Heli Flight Center

02/05/2022

02/03/2016

A contrarian's view of the new drone registry. What does it accomplish?

The FAA drone registry imposes undue burdens on drone owners and is unable to deliver meaningful improvements in public safety.

12/17/2015

AMA asking members to hold of registering model aircraft pending action by the AMA to resolve issues around model aircraft and the new regulation

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,

12/15/2015

A note from the AMA regarding the new rules and how they are trying to simplify the process for members. Work inprogress.

AMA and the FAA Registration Process


Today the FAA announced plans for a model aircraft registration process to begin next week. AMA was a member of the task force that helped develop recommendations for this registration rule and argued throughout the process that registration makes sense at some level but only for those operating outside the guidance of a community-based organization or flying for commercial purposes.

Unfortunately, the new FAA registration rule does not include our advice. The rule is counter to Congress's intent in the Special Rule for Model Aircraft and makes the registration process an unnecessary burden for all of our members who have been operating safely for decades.

While we are disappointed with the new registration rule and still maintain that AMA members should be exempt from registration, the rule is being implemented over AMA objections. Therefore, we want to provide you with important information about the registration rule and how AMA members can comply with the new federal requirements:

All aircraft that are flown using a ground control system, such as a transmitter, are required to participate. This includes fixed-wing aircraft, not just multirotors or drones.
Any pilot flying models weighing between .55 pounds (or 250 grams) and 55 lbs is required to register.
You will not be required to register every aircraft individually. You only need to register yourself and can affix one registration number to all your aircraft.
You must mark all aircraft with your registration number. The number can be inside the aircraft, such as a battery hatch - but should not require tools to access.
The FAA plans to launch the online registration website on Monday, December 21.
There is a $5 fee to register, which is waived if you register within the first 30 days.
You only need to register once every 3 years.
We are still working out the logistics for this process. Some details are still being discussed, including:
We are seriously discussing with the FAA a system where your AMA number could be used as your federal registration number as well. At this point, this is only a proposal and details are not yet finalized.
At this time, AMA members will not automatically be registered when the registration website launches next week. However, we are in conversations with the FAA about the best way to streamline the registration process for AMA members going forward.
This is an ongoing process and we will continue to provide updates on the registration rule. Stay tuned to modelaircraft.org/gov, social media and your email for the latest news on the registration process.

Thank you,
AMA Government Relations and Advocacy Team

12/14/2015

New registration rules to be in effect December 21st. Just in time for Christmas.
Purchasers after Dec 21st must register before flying. If you already have own and have flown your aircraft you have until February 19th to register.

Some detail
"Registrants will need to provide their name, home address and e-mail address. Upon completion of the registration process, the web application will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft.
Owners using the model aircraft for hobby or recreation will only have to register once and may use the same identification number for all of their model UAS. The registration is valid for three years.
The normal registration fee is $5, but in an effort to encourage as many people as possible to register quickly, the FAA is waiving this fee for the first 30 days (from Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan 20, 2016)."

http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=19856


http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/20151213_IFR.pdf

12/09/2015

FAA reminds new holiday drone owners to fly safe.
Now for some common sense regulation that matches the guidance!

http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=84326

http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/2015-FAA-383-UAS_Holiday_Pre-flight-checklist_1200x627_ae05.pdf

11/14/2015

A look into the near future. Several projects looking at adding sophisticated collision avoidance and processing capabilities to UAV platforms. Real-time 3D mapping of ground and objects, on board situational awareness to increase safety, and more advance mission capabilities like object tracking will be coming to UAV platforms in the very near future. I see the ultimate selfie copter coming soon!!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/percepto-computer-vision-apps-for-drones #/

Percepto Plug & Play Computer Vision Add-On Brings Endless App Potential To Drones | Crowdfunding is a democratic way to support the fundraising needs of your community. Make a contribution today!

10/23/2015

http://blog.worldhumanitariansummit.org/entries/humanitarianrobotics/

10/17/2015

Monday could be interesting. Rumors that a press conference announcing hobby drone must be registered. hopefully there is exemptions for all those kids (and a bunch of adults) who like to fly small toy class "drones".

http://fortune.com/2015/10/16/drones-register-department-of-transportation/

The federal government plans to announce Monday that all drones will have to be registered.

10/06/2015

For those following UAS regulation progress the FAA has missed the deadline sett by congress 3 years ago. Projections are the proposed rule making will be implemented in 2016.
https://fcw.com/articles/2015/09/30/faa-drones.aspx

10/06/2015

For our friends in the San Francisco are flying UAV note the no fly due to the air show.

http://dronelife.com/2015/10/06/faa-no-drone-zone-during-fleet-week/

The FAA and the SFPD have declared San Francisco’s 35th annual Fleet Week a “No Drone Zone,” and threaten hefty fines for violators ...

09/22/2015

New camera and HD streaming products form DJI. DJI continues to develop the infrastructure for high quality HD video and remote streaming for broadcast and FPV use.

With just about unlimited SD on board storage, remote focus capabilty, 4K video and raw lossless capture DJI is upping the performance while keeping size and weight down for aerial applications.

http://www.dji.com/info/releases/dji-releases-four-new-groundbreaking-products

This week, DJI announced four new products within three product categories, all aimed at making professional-level aerial photography and videography more accessible.

09/01/2015

Drones go to college.

The use of drones in agricultural applications is rising rapidly in the US and worldwide By doing aerial mapping of crop health and modifying water and fertilizer applications based on the data farmers are reportedly seeing a 7 to 20% increase in productivity. Drones are dramatically lowering the cost of such data acquisition, making the capability available to smaller farmers and allowing more timely and comprehensive gathering of data.

The incorporation into agricultural curriculum makes sense and is a indicator of the value and success of UAS technology in this field.

http://unmanned-aerial.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1472 #.VeW8MflVhuA

Springfield, Ohio-based Clark State Community College has begun flying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as part of its new precision agriculture prog...

08/31/2015

It's good to see the FAA beginning to supply tools to UAS users that can give real time safety and flight restriction data to users in the field at their location.Proactive support and education rather than saber rattling. I think this is a positive move by the FAA.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/b4ufly/

B4UFLY is a simple, easy-to-use smartphone app that users will be able to access before they operate their unmanned aircraft to determine whether there are any restrictions or requirements in effect at the location where they want to fly. The FAA announced the app at the 2015 Association for Unmanne…

08/13/2015

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is investing $1 million in drone racing, bringing it one step closer to becoming a professional sport.

07/29/2015

FPV flying is becoming a sporting event. This is a great thing to bring more people into the fun of the RC hobby.

Another amazing FPV Racing event. Along with ImmersionRC, FatShark and countless others, FPV Racing is here to stay. On-board footage courtesy of Califrag, J...

07/24/2015

Some footage from the Drone Nationals in California last week.
Next the Olympics!

https://youtu.be/CD8y0UuSt3w

Final Friday at the Drone Nationals UBad BLuebery's View FPV 1 more Nationals VLOG to come! stay tune

07/22/2015

Flirtey completed its first FAA-approved drone delivery in the US. The FAA has consistently granted exemptions for drone uses that promote health and safety.