US model flying regulation changes

[MattyB]

Some sobering news from the US... the FAA Reauthorization bill was passed this week, and in it looks like the US going a very similar route regarding model flying to the recent changes made to the ANO in the UK with a height limit, online registration and competency testing. However, they are not getting an exemption to the 400ft height limit at all and the Special rule for model aircraft (Section 336) will be repealed entirely.

The AMA are not happy, but it seems they are powerless to do very much. Unlike there the commercial drone lobby was very vocal in the run-up to this, esposing 336 be dispensed with for safety reasons, but of course the real reason was that they want the space for their own operations. It seems we have got off lightly here by comparison, at least for now.

[Geoff S]

So much for the 'land of the free'! We should be grateful for what the BMFA et al have achieved to allow us to continue flying as we have for many years with minimal problems. Considering how thinly populated the US is compared to most of Europe (particularly the UK) I'm surprised the authorities have been so draconian over there.

Geoff

[ken anderson.]

hopefully the new introduced regs will work as reqd and we the (genuine lads) don't get sacrificed for the wasters...in the UK...….. hopefully.

ken anderson ne...1...wasters dept.

[Piers Bowlan]

The new regulations that all model aircraft must be registered and marked will likely swamp the FAA with registrations or alternatively, many modellers will simply give up or become model flying outlaws! Not a happy outcome for our US model flying cousins. Far more sensible that UAV operators are registered rather than their individual models! They are also talking about electronic identification.

I think we have got off lightly here in the UK, thanks to the efforts of the BMFA and the pragmatism of the CAA.

[John Stainforth]

This is very disappointing for the AMA - they worked very hard with the US government on this, which led to the good outcome of 336. I think it is a sign of the times and the current administration. Unfortunately, the UK tends to follow the US.

BTW, we already have the registration requirement in the US with the FAA.

Another worrying trend in the US now is that some of the hobby shops are running thin on model aircraft and RC stocks, partly because of the problems with Horizon, but also because the Trump tariffs on Chinese goods are putting a major spanner in the works

[malcolm woodcock 1]

Remember when we lost our frequency to the outlaw 'CB' radio users because the government of the time thought there would be more votes in it for them?

[PatMc]

Posted by John Stainforth on 28/09/2018 18:49:17:

This is very disappointing for the AMA - they worked very hard with the US government on this, which led to the good outcome of 336. I think it is a sign of the times and the current administration. Unfortunately, the UK tends to follow the US.

I can't remember any time that we have followed US legislation.

[John Stainforth]

When it comes to aviation and security, there is very strong alignment between US and Europe, in everything from airport security, to air traffic control and bar codes on passports. Most of the airport security devices we see in Europe were invented in the US. I would be very surprised if the eventual regulations on drones and model aircraft are not more or less identical on both sides of the Atlantic.

[PatMc]

There's also a lot of things in US security, aviation included, that we don't align to. There's also a lot of laxity in US civilian aviation that wouldn't be tolerated in the UK.

Because we have some practices that correspond doesn't mean we are copying the US or that they are copying us.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by malcolm woodcock 1 on 28/09/2018 20:04:55:

Remember when we lost our frequency to the outlaw 'CB' radio users because the government of the time thought there would be more votes in it for them?

No we didn't, the government made some legal frequencies for CB which didn't clash the legal RC frequencies and then allocated 35 MHz to model fliers and 40 MHz to surface vehicles to not only to give us frequencies away from illegal CBers but also dedicated to model aircraft. You are still allowed to use those 27 MHz frequencies to fly models if you wish.

Getting back to the US, to me this all stems from some illegal drone flying that the FAA tried to prosecute, but couldn't because they didn't have jurisdiction over model aircraft and so the battle started, a bit different to the UK where we have always been under the auspices of the CAA.