax payr have no choice. we stuck paying 4 humV drop done by professional

only guy at bottom get in trouble oficer get bonus, metal, promotion