Photo - Academy of Model Aeronautics
The Federal Aviation Administration’s plans to regulate unmanned aircraft systems are raising concerns at the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), which employs 57 people at its Muncie, Indiana Headquarters and draws thousands of visitors to the community each year.
The organization is nervous that the FAA will include model airplanes in its definition of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and impose regulations that could make AMA’s 150,00 members want to switch to another hobby. “We do not feel we need federal regulation because we are not the ones causing the problem,” said Chris Brooks, a spokesman for AMA. “We are hobbyists or sportsmen.”
In 2008, the FAA chartered a committee to make recommendations on how to regulate UAS. The problem, according to the FAA, is that, until recently, unmanned aircraft systems mainly supported military and security operations. But that is rapidly changing as interest is growing in a much wider range of uses, such as aerial photography, surveying land and crops, monitoring forest fires, and protecting borders and ports against intruders. One of the most promising uses of unmanned aircraft is law enforcement.
“Model airplanes are not unmanned aircraft in our opinion,” Brooks said. “When you say modeler it means hobbyist or sportsman. A stock car and a car are both cars, but they have different applications.” With more than 100,000 aviation operations a day (including commercial air traffic, cargo operations and business jets) in national airspace, the FAA says its main concern with unmanned aircraft is safety.
“It is critical that aircraft do not endanger other users of the national airspace or compromise the safety of persons or property on the ground,” FAA said in December. The agency aims to publish a proposed rule this year that would regulate unmanned aircraft. The uncertainty of what the rule will regulate and how is causing anxiety for model aviation enthusiasts, who fear the restrictions, could go too deep and limit the sport.
Besides its headquarters, AMA also maintains its National Model Aviation Museum and an International Flying Site at its 1,000 acre property in Muncie. “Our position is model aircraft are different from small, unmanned aircraft systems,” Brooks said. A military drone that performs reconnaissance as well as attack missions is an example of a UAS that many people are familiar with, Brooks said.
While real-estate agents could use unmanned aircraft to fly over buildings, and paparazzi could use them to take candid photos of celebrities, “we are hobbyists,” Brooks said. “But the FAA is saying, ‘Everybody out of the pool.’ We object to that, and are working to create alternative standards in case they do come down with heavy regulations.”
According to the FAA, in the United States alone, about 50 companies, universities and government organizations are developing and producing some 155 unmanned aircraft designs. One question being asked by the FAA is how unmanned aircraft will “sense and avoid” other aircraft.
The agency says it has received extensive public comment on unmanned aircraft, both from proponents who feel their size dictates minimal regulation and from groups concerned about hazards to piloted general aviation aircraft and the safety of people on the ground.
They’re probably going to be suggesting restrictions on size, weight, speed, altitude and proximity to airports, all things we self-police now,” Brooks said. “I challenge anyone to deny we have the safest record in all of aeronautics. We believe we have the right to be left alone from government overreach and onerous and impractical regulations.”
AMA’s safety code establishes 200 mph speed limits, a weight limit of 125 pounds and also limits operations to below 400 feet above ground level. “Flying over people or property is a big no-no,” Brooks said. Pilots also are required to keep their model aircraft within sight. “If the FAA makes it too constrained, people will go fishing,” Brooks said. “We are afraid they will unduly hamper the sport, hobby and educational pursuits if it’s too constrained. We are the incubator for aviation and aerospace.” For example, Robert Lee “Hoot” Gibson, a retired NASA astronaut, and former Navy top-gun fighter pilot Capt. Tom Huff started out as modelers, Brooks said.
Dave Mathewson, executive director of AMA, said the organization conducts events that bring thousand of visitors to Muncie ever year, including world championships that attract pilots from nearly three dozen countries.
Source: Star Press