Question to AMA
 

Dear Ladies & Gentlemen,

Upon viewing and reading many comments and discussions on various websites in regards to " DRONE'S / MODEL AIRPLANES ", the subject has arisen that it may be necessary to pass an online test to fly a model airplane. Which brings me to the following statement and questions.

1. I hold an ATP Certificate which is an Airline Transport Pilot, issued by the FAA, which entitles me to fly any and all aircraft. I have passed tests for the Private, Multi-Engine, Commercial, Instrument, Instructors and Airline Transport certificates.

2. With all of the above stated, why should it be necessary for me to pass a test to fly a " Radio Controlled Airplane " ?

Finally, I would like to know why the AMA has not launched a NATIONAL program to explain to the general public that it is not the Model Aircraft Hobbyist, but the rogue DRONE operators that are causing all of the air space problems ?

Very much looking forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

David xxxxxxx

:cool: Two very good questions that I believe deserve a straight answer from the AMA Prez himself . Problem is , I don't think the AMA posts anywhere in an "official capacity" except at it's own website , so maybe you should ask these questions over at the "AMA Blogs" site ?

Like yourself , I too have experience with the FAA , as you know mine being an A&P Mechanic . Similar to your question , why should I need to pass any model plane aeronautical technical knowledge test when I've already passed the FAA's full scale version ?

I doubt the FAA even thought someone with your experience would consider flying a toy. They think it's just kids and young millennial's..

Well, we all know that the FAA does not think. LOL

I really doubt that even yourself consider our models to be toys. Also, I am sure like most of us hobbyists, you have been building models for quite some time, have immensely enjoyed the hobby and for the life of us do not know why anybody would want deny us something that has given us a lifetime of fun, enjoyment and pleasure. Especially and I could be wrong on this, but not from what club members have demonstrated to me and that is that we are 99.9% law abiding citizens.

Have already received a reply from the AMA. They have referred my question to somebody else and will get back to me.

Sounds like an FAA reply ! :rolleyes: LOL

You should not need to pass any model aeronautical technical knowledge test. You have studied, passed the required tests and I am sure demonstrated your abilities.

Plus, like the two clubs that I belong to and I am sure this is true of clubs across the country, when a new hobbyist / builder / pilot can fly solo at our fields, they must demonstrate their abilities to a training pilot. As was mentioned at a meeting this past Sunday, some very good pilots that head South for the winters have had to demonstrate their abilities, before being allowed as a guest pilot at other fields.

:cool: Yes Sir , the "Practical Examinations" which were dreaded by most were an interesting experience , that's for sure . I was SUPER lucky in that my whole life I have been a "motorhead" and grasped all of the principles of Cam timing & magneto timing and that was the thing most folks really dreaded . During the practicals the FAA IA would take either the left or right magneto out of a test stand mounted Continental A65 , give it a few spins , spin the prop once or twice for good measure , and then tell you to put it back and have no more than 25 RPM mag drop during the L&R mag test . Not to brag , but I was so good at it that my instructors all had bets on how fast it would take me to have it reinstalled & pass the mag check .

Also , you make a great point about how each AMA chartered club I've ever belonged to requires a "check ride" no matter who you are , no exceptions . At the club level it's very easy to determine who can fly and who still needs a bit more training , but our system which works so well for us provides the FAA no proof that any of the NON club flyers who are flying FPV drones from their backyards have the knowledge & skills required to fly . AMA and or club member ? = should be enough to allow LOS RC operations . Want to fly a drone BLOS ? = yea , I can see the FAA wanting proof that person actually knows what's required of him .

The AMA's track record for controlling all safety issues for long as i can remember , should be enough ,for the people in this organization to continue as they have ,with no interference or intervention from anyone
Drones need there own new set of rules ,that have little to do with the traditional RC hobby Guy
The rules presently in place ,allow each chartered field ,to test RC pilots to establish there flying abilities , so why should this be duplicated in any way
Why do we need to be tested TWICE for the same thing ,just wasted energy and more annoying RULES

From my observations, the AMA has always been reactive and not proactive. Until that changes we are going to always be behind in most issues! They continue to remain silent when some idiot pulls another "Drone"
stunt (about once a week) with media coverage. Has anyone seen a statement condemning such from AMA? They have spent a huge amount for press yet could obtain a great deal of that for free by letting the media know it's
not AMA members responsible and we do not condone illegal activity as it happens.

They try but are not up to the game!

Are you aware of how long they have been working on the MR/Drone issue? Do you think it's been a year or two, or perhaps far longer than that?

What specific proactive steps would have avoided were we find ourselves now? Why do you think the AMA responding to every negative drone issue would be helpful? Do you think that perhaps the public might actually form more of a negative opinion if the AMA was linked to EVERY negative drone incident? Familiarity and all......

They actually have issued numerous press releases about safe operations, but I guess that all gets drowned out in the negativity. What is the "huge" amount they have spent for press, and how do you know what they did or didn't get for free? Do you think it cost them anything for the opinion piece written in the USA Today, or the interviews in print/tv media, or even the testimony before congress?

Earlier today, in response to a question on the AMA blog, the AMA employee holding the title "Public Relations and Governmental Affairs" mentioned that "AMA members" were exempted from the 400 foot limit as a result of language in Senator Thune's amendment to the bill. I asked Chad if this new language and his comment indicated that AMA intended to require membership to exercise this exemption. He got snippy.

When I posted a followup noting that one would be correct to assume that someone with his title is not only speaking for the AMA, but that we should also assume someone with his title chooses words precisely and intentionally. Not only did he remove that post (declined to moderate it), but still hasn't answered.

If you think that AMA needs to go on record with their interpretation as to whether membership will be required to fly above 400 feet, please ask on their blogs. I think they owe us a clear answer.

You hit the nail on the head. I think they can't make a clear distinction that it's not their members. They want to hope that's the case, but they don't know for sure. Of course, if they had never embraced drones to try and boost membership, it would have been easy to make that distinction. But alas, that ship has sailed.

S you think it makes sense that every time someone does something foolish with a drone, the AMA should get right out there and condemn that? Because that surely won't put the AMA is the same category as a reckless drone operator in the minds of the public. Please. The general public isn't aware of the AMA, they just know that someone has done something stupid with a drone. Tie the AMA into that for every instance and they will most assuredly link the two together.

This is just a backdooor way for people to try to have the AMA distance itself from MR/Drones. It's not going to happen.

I haven't seen an instance yet where Chad got "snippy"...where is the link or the quote of him being snippy. They of course have the ability to moderate or better yet ignore people who get rude, or try to back them into corners with one question after another. They don't do it all the time as reading the threads clearly indicates. Sometimes people have no common sense and just unload in those threads as if the person answering the questions did something wrong. They have a sense of entitlement that every question they ask should have an answer, and when it's not the one they want, they attack.

I questioned Chad's response about the 400ft "exemption for AMA members" also. When you hit submit on the FAA registration site you agree to fly under 400ft. I haven't received a reply.

Mike

He and others at the AMA have addressed that, repeatedly, and it's been answered in these threads as well, repeatedly. Not sure how many times they are going to answer the same question.

I firmly believe the president of the AMA has no problem forsaking traditional model aircraft for autonomous drones. He believes the AMA will grow with new membership of drone operators and the members who are traditional R/C pilots are now secondary. He and the AMA have launched a "Drones are Good" program to defend drone flying but never took equal effort to explain to the FAA the vast difference between autonomous drones and traditional model aircraft that operate line of sight. The AMA has "reacted" to the ridiculous senate proposals but never took the proper initiatives to prevent this. Instead, they embraced autonomous drones at the expense of the freedoms for traditional model aircraft flyers.

Well at least we won't have to get a physical!

Yet..................................

Mike

Nor a psychological,test which I think most of us would flunk.

Not me "My mother had me tested"....................

Mike

It's interesting that on hand, people have huge expectations for what the AMA should do, and should have done, but then go right to saying how small and powerless the operation is. I mean, which is it? The president of the AMA is by all rights a "traditional" modeler....as were the prior ones as well. It's curious to hear someone say he'd basically sell out the whole hobby for a small (but growing) segment of the hobby, and a pretty new one as well. I wonder if that's what folks said of the AMA presidents in the past when Nitro and Gas and Helis came into popularity. Be interested to hear what specific initiatives the ama should have taken to prevent a huge federal agency from doing what they want. Other than "ban drones/MR" from the AMA, in two years I've yet to see one legitimate meaningful suggestion put out there. And we now know that banning anything would have been useless.

Sorry, I have to disagree with your statement " that ship has sailed ".

I personally think that " the ship has SUNK " ! :(

As a professional pilot for over 40 years, I refuse to register with the FAA for the "right" to operate my model aircraft. I am now part of the 250 gram and under club. I also fly control line.

What a sad state of affairs for our hobby and our country. I pray for new leadership on both counts.

Hope you're not cutting off your nose to spite your face by limiting what you can fly. The reg wasn't that bad. It's regrettable what's going on now, but i'm confident we will end up o/k. New leadership at any level won't be able to drastically change where we are, or where we are going. This isn't some sudden initiative from elected officials, and our leadership can't control to any large degree what happens at the federal level. What do you think a new AMA president would be able to do that the current one wasn't able to do? Like, specifically.