Originally Posted by
speedracerntrixie
However if you have a copy of an official document ( or anyone else for that matter ) from Hanson to the FAA that states all recreational R/C pilots NEED to be AMA members then I would be happy to admit that I am wrong.
Model Aviation is one of the official publications of the AMA, as it meets the criteria set forth in Article XIII of the AMA bylaws. And it was in that OFFICIAL publication, a "document" if you will, where Hanson states that "The Special Rule for Model Aircraft, enacted by Congress, requires that you 'operate in accordance with a community based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization' in order to be afforded the provisions of the rule. In order to operate within the programming of the AMA, you must be a participant in AMA's safety program." So riddle me this Batman... How can one be a PARTICIPANT IN AMA's safety program if membership is not required?
Originally Posted by
speedracerntrixie
Of course it's easy to come to the conclusion that when a government agency states " within the programming " that it could very well mean membership. The root cause of the confusion lays within the verbiage of what the FAA originally put out there. Compounded by Hanson not getting clarification prior to making assumptions.
Uhm... review timeline again. Almost TWO YEARS prior to Hanson's article quoted above, the FAA made their interpretation absolutely clear in their email to me, a copy of which I provided to AMA for their convenience.
2014 (Feb) : PL112-95 becomes law, which includes "Special Rule on Model Aircraft" (note 1)
2014 (Jun) : FAA issues their "Interpretation of the Special Rule on Model Aircraft" (note 2)
2014 (Aug) : AMA sues FAA over the FAA interpretation (note 3)
2016 (Jul) : I ask FAA if "...and within the programming..." requires membership; FAA responds two days later that it does not interpret "...and within the programming..." to require membership (copy attached)
2018 (Mar) : Hanson publishes column stating that "The Special Rule for Model Aircraft, enacted by Congress, requires that you 'operate in acccordancce with a community based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization" in order to be afforded the provisions of the rule. In order to operate within the programming of the AMA, you must be a participant in AMA's safety program." And I can't help but note that one cannot be a PARTICIPANT in AMA's safety program w/o membership.
2018 (Oct) : PL115-254 becomes law. Section 336 repealed, and language now says "...or within the programming..." (note 4)
Note 1:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-...ew=closed#tabs
Note 2:
https://www.federalregister.gov/docu...model-aircraft
Note 3:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/...model-aircraft
Note 4:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-...ew=closed#tabs