Originally Posted by
clrwtrdave
Just got back into the hobby after 4 years off. Got tired of the propeganda at our local field. Started flying quad-copters, they are not drones, about 6 months ago. Never FVP, not at night and never over 400 feet or around crowds. Just informed today that my local club is banning them due to recent FAA rulings. I hope they realize this just forces us to fly at parks, empty parking lots with permission and stuff like that. No notice today till i hauled the stuff out of my truck and got the news. Just for information, it was SPARKS field in St. PETS FLORIDA. Been a member and on the board for a few years till my hiatus. Looks like we as quad flyers will have to open our own place.
Being a SPARKS officer myself, I feel I need to clarify.
What you were told is that we (SPARKS Officers/Board) temporarily suspended FPV flying (not line-of-sight quadcopters). There may have been miscommunication between you and the Officer who spoke to you.By the way, since this decision is very recent, the SPARKS general membership is still in the process of being informed, either via direct communication and/or e-mailing. The Board decision was based on trying to be prudent, given our close proximity to the PIE airport, even though the FAA rule has not even been finalized, and will last at least until the FAA and the AMA sort this issue out.
A pilot flying a quadcopter (non-FPV) within the bounds of an AMA sanctioned field has never been seen as an issue by the SPARKS officers, but actually as a positive thing.