Nothing to embellish. AMA exists now at the behest of the FAA plain and simple. What's left for AMA to do? Any rule change has to be approved by the FAA. Any rule the FAA imposes the AMA is obliged to obey or risk losing their franchise. AMA can promote the hobby beating that same old drum and the same old excuses when it doesn't work. By caretaker I mean AMA is left to manage the decline of the hobby. Speculation on my part but in the near tern, next year and the year after. So the good news is we will all be around to see who's right.

The DOD just formally blacklisted DJI drones. That's going to put a chill on the droners, aka UAS, which means us too since AMA saw to it that we are tied at the hip with drones.

DOD blacklisted DJI back in 2009. 13 years ago. Had little effect on DJI’s growth. FAA recognizes that we traditional guys aren’t the problem. One fact that you AMA floggers seem to avoid at all costs is that the FAA has not interfered with a single AMA Nats event since this all started. What would make a better example then the FAA showing up at the Nats and close down soaring and pattern?

5 years ago I was on some FPV lunatic forum. I said their hobby was going to eventually end on the spying issue. Some guy piped up and poo-poo'd the idea that someone could see well enough with grainy analog FPV video to call it "spying". I said wait 5 years. Guess what, there are now cameras that allow someone to see the color of buttons on a shirt. After FPVers finally realize there is no way around Remote ID, privacy will be the next battle they are going to lose.

That FAA isn't going to shut down any events. They've just put the hobby in a box that makes it more likely than not it is going to decline. It's not just me saying so. When I emailed all of those radio manufacturers about modules I posted a quote from one of them who said youth demand for RC planes and helicopters was all but non-existent. The good news is we will all be around to see what happens. We can compare notes when AMA can no longer hide the figures.

Less people participate in the NATS than vote, so not much of an example....

That’s not the point. If the FAA thought we were the issue it would certainly send a strong message to shut down any Nats event that requires more then 400’.

Where do you find the DOD blacklisted DJI in 2009? The Army banned DJI drones in 2017 but not the DOD, leading to some confusion since other departments continued to use them. The DOD banned commercial-off-the-shelf drones in 2018 but not contract providers. The current ban is outright.

While at Lockheed Martin in 2009 I received weekly security alerts. On stated that any and all subcontractors to the Federal Governent were to immediately discontinue the use of DJI drones. The reason given was that during firmware updates the usage logs and in some cases videos were being downloaded onto DJI servers.

No doubt the Chinese military has a backdoor with DJI drones. AeroScope is based on a CCP Air Force program designed by the founder of DJI. But 2009 was 3 years before even Section 336 and well before the drone craze when drone sales exploded. Nothing to do with what we are talking about.

But it's a good segue into the motivation of Rich Hanson, playing the big shot on UAS/drone issues since 2009, jetting around to DAC's and ARC's and FAA meetings wasting AMA members' dues on all things having nothing to do with the core mission of AMA. I feel sorry for the rank and file who keep AMA running, but the "active" members who voted for this fraud deserve what's coming.

FAA has always been more reactive than proactive.
so, no surprise that they have not done any event shutdowns, yet. they will wait for the inevitable to happen, then step in with pages of new restrictions to impose.

LOL what's the "Inevitable" that will happen?

I can’t help but notice that when one side makes comments such as these, full of speculation it is well received by that group. When others speculate or make predictions, they are immediately pounced on.

LOL. Please expound on, "Well received by that group".

Mongo makes a comment at almost 10:00 p.m. and 8 hrs later it is considered, "Well received" because nobody challenged it overnight?

C'mon, man......

Just more of your spin, that's all.

Astro

And yet my comment is challenged in less then one hour. Point made.

My comment was “ comments such as these “ meaning more then just one comment. Remember, words have meaning. You argue the point based on this one single comment. Just who is spinning here Astro?

No point made at all. My comments stand. Can you refute my statement? It is absolutely true.

I know you don't like being called out, but it doesn't change reality.

Astro

Your taking things out of context doesn’t make for reality.

if we knew that, we could take steps to prevent it.

DJI’s first drone Phantom 1 came out in 2013. So much for that anecdote.

First consumer drone. Shouldn’t stop your research as soon as you find what you want to find.

You said this supposed ban had no effect on drone sales, which in context occurred many years later. In 2009 no one even knew who DJI was. Something you just pulled out of your hat.

The company was founded in 2006 by Frank Wang (Wāng Tāo, 汪滔).[10] Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, he enrolled as a college student in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2003. He was part of the HKUST team participating in ABU Robocon and won third prize.[11]

Wang built the first prototypes of DJI's projects in his dorm room, selling the flight control components to universities and Chinese electric companies. He used the proceeds to move to the industrial hub of Shenzhen and hired a small number of staff in 2006. The company struggled at first, with a high degree of churn among employees that has been attributed to Wang's abrasive personality and perfectionist expectations of his employees. The company sold a modest amount of components during this period, relying as well on financial support from Wang's family friend, Lu Di, who provided US$90,000 and managed the company's finances.[12] In 2009, DJI's components allowed a team to successfully pilot a drone around the peak of Mt. Everest.[6]

...

Changed it to better describe your self appointed RCU role.

Except for the fact that you haven't been able to prove any of my statements wrong!

Your confirmation bias doesn't change the truth.

Astro

BFD, however rather then let you bait me into another argument that is nothing but you disrespecting the other forum members for your own personal satisfaction, I will just ignore you.

No bait. Just because you don't like what I say, or don't like reality, does not constitute an argument. For you to claim that my opinion is, "disrespecting the other forum members for your own satisfaction" is your passive aggressive way of slinging mud and is a manifestation of your narcissism. In other words, your passive aggressive way of saying my opinion is offensive.
Keep on spinning, speed.

Astro