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Discussion
FAA registration
Ok, here's my 2 cents on it. Actually I think it's more like a $1.50.
I have been reading a lot of reaction from the new FAA regulations. Almost every single post I read had mis-conceptions in it about the new regulation. Maybe my take on it will put it into perspective. First off let me say I am pissed about it. I am pissed about every single aspect that is the regulation, and lead up to the regulation. I am pissed at the government, many members of the AMA, and many non-members outside the AMA. People have tried to make this a drone vs everyone else issue. Well here's some history, feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Let's start by letting you all know that the AMA has been fighting against this type of regulation all along, way before drones existed. The special rule for model aircraft, rule 336 probably wouldn't exist if not for the AMA. Read some of their comments on it here, going back to 1981 :https://www.modelaircraft.org/files/...rpRule0914.pdf So for all you drone pilots that think the AMA isn't fighting for your rights, you should know that the AMA has been fighting for your rights since before your birth (start of the drone age). Matter of fact the AMA is just about our only way to fight the government from over regulating us. Knowing that, you would think the logical thing to do is to join AMA if you fly, and don't want to be regulated. That's not the case. The reason why is that I have read 100's of stories from new drone pilots who at least tried to get involved with an AMA club. Most new drone pilots had such horrible experiences, there was no way they would ever join the AMA, or would they have reason to believe that the AMA is fighting for them. This is not a new problem with the AMA membership (and probably some leadership as well). It seems that every new type of RC flight, there comes a resistance from a bunch of "old farts" who are set in their ways. I seen it with electric flight, I seen it with park fliers, with giant scale, with ARF's, and with 3D flight. On the other hand you have thousands of responsible RC pilots who have worked extremely hard at making the hobby safe, and acquiring fields to fly. They have witnessed the highest volume of irresponsible flying to ever take part in our history. Now that craft fly themselves, a whole new bunch of people are flying. Some would even say that they are of lesser intelligence because they do not build their craft, or know anything about flight. Being of that lesser mentality makes them more apt to break the rules. "If I see one more DJI phantom on the news, I will shoot my TV." That pretty much sums it up right there. Perhaps these people have forgotten what it is like to be a novice. They forgot how to approach beginners in an inviting way. My personal experiences with the AMA leadership has been great. I am part of a special legislative work group for my district to help identify new drone regulation. It's just volunteer. That role may be dying out as the federal seeks to make a universe type of rule. The leadership has always represented us. It has spent a record amount of money trying to defend the 336 rule. I think it's like 1/3 of the AMA's net worth was spent fighting stupid regulation caused by all the new irresponsible drone users. They have to because the new regulation attacks ALL types of RC pilots. Can you see how there would be animosity? The drone user group has like 80,000? members and is now seeking to become it's own CBO (community based organization). It is only CBO's that are exempt in the special rule 336. The drone user group probably thinks they can do better not being part of the AMA. Who really could blame them for that? It's a large group of people all with stories of bad experiences with the AMA. I am willing to bet the drone user group winds up with a set of rules that look exactly like the AMA. It's the only logical course. So basically the only reason for a second group is not because there needs to be different rules and insurances, it's because people don't know how to get along. That's what I am most pissed about, people not getting along. Perhaps if we were one larger group, we would have the resources to better fight the FAA. I don't mind the idea's behind regulation (but I hate the regulation itself). We in the AMA already follow that rule of putting our info on our craft. It's a good idea. It was never meant to stop bad people from doing bad things with drones. The average guy might stop and think before he does something illegal if his name is on the craft. There has to be some accountability when you fly, and there is a chance for an accident. That's about the only way it could stop bad people from doing bad things. It's to keep honest people honest. It also helps stop wasted time and money from investigations regarding illegal drone usage. Some pretty scary things have happened that haven't made the 5 o'clock news. FBI has to investigate, and if a registration number was on the craft, the investigation would be a whole lot shorter, and we would all be more at ease knowing it was just a random event, and not intentional. Sometimes you even get your craft back if you lose it because your info is on there. Do I want the regulation? No, I would like everyone to be on the same team and work together. This is a great opportunity for the AMA to grow, and certain members of the AMA should treat it as such. By the same token, new drone pilots should not give up just because they ran into some resistance with AMA members. I've experienced it first hand. Some of it was legit, and some of it wasn't. Know what I did? I made my own AMA club where everyone can get along. That's right, I made an AMA club. I did it with the help of local government. We give back tot he community by holding free events, and have stuff for the kids to do. We educate the general public. If you think it isn't possible to change the minds of thousands of people, think again. My community is very drone aware or pro-drone. One person can make a huge impact of a population of 4,000. If each and everyone of us did the same thing, we probably wouldn't have this mess on our hands. I am now working on an even larger population, and more flying fields. I didn't do it alone, I had support. Wish I had more. So those are my random thoughts on this topic. They are all based on logic and fact. Will I be registering my craft? Nope, not unless they change special rule 336. I will go to court to fight for my rights. Hopefully I won't have to, the AMA will fight for them as they always have. They are just a handful of guys, and a bunch of volunteers like myself, fighting a huge overbearing illogical government, fueled by the mis-information spread by the news like wild fire. There is no real danger. The odds are so small that anything can happen. Since when did we start living by odds, and not morals anyway? Of the 600+ incidents reported to the FAA last year, I think 20 of them were legit. With education, and people working together instead of fighting, we can get those incident numbers down real low to almost nothing. Then the news wouldn't have anything to make money off of, and the government would have such dire reasons to regulate us. At the same time grow our sport/hobby and give it a future. |
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