Just saw this on another forum:
DC SFRA NO FLY ZONE - December 31, 2015
Hello District IV Members,
By now, everyone has probably heard about the fields in the Washington, D.C. Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) being closed. The FAA requested all flying fields inside the SFRA out to the 30nm limit centered on Reagan National Airport to stop operations and all flying to cease. This involves everything that flies no matter whether it is at an organized field or your backyard. We have complied and informed all of the AMA clubs with fields inside the SFRA as well as any other groups we are aware of such as Multi GP and DC DUG and are working with the FAA on a resolution.
I want to thank every club that has reached out to help provide flying sites for those inside the SFRA. There was even one of our FAI F3J Junior team members that was out of school for the holidays and had set aside all his time to practice but was without a place to do that. The emails started and he found a place to practice. It is truly amazing to see the camaraderie when another member needs help. Thanks to AVP Rick Moreland, whose field was shut down also, for coordinating these efforts.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce your new District IV Government Relations Committee who are working through this and are working with many state and local municipalities. The Coordinator and Chairman is Ray Stinchcomb, introduced in the District IV column in the January issue of Model Aviation, but we have 10 members possessing varied talents to deal with these challenging times for model aviation. Ray Stinchcomb, Chairman; Bren Bailey; David Buhrman; Bill Blacker; Bob Gensler; Allen Goodman; Jeff Haywood; Rusty Kennedy; Bob Pollokoff; Brent Sullivan; Robert Vess. These folks combined with the efforts of the AMA are representing you well.
We had a very good meeting with the FAA yesterday, December 30, in the office of the manager for FAA Special Operations Security Group. They are sympathetic to the problem this has created for our members and know that the vast, vast majority of model aircraft hobbyists/enthusiasts, whether they are members of a formal organization or not, wholeheartedly follow the rules, police themselves and others, and do everything they can to operate safely and legitimately.
We have sent invitations to the FAA and their inter-agency partners to come visit our fields and it looks like they will do that in the near future. We discussed a possible application process by which each club would submit a "fill in the blanks" letter that meets the FAA requirements to receive authorization to continue operations. The FAA said, "The last thing anyone wants to hear from the federal government is "be patient", but you folks have been patient, and understanding, and we sincerely appreciate both as we work to try and get you back in the air."
The club contacts in the AMA data base we used to contact all the effected clubs, caused problems in making sure all were notified because of inaccuracy or being out of date. It is very important we have a quick means for communicating with you. Please make sure when your club re-charters this year to provide good contact information and update it every year.
I don't have to tell you, we do not want any modeler creating an incident in the SFRA or anywhere else in the district or country for that matter, because that could jeopardize the process.
To those in the affected area, hang in there, we are working through this and "Go see some folks you might not have seen in awhile and enjoy their camaraderie and fly, and have fun safely."
jaymarsh.jpgMay we all have a Happy New Year.
—Jay Marsh
AMA District IV Vice President
(336) 687-0973
[email protected]
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