A glider in
a hi-start
launch at
Manassas
National
Battlefield
Park.
The Academy of Model
Aeronautics recently welcomed
Life Members Thomas J. Spratt,
Trabuco Canyon CA; Daryl
Orcelletto, Sierra Vista AZ;
William Becker, Schofield WI;
Joseph Phistry, Morris IL; Alex
Mirkovic, Hoschton GA; Vincent
Riggins, Bryan TX; Keith Hall,
Calico FL; and Daniel D. Hall,
Feeding Hills MA.
For information about becoming
a Life Member, contact AMA
Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
AMA Thanks Its
Lifetime Supporters!
Flying Resumes
After a yearlong
effort, the National
Park Service has
approved RC Sailplane
flying at Manassas
National Battlefield
Park, located in
Manassas, Virginia.
In June 2014,
the National Park
Service put out Policy
Memorandum 14-
05 that prohibited
RC model activity in
national parks, unless
it was specifically
approved at a
designated location in a park. The approval process now also includes a final
review by the national office in Washington, D.C.
As a result, the Manassas National Battlefield Park closed down its model flying
field. The club that had been using the field contacted AMA for help.
AMA Government Relations official
Rich Hanson and AMA Flying Site
Assistance Coordinator Tony Stillman
attended a meeting with the park
supervisor, Jon James, and two officers
of the Capital Area Soaring Association
(CASA), club president Dom Perez,
and John Resser, club liaison to the
park, in the fall of 2015.
As a result of this meeting, the park
management agreed to allow model
flying to resume, contingent upon
creating a final agreement. On February
18, 2016, the CASA club announced
that the agreement was complete and
the club could resume flying at the
park.
Congratulations to the CASA
club! A big thank-you goes to Dom
and John! Without their work, this
agreement could not have been
reached!
WRAM Show Best in Show Winner
Congratulations to Sal Calvagna,
Model Aviation’s “RC Giants” columnist,
on winning the Best in Show award
at the 2016 Westchester Radio Aero
Modelers (WRAM) Show, held
February 26-28 at the Meadowlands
Exposition Center at Harmon Meadow
in Secaucus, New Jersey. Sal’s 1/6-scale
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets features a 194-
inch wingspan and took more than a
year to build.
Sal emailed a request for scale
documentation for the aircraft build to
FAA (UAS) Registration Number Rule for Scale Aircraft
The recent FAA requirement to register all UAS aircraft weighing 250 grams or
more has created a concern for Scale competitors. This requirement could affect
the scale appearance by including the number on the aircraft. As a result, the AMA
Executive Council has voted to approve a rule that will go into the “General Section”
of the AMA Competition Regulations to address this. Here is the AMA rule that has
been enacted:
“For any category of Scale competition, there shall be no point deduction for
marking an FAA Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Registration number on the
aircraft. The FAA Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Registration Number shall be
in a type font no larger than 3/8 inch in height.”
The following rationale helps explain how and why this was done:
Because the FAA UAS registration is a federal regulation, AMA cannot hinder
a member from following such regulations, nor should following the regulation
penalize members (cause or permit a deduction of appearance points) in an AMA
contest for doing so.
For those who have registered or plan to register their aircraft, the AMA Executive
Council enacted this rule to accommodate the FAA regulation. Including your FAA
number on your aircraft will not result in a loss of points in Scale competition. AMA
does not expect club officers or contest directors to police the FAA registration
requirement. Compliance with this federal regulation is a personal decision of each
model flier.
13 Model Aviation MAY 2016
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