| Presidents Corner
Saturday, July 22nd marks the date for our Club’s longest running event, and the one that affords us the most exposure to the community. Our first Rivertown Days event was held in 1986 at the now soccer fields west of the hospital and Pleasant Avenue. We haven’t missed a year since then.
We have towed banners, had full scale aircraft fly over, formation flying, as well as combat events, parachute drops and introductory flights which are still popular.
Each year I encourage members to participate in this event in some way. Besides flying planes, we set up a static display. There are always spectator questions to be answered and members needed to man the PA system, as well as help to set-up and tear down equipment.
Let’s all work together to make this event another successful one.
Dan
Annual Building Contest
There were 10 airplanes competing in the Building Contest this year.
Results:
1st Place - Bob Thomas - Super Cub
2nd Place - Larry McCormick - P51B Mustang
3rd Place - Mark Radle - P40 Tomahawk
There were many deserving airplanes entered which made voting extremely difficult. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all that contributed.
Rivertown Days 2017
Saturday, July 22nd is the date for this years’ event. We will begin set-up shortly after 9:00 AM, with a pilots’ meeting at 9:45 AM and an event start at 10:00 AM. Anyone who has proof of AMA membership is welcome to fly, so invite your friends from other Clubs to come.
As in past years, we will have open flying throughout the day and wrap things up at 3:00 PM. Anyone who has a program they wish to demonstrate is highly encouraged to do so. As in past years, participants will receive coupons for complimentary food and beverages at our refreshment stand. I should mention also that profits earned at the refreshment stand will be donated to the Hastings Animal Ark.
Hope you all can find time to contribute.
Dan
AMA Government Relations Update from the AMA Website Blog
Congress Drafting Legislation for Model Aircraft
June 24th, 2017
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate this week released proposed legislation for FAA reauthorization. We are pleased to share that both bills preserve the Special Rule for Model Aircraft and even contain some of the new provisions AMA has been advocating for to further protect our hobby. And while the Special Rule remains in both bills, there are areas of concern that we will continue to address with Congress.
As you may know, the Special Rule for Model Aircraft was passed in 2012 and allows community-based organizations (CBO) like AMA to continue managing our community of hobbyists without unnecessary government regulation.
As we shared on our blog yesterday, the House version of FAA reauthorization provides a clear definition of a CBO and tasks the FAA with developing a process for recognizing CBOs, both items we asked the House to include. In addition, the bill expands the protections of the Special Rule to allow model aircraft to be used as a teaching tool for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as aeronautics. Throughout the weekend and into early next week, we will continue to petition refinements to the bill.
The Senate version of the FAA reauthorization bill will require a little more effort, and we are working with the Senate to improve it. We believe it is important the Senate adopt language similar to the House to define CBOs and create a path to identify CBOs. However, we are glad that the Senate included the Special Rule for Model Aircraft and created carveouts for CBOs. The Senate bill also directs the FAA to prioritize education efforts such as the Know Before You Fly campaign, an effort which AMA helped create in 2014.
We will continue our work with the House and Senate. We are still early in the legislative process, but things can move quickly. At some point, we may need your help advocating to members of Congress to support these changes. In the meantime, we will keep you updated on how the legislative process progresses.
Please continue to monitor www.modelaircraft.org/gov and your email for the latest information. And as always, thank you for your support of AMA.
June 29th, 2017
AMA is working hard in Washington, D.C. to represent and protect our hobby. We want to share with you more information about our activities this week.
First, AMA President Rich Hanson attended two meetings of the FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which brings the industry together to provide recommendations to the FAA concerning a full range of aviation-related issues. Importantly, this includes the integration of UAS into our nation’s airspace. For years, AMA has shared our experience managing the hobbyist community in these meetings, which play a significant role in shaping FAA policy.
Also, our Director of Government Relations, Chad Budreau, participated in the Domestic Drone Security Summit. The goal of this meeting is to facilitate engagement between industry and government around drone security issues, inspire understanding, discuss solutions, and find areas for mutual collaboration.
This week Chad also met with the Army Corp of Engineers to discuss a potential partnership that could allow AMA to open many new flying sites across the U.S. Although this opportunity is still in the discussion phase, we are excited about creating more places for you to fly.
As always, we are committed to updating members on AMA’s government relations efforts as frequently as possible, including our work to protect the Special Rule for Model Aircraft in FAA reauthorization legislation. The most up to date information is available on our website www.modelaircraft.org/gov and we encourage you to reach out with any questions.
Dinner After the Meeting
During the months that we meet at the flying field, members who wish to dine do so after the meeting. We will decide at that time where we will be going. Everyone is welcome.
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