[NSRCA-discussion] FAA Registration begins December 21

Thu Dec 17 13:33:06 AKST 2015

Problem is when the FAA already holds your certification in their hands,
what do you do?  To stay out of trouble, I may register anyway.  I couldn't
afford to have the FAA pull my certificate for any reason, quite literally.

*Scott A. McHarg*
VSCL / CANVASS U.A.S. Research Pilot
Texas A&M University
PPL - ASEL

On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 4:23 PM, Peter Vogel <vogel.peter at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear AMA Members,
>
> Yesterday, the AMA Executive Council unanimously approved an action plan
> to relieve and further protect our members from unnecessary and burdensome
> regulations. This plan addresses the recently announced interim rule
> requiring federal registration of all model aircraft and unmanned aircraft
> systems (UAS) weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds.
>
> AMA has long used a similar registration system with our members, which we
> pointed out during the task force deliberations and in private
> conversations with the FAA. As you are aware, AMA's safety program
> instructs all members to place his or her AMA number or name and address on
> or within their model aircraft, effectively accomplishing the safety and
> accountability objectives of the interim rule. AMA has also argued that the
> new registration rule runs counter to Congress' intent in Section 336 of
> the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, otherwise known as the
> "Special Rule for Model Aircraft."
>
> The Council is considering all legal and political remedies to address
> this issue. We believe that resolution to the unnecessary federal
> registration rule for our members rests with AMA's petition before the U.S.
> Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This petition, filed in
> August 2014, asks the court to review the FAA's interpretation of the
> "Special Rule for Model Aircraft." The central issue is whether the FAA has
> the authority to expand the definition of aircraft to include model
> aircraft; thus, allowing the agency to establish new standards and
> operating criteria to which model aircraft operators have never been
> subject to in the past.
>
> In promulgating its interim rule for registration earlier this week, the
> FAA repeatedly stated that model aircraft are aircraft, despite the fact
> that litigation is pending on this very question. The Council believes the
> FAA's reliance on its interpretation of Section 336 for legal authority to
> compel our members to register warrants the Court's immediate attention to
> AMA's petition.
>
> While we continue to believe that registration makes sense at some
> threshold and for flyers operating outside of a community-based
> organization or flying for commercial purposes, we also strongly believe
> our members are not the problem and should not have to bear the burden of
> additional regulations.  Safety has been the cornerstone of our
> organization for 80 years and AMA's members strive to be a part of the
> solution.
>
> As we proceed with this process, we suggest AMA members hold off on
> registering their model aircraft with the FAA until advised by the AMA or
> until February 19, the FAA's legal deadline for registering existing
> model aircraft.
>
> Holding off on registration will allow AMA time to fully consider all
> possible options. On a parallel track, it also allows AMA to complete
> ongoing conversations with the FAA about how best to streamline the
> registration process for our members.
>
> In the near future, we will also be asking our members to make their
> voices heard by submitting comments to the FAA's interim rule on
> registration. We will follow-up soon with more detailed information on how
> to do this.
>
> Thank you for your continued support of AMA. We will provide you with more
> updates as they become available.
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
> The AMA Executive Council
>
> Bob Brown, AMA President
> Gary Fitch, AMA Executive Vice President
> Andy Argenio, AMA Vice President, District I
> Eric Williams, AMA Vice President, District II
> Mark Radcliff, AMA Vice President, District III
> Jay Marsh, AMA Vice President, District IV
> Kris Dixon, AMA Vice President, District V
> Randy Cameron, AMA Vice President, District VI
> Tim Jesky, AMA Vice President, District VII
> Mark Johnston, AMA Vice President, District VIII
> Jim Tiller, AMA Vice President, District IX
> Lawrence Tougas, AMA Vice President, District X
> Chuck Bower, AMA Vice President, District XI
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 2:22 PM, Dennis Bodary via NSRCA-discussion <
> nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> wrote:
>
>> And now the AMA says hold off on registering your aircraft
>> --------------------------------------------
>> On Thu, 12/17/15, Scott McHarg via NSRCA-discussion <
>> nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> wrote:
>>
>>  Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] FAA Registration begins December 21
>>  To: "Ted Sander" <tedsander at comcast.net>, "General pattern discussion" <
>> nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
>>  Date: Thursday, December 17, 2015, 5:16 PM
>>
>>  Sorry, that was page 36 for
>>  non-political individuals.
>>
>>  Scott A. McHarg
>>  VSCL / CANVASS U.A.S. Research
>>  PilotTexas A&M UniversityPPL -
>>  ASEL
>>
>>  On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at
>>  4:13 PM, Scott McHarg <scmcharg at gmail.com>
>>  wrote:
>>  According to them.....
>>  http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/2015-12-13_2120-AK82_RIA.pdf
>>
>>  "Benefits" start on page
>>  29
>>  Scott A. McHarg
>>  VSCL / CANVASS U.A.S. Research
>>  PilotTexas A&M UniversityPPL -
>>  ASEL
>>
>>  On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 4:11 PM, Ted
>>  Sander via NSRCA-discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
>>  wrote:
>>   Missing from the official
>>  publicity of all this is the “What is this going to
>>  do?”.  Is there any “official” information about what
>>  registration hopes to accomplish (as opposed to the
>>  “they’re coming to get us” theories)?  Even if it was
>>  a page of “Know before you fly” info during the
>>  registration process, I would be more supportive.  But all
>>  I can speculate on is that it is to “Hope we find that one
>>  little part that has the registration number on it”.
>>  We’ve all seen RC mid-airs and crashes, and know that
>>  often full recovery of parts is very difficult.  If
>>  something bad happens, the odds seem pretty low that even if
>>  there is a number, it will be found and traced to the owner,
>>  even if there is one!It would perhaps be better to have
>>  the FCC mandate registering receivers/control units that
>>  have and “squawk” a unique identifier, than this poorly
>>  thought out
>>  solution!
>>  _______________________________________________
>>
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>>
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>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Director, Fixed Wing Flight Training
> Santa Clara County Model Aircraft Skypark
> Associate Vice President, Academy of Model Aeronautics District X
> Treasurer, National Society of Radio Control Aerobatics (NSRCA)
>
>
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