The effects of not being approved has yet to be seen. We'll see. My money is that it likely does mean lost flying fields.

Astro

It is offensive that you would even ask me if I voted. You KNOW I do, we've discussed it numerous times over the years here, of course it doesn't surprise me that you asked because that is part of your self-righteous attitude. My experience is that the majority of the 6% are just like you, wanting to be part of the good ole boy club and voting status quo, so my vote doesn't really count, but I cast it nonetheless, because that is all I can do.

Astro

Because it's possible. Sometimes property owners just don't want the hassle. Any form of new restrictions especially from the goverment ., there are times when even after explaining the new changes they just pull the plug. There's no guarantee people using the filed will abide by the new regulations. Who's going to enforce them? Club officers are not federal agents and have no authority ( and who wants that) ? I certainly don't. Heck we ave lost fields just due to noise and silly complaints from neighbors.,

Just food for thought.
Mike

Looks just like my ballot, right down to the boxes colored in. Were you looking over my shoulder when I voted?

when you guys read the campaign statements from cameron and hanson, could you tell any actual difference in how they would guide the AMA?
i could not.

and that is probably the main reason for the lack of voter turnout in these AMA "elections".

every candidate is just more of the same old same old stuff.

and yes, i am also a 6%er

Okay guys, I've tried to stay out of this one but after the past 10 or so posts, I think I need to weigh in:

1. I have to agree, flying fields could very well be lost since none of the major radio manufacturers are doing anything to produce the modules required to fly on non-FRIA sites.
2. If a flying site is privately owned, the owner can "pull the plug" at any time for any reason. Local governments can also shut a site down for any reason. Yes, been there seen that. We raced boats on a privately owned lake a few years back. After two years running at the site, the owner turned us down for a third year, never heard the reason. After several years racing at a county park, the county denied our application to race there again due to noise complaints. We are now down to 7 sites that will still allow us to run with nitro or gas boats that I know of. Two of them require us to actually take measures to prevent getting oils or any other fluids on the ground, failure to do so can and will cost us the sites.
3. Since no radio manufacturer is presently working on producing the modules Andy has referred to in at least two posts, we can assume they have no plans to do so in the near future, so modules are, at this time anyway, a moot point

The last chance to avoid the stranglehold the FAA now has on the hobby was in AMA's 2016 election for president. Here is an article in sUAS News (tagline, the business of drones) by Gary Mortimore, founder and editor, opposing Lawrence Toungas as president of AMA, "Lawrence Toungas for AMA president, just say no" (with a mocking YouTube music video for good measure). The premier drone lobby publication in the US of course was behind drone/FPV promotor Rich Hanson. In hindsight it could not be more clear what a poison pill drones and FPV have been for RC flying. It is also clear the droners were laughing all the way to the bank over the stupidity of AMA. The article includes Tougas' campaign statement which is a mini-history of how it all turned out.
https://www.suasnews.com/2016/08/law...t-just-say-no/

@Hydro Junkie. Remote ID will depress the hobby regardless whether modules become available or not. In Japan now over 100 grams are required to have modules and people are parking their drones.

I hadn't heard that one yet but, if true, we will see similar over here probably very soon after the rules go into effect

We wouldn't be talking about modules if there was a non-advanced, no cameras or GPS navigation exemption. The question is why did AMA sue the FAA over drones and FPV, off-field activities, but never for model aircraft. If you read Lawrence Tougas' statement, he says in 2016. "Less than 10% of our members list MRM or First Person View (FPV) as their interest". And most were AMA members already. What kind of insanity was it that AMA kept listening to Rich Hanson and his delusions about drones and FPV. Why did AMA keep going down that road?

They were egged on in the drone scam by guys like Gary Mortimore at sUAS. "A president that turns his back on the technology and users does so at his own peril", trying to buffalo modelers into believing drones were AMA's future. He uses threats like, "Many private RPA [drone] operators have joined the AMA as they thought it was fighting their corner". He says the drone community is many times bigger than AMA: Take us in or we'll leave you out in the cold. Which is exactly what happened. The droners wanted AMA for only one thing, the 336 exemption, which they illegally used for FPV and commercial work under the guise of being hobbyists. AMA obliged but the droners never returned the favor, as anyone with a pulse could have predicted, And once 336 was gone in 2018, the droners no longer had any use at all for AMA.

Thank You for affirming my decision Captain Strowe

Hi Mongo, yes I agree they are far more similar than I'd hope to see. I went with the "If your not happy with the way things are now, when in doubt, vote the incumbent out" ethos of making my selection

And, lastly, if any candidate was behind Echo's "Non-advanced, no cameras or GPS navigation exemption" he (or she) would automatically have my vote

How DARE you discriminate your fellow hobbyists! I suppose you dislike helicopters, too?








(All typed tongue-in-cheek of course! All things that were posted to me when I said that years ago, when this all started.)

Astro

Hmm, Helicopters, , , , , a machine with the glide ratio of a piano, what's not to like.....

Piano??? Maybe a keyboard.

Actually, depending on the type of piano, they can be quite a load. For the various types of piano, they can weigh:

• Spinet Piano (36″-40″ height)...................200-400lbs (91-181kg)
• Console Piano (40″-43″)..........................350-450lbs (159-204kg)
• Studio Piano (44″-48″).............................400-500lbs (181-227kg)
• Upright Piano (48″-60″)............................500-1000lbs (227-454kg)
• Petite Baby Grand (4’6″-5′ length).............400-500lbs (181-227kg)
• Baby Grand Piano (5′-5’6″).......................500-600lbs (227-272kg)
• Medium Grand Piano (5’6″-5’9″)................600lbs (272kg)
• Living Room Grand Piano (5’10”)...............700lbs (318kg)
• Professional Grand Piano (6′)....................700lbs (318kg)
• Parlor / Recital Grand Piano (6’3″-6’9″)..... 750lbs (340kg)
• Semi-Concert Grand Piano (7′-8’6″)...........900lbs (408kg)
• Concert Grand Piano (8’11″+)...................900-1200lbs (408-544kg)

For a comparison, the full size Glasair III has an empty weight of roughly 1500lb and a Bell Jet Ranger is roughly 1800lbs

So the question is whether the helicopter is free falling with the rotors stopped or in autorotation?

This piano probably has about the same glide ratio as a helicopter doing an auto.

Thank You Astro, that is awesome !!!!

If my old eyes were seeing right, it looks like the keyboard was set up as Elevons, with he himself as the rudder. I'm honestly amazed that those little wheels did so well going over the ruts in the runway

So how many 6 percenters here voted for Lawrence Tougas?

I have to imagine that I will be the only one. Since I personally know Lawrence, we had a few conversations about AMA and drones. I was well aware of his stance. I came here and asked that people who intended to vote do their own research on Lawrence and vote accordingly. Basically asking for them to at least consider Lawrence. That was met with the usual verbal abuse from the RCU good ‘ole boys club.

Good on you, one of the few. Here's Lawrence Tougas statement actually saying something about the direction of AMA: https://www.modelaircraft.org/2016-tougas-statement

"Less than 10% of our members list MRM or First Person View (FPV) as their interest. Most of the current MRM and FPV pilots that are AMA members are traditional modelers who have expanded into these areas not new recruits to our fold. So if we are not seeing a large increase in membership in these areas then why is the AMA chasing people who have clearly spoken that the AMA is not for them?"

And here's Hanson's: https://www.modelaircraft.org/2016-hanson-statement. A bunch of vague platitudes, nothing about drones, and this whopper of a lie, "Congress recognized AMA as a nationwide community-based organization (CBO)". That lie didn't age well with still no official CBO designation 6 years later.

This naturally was during the time AMA was falsely claiming you had to be an AMA member to fall under section 336. It was Franklin who first called out that lie with a response he got from the FAA in I think 2017. Then at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics show in 2018, the director of FAA's UAS Integration Office publicly made the statement that AMA membership was not required for 336, officially ending that particular AMA fraud. This was 10 days after Rich Hanson pissed away any good will AMA had left in his op ed in The Hill calling on Congress to pass a law forcing RC hobbyists to join AMA or be fined by the FAA under Part 107.

A lot of AMAers were all on board the forced membership scheme, no doubt a big part of "active" membership, the 6%ers who voted for liar and swindler Rich Hanson 2 to 1 over Lawrence Tougas. As could be predicted, it all came crashing down with AMA now under the thumb of the FAA.

Now maybe you can see why I want nothing to do with AMA. It isn't the drive or fellow club members. I'd find another hobby before I'd send $.02 to AMA.

LT got my vote as well, bit, i did it knowing that the cause was already lost.

And now that AMA has been reduced to a caretaker for the FAA all the president can do is pretty up the place, redesign the logo or change the official font, etc., and wait for orders.

Yea, I had the same mindset.

These types of posts is why some consider me an avid AMA supporter. I simply disagree with these type of embellished opinions.