Originally Posted by
mattnew
I'm a club officer for our club here, we've been discussing this quite a bit....Here is my current take on it...
- AMA says that clubs are not required to require FAA registration from there members
- FAA has not said that community based organizations are required to police their own. The onus/responsibility is on the operator and only the operator.
- Local PD and DOT's do not have the authority to enforce the federal regulations put forward. The only thing they can do is contact the FAA and request the FAA investigate using the FAA's resources...and even then, according to the rules.. see #2, its the responsibility of the pilot, not the club according to current FAA rules.
- The FAA proposed regulations are not set in stone and won't be here for several years.
To jump and modify club by-laws to try and hit a moving target where it has clearly been stated that as of now the clubs have no need to do so seems a bit irresponsible to me. The ball is still in the air, we don't know where it is going to land, yet while it is in the air we are going to make our members jump through hoops that likely are going to change in the coming months. Bye bye members...
at some point a by-law update may be needed, but things are going to change, and until the dust settles I don't think it is prudent to go whacking away at the rules....
Maybe my club's actions are premature, but I don't see how it's irresponsible. The way I see it, the registration concept is here to stay. It seems to be a matter of whether or not the FAA can be convinced to connect it to the AMA registration. If you think the courts will sort this out anytime soon, you're in a dream land. The whole idea that FAA overstepped 336 and therefore instituted an unconstitutional rule will take years to sort out. Without the courts issuing an injunction (which I see as highly unlikely since there would be difficulty proving anything more than inconvenience for modelers), the FAA has the control until the courts hear the case and issue a ruling.
So it seems to me that modelers have a choice. Register and keep flying as you have been. Or, don't register and keep flying as you have been with the understanding that you may run into issues if you fly at other fields (in fun-flys/events for example) that require the FAA registration. I've seen one example of this where a multi-rotor racing league is requiring FAA registration to participate. So, you can "pay to play" or stay home. Either way, individuals have a choice.