Hi all,

I have been advised today, by AMA Officials, that CDs of Sanctioned events are obligated to enforce all aspects of the AMA Rule Book and Safety Code. This means that a CD can not turn his head the other way if there is something happening that may be in violation of the Rules or the Code! This statement is found in the 2002-2004 Green rule book on page iv, just before page one, in the very first sentence!

Now that I have been "informed" and understand the rules, I am obligated to carry them out, at risk of losing my CD license and having the club lose its luxury of hosting a sanctioned event, if I / we, do not. With that in mind, I'd like to make the following statement:

At any future event that I promote or am Contest Director of, Safety Codes and Rules will be honored to the fullest. Among other things, this means there will be a scale on site to weigh any aircraft that is suspect of being over 55 pounds "wet". If the aircraft is indeed overweight, it will not be allowed to participate in any flying portion of the event.

Thank you for understanding.
FT

As it should be.....

Thanks for doing the right thing!!

I agree. The rules are there for a purpose - mainly to protect us all in one way or another. Breaking the rules for any reason is like cheating on a test. It's just plain wrong! I applaud you for standing up to what's right.

Does "wet" mean "fully fueled"? If so, I can see some people right on the edge only partially fueling their bird for the weigh in. Mind you, 55 lbs sounds absolutely monsterous from my point of view with my "tiny" 5-7 pound 61" Eindecker!

That's a good point. The 55 pounds means "wet", that is, with fuel. However, If somebody is so close that a little less fuel makes a difference, I'm not sure it is as major a concern as might be a 65 pound or 70 pound airplane. In any event, the rule states 55 lbs. with fuel. I'm curious if an electric aircraft's batteries are its fuel!
FT

I am aware of the 55 lb. limit, however I thought there was a clause or some rule that stated if a plane were over 55 lb. but under 100 lb. it could be inspected by an AMA inspector and flight approved. Or something like that.

Jay

LOL! Yes, and the batteries must be FULLY charged!

Yes Jay it falls under the AMA'a "Experimental model aircraft category. but it is a long process and not just a on the spot at a contest thing. AND it CAN NOT be turbine powered

Tom
AMA 8026 and one of them there inspector guys.

Geez, I wish the AMA would get past the 55 pound and turbine thing. Get with the times. I understand your point Frank.

Frank, I would think that batteries are part of the "mass" of an aircraft and would be part of the weight consideration. Considering that limiting the weight of the plane to 55 lbs is an attempt to reduce the energy on impact, you would have to consider the flying mass. Strangly there is no limiting of the speed which has a far influence on the energy than mass. I suspect the inforcement is much easier with weight than speed.. Just a thought. BobH.

Good point Bob

I thought there was a limit on speed, 200mph governors being required on turbines?

Either way, the limits are entirely arbitrary, with the only criteria being that a majority of decision makers have concluded "this is unsafe, this is not" with reference to a given limit.

Rick,
The 200 MPH limit is for turbine powered models only. There is no requirement for a speed limiter under the new turbine regs. The weight limit is 55 pounds take off weight, so you can adjust the fuel load as required to bring the TO weight to 55 pounds. Even though it's in the safety code for all models, the 55 pound limit is really directed, and being monitored, towards turbine models, especially twins. Now, since the weight issue is on AMA's radar, the CD is going to have to enforce it for all models.
BRG,
Jon

As for speed the fastest plane until the turbins became a reality was a glider developed by a Swedish teem back in 1979. If memory serves the speed was around 230 mph or so. They held the rc speed record for several years. The point of using a glider was to reduce the drag of the prop. I saw a video at Toledo in 1980 of the flight. After the plane got to altitude it was brought into a dive throught the speed trap. All you could hear was a slight ziiiiiip! Was pretty neat to see!

You are correct. A model over 55 pounds and up to 100 pounds can fly with an AMA "experimental" waiver. The wording of this waiver has changed frequently over the years to fit into what the AMA wants it to be. I brought a legitamate (waivered) 75 pound model to Top Gun in the late 90s which was the only case of its type in this country and it was a "legal" thing to do under the wording at that time. The wording of the "experimental" waiver then said that the waiver holder could fly at ANY AMA sanctioned event. Period. NOW, the AMA has changed the wording to read that a waivered model can fly at any AMA sanctioned event EXCEPT competition!

Ahh Patrick more of the nuance of interpretation. The Experimental document has had only one revision in 2002 that added web address references. The original document is very poor because it is a hodgepodge of at least 3 possibly 4 different documents that were slammed together without a significant level of editing. For example the base document has a section titled !QUOT!requirements!QUOT! but later in the document burred in other sections there are more requirements.

As to your point. When one reads the document in its entirety the sense is that the technology of the time a model over 55 pounds would only be flown as an exhibition type flight.

The actual restriction you refer to was that the model may not COMPETE at a competition. It may be flown and demonstrated at any AMA sanctioned event, and whenever the owner needs to go out and practice flying it

Tom Solinski
AMA 8026, Experimental Aircraft Inspector since the 80's

Hi all, it's me again.
If I may, I'd like to set the record straight about my original post. First of all, JETS have nothing to do with the reason for my post on CD requirements. It just so happens that I posted that right after Florida Jets. The reason for the post is because there were 3 entries coming to Top Gun, that qualify for Experimental waivers, that would not be allowed to fly. The AMA feels it is reasonable to fly the 70 pound models, prop powered by the way, at any AMA event, in front of 10,000 spectators, for demonstration purposes. And by the way, has anybody weighed one of the TOC type aircraft powered by a 4 cylinder engine yet? Wait til you hear those guys scream!! Anyway, back to this subject, the AMA Safety Committee says it is fine to demo fly those bigger models, but does not feel it is safe to fly the same experimental classed model in a Competition, in front of 500 spectators! As far as speed goes, from what I have seen, 200 mph is plenty fast for anybody. There seems to be no purpose in going any faster. It is far more fun to fly at speeds where you can enjoy seeing the model perform. A blistering pass is nice once in awhile but even that get old after awhile. The 55 pound weight thing is not aimed at Jets, perhaps the Experimental rule is biased in that it allows no opportunity for a jet to be classed Experimental if it weighs over 55 pounds, but that's why some feel it is time to get the officials responsible for not updating these rules to coincide with technolgy, replaced. That requires voting, something that only 15% of the membership did last time! We can change things and we can make a difference but it ain't gonna get done by sitting here, just taking about it. The old saying that Actions Speak Louder Than Words has never rung so true! Thanks for listening.

Frank,

I hope that the scale is on the flight line, and all aircraft are weighed just prior to being fired up.

My $ .02