Help from the EAA to save the model airplane hobby

I just joined the EAA because they think enough of model aviation to speak up for it. I am the president of an R/C club in Rockland county New York and we operate with a heliport across the street. This will be our 12th year with no problems to date. We do an annual air show for the community for which the town supplies free hot dogs and snacks. They give out between 1500 and 2,000 hot dogs each year. Getting people involved in model aviation isn't easy, but people love to come and watch. We also have a separate flight line with buddy boxing and flight simulators. It would be a shame to see all of that go away for no good reason. https://www.hvrcc.com/

Fantastic post bruceleach! loved the pics and vids. A great representation of what the hobby is all about.

In 2019, my flying club (the Buc-Le Aero Sportsmen) which I am the president of, relaunched our annual giant scale fun fly after a couple of years on hiatus. We reformatted things a bit and designated all proceeds to benefit local charitable organizations. We chose our local fire company, Trumbauersville Fire company and the Bucks County SPCA. Total for the weekend we raised over $1400.00 that was divided evenly between the two organizations. The event was very well received and appreciated by all in attendance. Attached is a pic of two of our instructors buddy boxing with a few of the fire fighters. Next is or donation area, one of the fire trucks the fire company made available all weekend and a piano of the pilot pit area.
Travis

www.buc-le.org

For the past several years, the township in which our flying facility resides has invited us to their community day event. We take a bunch of members and a bunch of airplanes and helicopters to display and we also fly some small electric powered park flyer type aircraft off the soccer field for the attendees. This is a very positive community based event and we always get a lot of interest. The first pic is of me flying on the soccer field, but it is not about me, it is about the audience looking on. A great group of kids! This is what is sorely needed, not only in model aviation, but all of aviation! The second pic is of our club member group in attendance that day. A great group of guys. So that everyone is aware, a community event like this will be illegal to fly at if the FAA proposal for Remote ID goes into effect as currently written. Our aircraft have no pathway for equipage and the only place we will be able to fly is in an FAA Recognized Identification Area (FRIA).
Travis

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Originally Posted by DaleB

Not to mention most folks are right handed, so using their dominant hand and arm to pull themselves up usually makes more sense.
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You don't ride much, do you? If you do, think about how you get on the horse again.

Those are some good stories/posts/pictures! We're in a very similar boat. We were asked to participate in a county fair back in September and got a TON of great feedback as well as doing our part to introduce some kids to aviation in general. We did a flying demo and had a simulator setup for kids to try. The club member who spear-headed this is a longtime EAA member. Two pictures of the kids on the sim are below.

Also, to the EAA in general, your efforts have not gone unnoticed. Click this link and start reading at post 262: https://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/...271251&page=18

I joined the forum after reading the EAA's preliminary response to the FAA's NPRM on Remote ID, becuase I haven't hear anyone anywhere bring up the exemption for small unmanned aircraft (line of sight RC aircraft) in the 2028 FAA Reathorization ACT (UAS Safety):

‘‘(j) EXCLUSIONS.—The Administrator may exempt from the
requirements of this section small unmanned aircraft systems that
are not capable of navigating beyond the visual line of sight of
the operator through advanced flight systems and technology, if
the Administrator determines that such an exemption does not
pose a risk to the safety of the national airspace system.’’.

This is not the 3rd tier of Remote ID, it is an exemption in the statute. In light of the FAA's proposed new rules, it seems to me that this exemption is the only way to keep model aircraft hobby from going extinct. I was wondering if anyone at the EAA is interested in persuing it.

As a follow up, I had also reached out to AOPA's web editor, Jim Moore, after reading his AOPA article on the NPRM on remote ID, and asked about the exemption for modelers. He wrote back and said that the AOPA was aware of the exemption and expected that it would be referenced in AOPA's formal comments on the NPRM and in future stories.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/...drone-tracking

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Originally Posted by DougJ

I joined the forum after reading the EAA's preliminary response to the FAA's NPRM on Remote ID, becuase I haven't hear anyone anywhere bring up the exemption for small unmanned aircraft (line of sight RC aircraft) in the 2028 FAA Reathorization ACT (UAS Safety):

‘‘(j) EXCLUSIONS.—The Administrator may exempt from the
requirements of this section small unmanned aircraft systems that
are not capable of navigating beyond the visual line of sight of
the operator through advanced flight systems and technology, if
the Administrator determines that such an exemption does not
pose a risk to the safety of the national airspace system.’’.

This is not the 3rd tier of Remote ID, it is an exemption in the statute. In light of the FAA's proposed new rules, it seems to me that this exemption is the only way to keep model aircraft hobby from going extinct. I was wondering if anyone at the EAA is interested in persuing it.

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I think the word "may" is the catch. By using "may" the Administrator is not empowered to enact the exemption. Replace "may" with "shall" or "will" instruct the Administrator to incorporate the exemption in the rule. I'm no lawyer but I've had a few classes on aviation law and these catch words are emphasized.

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Originally Posted by michaelj2k

I think the word "may" is the catch. By using "may" the Administrator is not empowered to enact the exemption. Replace "may" with "shall" or "will" instruct the Administrator to incorporate the exemption in the rule. I'm no lawyer but I've had a few classes on aviation law and these catch words are emphasized.

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"May" means the Administrator can either grant the exemption or not. As Jim Moore from AOPA put it, "... while it does leave discretion about safety to the administrator, it does line up well with our fundamental argument.