@thunder21
I've shot off an email or two to the FAAs UAS office but, there hasn't been a return response. To my knowledge this is the first time the FAA has been so specific on flight restrictions to model aircraft in so far as geography. AFIZ areas are rather limited across the U.S. however, we're in a rather high profile region of the United States (a.k.a. our Nations Capitol) and that puts us at the greatest risk for restrictions. Depending on how you interpret the FAAs Circular, yes, all model aircraft activity within 30 nautical miles of the Washington DC area is a violation of FAA regulations.
I've looked into obtaining a Certificate of Authorization (CoA) but right now its:
- so cost prohibitive that unless you are looking to make flying model aircraft a part of a business (e.g., surveillance) the investment isn't worth it. You need a full scale pilot license to fly. And,
- its only applicable to the aircraft themselves, not an area.
I'm in talks to get more information about how to work with the county / state officials to create a memorandum of understanding or special agreement that would allow us to operate safely within the SFRA but, this will take time.
We're entering into a whole new world here in DC and unfortunately several requests to the AMA have yielded little results. I'm beginning to question whether the AMA can even exert influence in matters like this anymore. Plus, I'm unaware nor confident of anyone at the AMA having any idea how to navigate such waters.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” ~ Maya Angelou