"SHOULD"


"MUST"
Should and Must.........Differnt meanings to most people.

Wow! Really? Deadly force for flying a UAS? I need a Kevlar vest now when I attend a sanctioned Pattern contest at a chartered field?

Do you think you could actually reply to me without an opening statement that efforts minimizing my point of Veiw? I will never claim that you don't " politician " well.

That aside, I agree with the factual part of that post. That is why I ONLY fly at AMA chartered club fields. Most are isolated enough where flying over objects and people really aren't possible. Most times when I talk to a anyone not associated with the hobby they are surprised to the fact that the flying site is even there and we are talking about a club field that has been active for 20+ years.

Now compare that to a guy " you " that just wants to drive down the street to a park for a couple quick flights. If there are houses surrounding the park or school yard, you ARE going to get noticed. Even if you are doing everything correctly it is not going to stop an uniformed resident from picking up the phone. To add to that, many parks in my city/state prohibit UAS of all types. If you would care to let me know the location of where you fly I would be happy to check for you.

Bottom line is that the park flier gains more attention from the general public then us guys at club sites. Not to mention if you have a signal failure with a cheap radio when flying at a park your model could easily do some property damage. Flying from club fields has an exceptional safety record. Dare I say much better then Naval Aviation.

While I would agree that 10 years ago park flying an electric model would have been considered a good public outreach approach. I also beleive that the attitude of the general public towards any UAS is different now. We can blame the media in part for that and of course some irresponsible pilots. That again is another reason why the popularity of the hobby is on the decline, the media spin on the hobby as a whole.

My comment about Naval Aviation was not to disrespect anyone. If you recall me saying several times I am the son of a retired Air Force loadmaster. Growing up my family knew other families that lost husbands and fathers. I can recall several times my mother helping a widow pack for the move off base. The comment was focused on Franklin telling a Canadian poster on RCG to worry about his own back yard and not ours when that poster had an opposing Veiw. I would think Naval Aviation to be in Franklin's back yard. Kinda illustrates where some may feel he is entitled to make certain types of comments where others are not.

Sure and I agree that in certain circumstances action is warranted. However I do not feel that action is warranted nor is going to happen if I am practicing my pattern sequence at an AMA sanctioned club field and break 400' 8 times for a few seconds each time during each run through the sequence. I agree that not everyone has the desire or skill to be a competitive pilot but there are many of us who do. It could be argued that the advanced products we have today are a direct result from competition. I am confident although not certain that the AMA and FAA will come to an agreement that allows us to fly at chartered club sites as we have been for decades. If you think about it, that really would be the best solution for all of us. The way I see it the guys who don't want the club atmosphere are flying smaller aircraft and is not handicapped by the 400' limit. Those of us who have the need to fly over 400' will have to do so at club fields. Kinda seems like a win-win for us all. Unless that is if someone does not have any hidden motives. The way I see it is it becomes a " you leave me alone and I will leave you alone" situation. I do have to say that someone who thinks that AMA membership for 75.00 has no value but advocates that buying additional equipment to provide telemetry for many people is a good value.

Good for you. The problem is that's not the case at all AMA fields. Fairview lost their field here in PA. It was in the middle of farmland. The problem was, they didn't respect the neighbors farms. And despite AMA saying not to overfly non-particpant property etc., the club did it ... for years. People got fed up with that, got fed up with their livestock being endangered, their farm workers, and the tresspasses to collect wreckage, The courts shut them down. Then there's the Markham flyers. Where there's video of of a jet going well outside the field boundaries, over picnic areas, over busy interstates, and not one of the AMA members seen either before or after the flight step in to stop. So much for AMA's "self regulation" eh? There's others. Like the field in Delaware where an AMA EC member was in attendance, but did nothing when the AMA recommended standoffs were "waived" and the crowd dangerously close to the runway. There's video of people diving for safety as a 100lb four engine model is careening toward them. So while your club appears to be the one that never has issues, is never breaking the rules, and heck probably has unicorns grazing nearby, the reality is many AMA clubs are not so lilly white.

"Many parks in my city/state prohibit...." Ah, but don't you live in the People's Democratic Republic of Kalifornia? Nanny state land of one party rule ... where plastic straws are banned? I guess it's no surprise then the sUAS flying in parks is banned. In contrast, here in the "Shall Issue" and "Castle Doctrine" Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, not only can I buy plastic straws in stores and get them with my fast food, I can also fly a sUAS in the park WALKING distance from my home (you said "drive," I wanted to be accurate).

I already have checked. Thanks though.

It does get attenion, from the local kids who want to watch and, depending on what I'm flying, actually get to try. Same with their parents, all of whom know me and know that I follow the law (because one or more times they've asked and I've stopped and taken the time to educate).

Dude, you really need to pull your head out!! How could you possibly be delusional enough to come close to thinking I implied being a Veteran?

However you are right, not everyone is like me and that is why a 400' limit would be unacceptable to me. You really have me wondering what kind of life you had that made you such a bitter person. Do you spew this much hate towards everyone that does not agree with you?

You Tube

Then why is it every time someone mentions military service, especially in regard to Franklin, you immediately throw out your growing up on AF Bases? If not trying to say, "Look at me! Look at me!". "I've been there too!"