FAA registration numbers and enforcement
 

:rolleyes: Real world translation ; "Probable Cause" ......

You know , , , like , "He has a big bushy beard , looks like he could be a terrorist to me !"
Or , How bout this one ;
Gee well looky what we got here Cletus , this guy's got GERMAN markings on his flying toy , maybe he a NAZI !"

:eek: Rest assured law enforcement will have all the names , addresses , and FAA numbers of Joe Q Public that they ask the FAA for .........

Those are some "comforting" words and I hope you're right. Some around here preach doom and gloom and that the end of the hobby is near. That the skies only have room for commercial interests and the rest of us don't belong at all...

Who's talking "Doom and Gloom"? Let's talk reality:
The FAA COULD show up anywhere to check for compliance at any time, REGARDLESS of what the AMA says will happen
The AMA IS NOT going to enforce anything that they don't want to, ESPECIALLY if it doesn't fall into the AMA's way of thinking
The AMA DOES NOT have any sway over anything the FAA says or does. If it did, the FAA wouldn't be requiring their registration numbers on model aircraft
The FAA DOES NOT really care what modelers do as long as they follow the rules

You're right..they could.. but as for the numbers on model aircraft, there has been some influence there...

;) Today , 5/7/2019 , If I fly without an AMA number I am totally within the FAA's present version of model aircraft law . If I fly without an FAA number , I am breaking the law and could possibly face legal charges .

:eek: Influence ? Really ? You wanna come in here talkin influence ??? All I see is BOVINE EXCREMENT unless you'd care to try to prove my above statement false ?

:p Influence .... Pfft ... If our AMA had any influence whatsoever our AMA number would have been acceptable as an FAA number too . BUT NOOOO , , We get to have TWO sets of numbers to satisfy the law (FAA) and the insurance (AMA) . Again , Pfft , pfft , and double pfft on your "Influence" that ain't lookin all that INFLUENTIAL from here ....

Is your FAA number plastered all over? Is it in big fat bold print? Or is just somewhere like under your stab?

I used caps and bolding to make sure my points of emphasis are clear to everyone, even those that don't want to read or believe them. If you took my post as condescending, then I can only assume that you have an issue with the substance of my post being more accurate than you want to admit or the fact that any response you could post would not be able to refute my post since my post did not attack or belittle anyone

My only assumptions had to do with your post's comments about caps, bolds and being condescending. The rest was based on what is known to be possible, not an assumption or a guess.

True, as long as flight safety isn't threatened. But as soon as something serious happens between a sUAS and a full size, the game will change.

Now, let's see if the Mods approve this for posting. My bet is they won't!

Since I can't Edit my post, second line, should read "Should not".

Why wouldn't they let this go? it's not attacking anyone, inflaming a situation or violating the rules. I would probably be in more "hot water" with my last few posts than you are.

I have no issue conforming the the FAA's requirements to register and diplay a visible number for identification. That said, the FAA didn't say how visible it needed to be so I made numbers from the same color film as my aircraft and applied them under the horz stab. They're there and visible, albeit nearly invisible.

Actually the FAA has. They say the number must be "legible". Now just exactly what that may mean is open for discussion. But I wouldn't want to be the subject of such a discussion.

;) I agree with Appowner , and we have discussed this before in some thread or another here ;

Doing things like putting your FAA number on the plane in a deliberate attempt to make it as illegible as possible while still remaining kinda sorta maybe just barely on the good side of legal is doing nothing but thumbing your nose at the FAA . Now , as an FAA licensed A&P mechanic (retired) I think I can speak for what I've seen of the FAA's tolerance for rebellious behavior , open rebellion is to be punished , eliminated , and made an example of so no others go getting any rebellious notions . Sure , the FAA is never gonna come to your field , untill something someday causes them to need to pay a visit , like maybe if the club hotshot flew a little too close to that passing Cessna last weekend , and they decide to check the club out . Sure hope your not at the field the day they come calling .

:eek: Remember , the FAA is just like any other of Uncle Sam's three letter agencies (IRS , FBI , CIA , NSA , etc.) , , , screw with them at your own peril !

:D PS , yes indeed both my FAA number and AMA number are legibly displayed on any RC model I fly (I don't put the FAA number on control line models because it's not required) ....

And having been a government contractor to three of those mentioned agencies, I can assure you, they won't see the humor in your efforts. They'll already be ticked off at having to go to some toy airport to check out some toy airplanes rather than do what they consider to be their real jobs.

Yes, and just like a lot of government agencies, they tend to be spread a little thin. No sense being a bee in their bonnet.

I was concerned at first about my FAA # being out in the open but I have seen a lot of FAA # on models recently and one of my clubs publishes the number in the membership
roster. It occurs to me that if a model was found someplace with my FAA # on it the gov is not supposed to take any action against me unless they have proof that the model
they found actually belongs to me or was flown their by me.

I tend to agree that's why I used the term not supposed to bother us without proof.

Actually should they "bother" you, it would probably be during the investigative/discovery phase of the process. In other words, they'd be following leads to gather evidence. Assuming they were actually investigating a crime and not simply trying to return your property to you.

And that would be ok I don't mind them asking questions but once I tell them that is not my aircraft then that should be the end of it unless they have proof to the contrary.