“Have you ever considered the rewards of volunteering your time to help the Academy of Model Aeronautics move forward? Do you know of someone with strong leadership abilities and a desire to serve so that the next generation of aeromodellers can continue to enjoy this great hobby?”  Did you know that AMA has opportunities to lead at several levels, all with varying duties, skill sets, and levels of participation?

AMA is a member based nonprofit organization that only benefits from greater member engagement.  All members need to be informed and advocate however they can to sustain and grow the hobby and AMA.  Becoming one of the several levels of volunteer leaders can be a rewarding way to enjoy Your Passion Your Hobby while serving our One Community!  Serving locally at club level as a Club Officer, you can manage and guide a club in day-to-day operations, encourage community involvement or building “friend raising” relationships while promoting the hobby and the Academy.  Apply to be a Leader Member if you want to be an integral liaison between clubs and district officer leaders.  This level of AMA membership provides a greater understanding and a higher level of service to the community.  A position as Contest Director or Event Manager offers motivated members not only authorization to run and organize exciting aeromodelling events and contests but you will actively engage with members at such gatherings while providing key safety oversight and direction.  Interested in an even higher level of engagement in your district?  Associate Vice Presidents, appointed by District Vice Presidents serve in any number of critical roles. Assisting with district initiatives, visiting clubs, participating in live and virtual meetings, advocating on many levels, engaging in educational and public outreach, interacting with other district AVPs and VPs and observing Executive Council meetings to name a few. Being a District AVP, mentored by your District VP is an excellent and highly recommended prerequisite to members considering the prestigious but demanding volunteer role as District Vice President, serving on the Executive Council on district and national levels while providing oversight for the organization.

If you have any interest in one of these necessary and critical voluntary leadership roles, please refer to the hyperlinks in this blog or the links provided below or contact your District VP for more information.

Thank you for stepping up!

*One short anecdote:  I have been an AVP for about 5 years.  I’ve had the good fortune to volunteer under the mentor-ship of the most senior EC member with a tremendous passion, enthusiasm, knowledge, experience, and drive for the AMA mission.  I have been engaged in Govt. Affairs advocacy with state and local governments and while sitting on SRMPs with Tyler Dobbs.  Engaging in public and educational outreach has been among the most rewarding part of my role.  Administering the District FB Group and basically doing anything my VP needs has been enjoyable but doesn’t equal the activity of a fully engaged VP.  No, this is NOT a nomination letter!  Rather, a cautionary note to any Leader Member with little experience thinking they can just slide into this important position for our organization.  With my experience as an AVP I don’t feel that I am yet prepared to be an effective, fully functioning VP.  When I was a new LM, I did not have the necessary experience, knowledge or perspective to be an effective VP! There are so many wonderful volunteer leadership positions within AMA to gain critical knowledge and experience that no one should be in a rush to be a VP.  I am a strong supporter of requiring VP candidates to first be AVPs or fully engaged and knowledgeable LM with experience to really learn the expanded duties of a VP/ EC member which include local, district/ regional and national issues and policy oversight.

Club Officer Roles:

https://www.modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/ClubOfficerSuggestedDuties.pdf

Become a Leader Member:

https://www.modelaircraft.org/clubs/recognition-rewards/leader-member

Contest Director/ Event Manger:

https://www.modelaircraft.org/events/become-an-organizer

Associate Vice President:

https://www.modelaircraft.org/contact-executive-council

https://www.modelaircraft.org/about-ama/executive-council/candidate-guidelines

To see a list of current districts and find out who is currently serving on your Executive Council, click here (note you must be logged into the Members Only area):

https://www.modelaircraft.org/about-ama/ama-organization/ama-district-web-sites

 

 

2nd ANNUAL YOUNG AVIATORS FLY-IN

“Igniting the Passion for Aviation”

Cayla McLeod

CMcLeod@TripleTreeAerodrome.com

Woodruff, SC –

The Second Annual Young Aviators Fly-In was held June 21-23, 2019. Hundreds of airplanes and over 500 spectators flocked to Triple Tree to experience the popular, 400 acre, aviation destination.

Throughout the weekend, guests were able to take part in various types of general aviation and radio control flying. 83 students were also given their very first airplane ride thanks to the Young Eagles program. Eager students were also given the opportunity to sit-in on educational seminars, career programs, and ask professional aviators for valuable career advice.

“In just two years the Young Aviators Fly-In has grown to a “must attend” event on every young aviator’s bucket list. It’s exciting to see the growth of this event and aviators from across the United States experience the magic that can only be found at Triple Tree,” said Triple Tree Executive Director, Robb Williams.

With the growing popularity of the event, Triple Tree developed the first of its kind, the Young Aviators Council. In future years, the Council will be responsible for the planning of the Young Aviators Fly-In.

“We are thrilled with the outcome of the second annual Young Aviators event. We are looking forward to passing on the future of the fly-in to the Young Aviators Council,” said event co-coordinator Ryan Hunt.

Triple Tree is proud to showcase our commitment to the future leaders of the aviation industry by “giving the controls” to Triple Tree, a globally recognized organization, to ignite and expand the passion for aviation to young aviators from coast to coast.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Cayla McLeod at Triple Tree Aerodrome at 678-590-7677 or CMcLeod@tripletreeaerodrome.com

# # #

About: Triple Tree Aerodrome is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Woodruff, South Carolina. The facility is home to many full-scale and remote-control aviation events, including the world-famous Joe Nall and Triple Tree Fly-In, as well as year-round educational opportunities within our Aviation Centered Education (ACE) portfolio.

YOUNG AVIATORS FROM FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA RECEIVE EAA’s INITIAL RAY AVIATION SCHOLARSHIPS

Local EAA chapters involved in selection, mentoring

Nicole Blount of Lake Placid, Florida, and Max Davidson of Jurupa Valley, California, have received the initial Ray Aviation Scholarships of up to $10,000 from the Experimental Aircraft Association, allowing these young people to take flight training in their local regions and pursue their dreams of flight.

The Ray Foundation has provided $1 million to EAA to fund Ray Aviation Scholarships for up to 100 young people, as the program seeks to improve the flight training success rate from the current 20 percent level to 80 percent for those participating in the scholarship program.

Blount was selected in conjunction with EAA Chapter 1240 based in Sebring, Florida. She attends Lake Placid High School in Florida and is enrolled in the aerospace course there.

“I have been introduced to the aerospace world through my high school,” Blount said. “I think that learning to fly will broaden my opportunities in life, as well as grant me richer experiences.”

Davidson, a student at Patriot High School in Jurupa Valley, was surprised with the scholarship award during EAA Chapter 1’s 65th anniversary celebration in Riverside, California.

“I couldn’t believe it when my name was called to be awarded the scholarship,” Davidson said. “EAA members always told me if I was interested, good things would happen … It’s every dream come true!”

Most property owners want to be assured that they are protected if they allow a club or an event to use their property as a flying site. Generally, a site owner will ask for an insurance certificate or to be named as an “additional insured.” AMA chartered clubs and sanctioned events have the ability to obtain liability insurance for a site owner and provide that extra level of protection.

     AMA chartered clubs, or Contest Directors(CDs)/Event Managers(EMs) of sanctioned events, will need to submit a completed application, along with the appropriate processing fee. It’s important that we receive the correct data because this will be used to issue the insurance certificate. Clubs, CDs/EMs are strongly encouraged to verify the legal name, as well as the correct mailing address for the additional insured/site owner. After the application and payment has been received by AMA, a certificate of insurance will be issued naming the site owner as an additional insured to the liability policy. AMA will mail the certificate to the site owner and email a copy to the designated club contact officer or the CD/EM listed for the sanctioned event.

     This coverage applies if the site owner is named in a claim due to property damage or a bodily injury incident caused by the club or an AMA member. It provides primary coverage to the site owner. This means that the AMA policy pays on the site owner’s behalf without involvement of the site owner’s personal insurance.

     The policy limit is $2,500,000 per occurrence (accident) and $5,000,000 aggregate (annually) for all claims per location (flying site). This limit of liability usually exceeds most site owners’ requirements. The “aggregate per location” means the site owner does not share the limit with other site owners. Each flying site that is insured through AMA’s policy would be afforded an annual policy limit of $5,000,000. This is a unique and special benefit of this program.

      If your club owns its own flying site, there is no need to request any additional insurance. The club, through its chartering status with AMA, is automatically covered as a site owner.

However, it is still important that we have all flying site information on file!       If your club owns its site or if your club is not providing your site owner with insurance coverage, we ask that you please complete the flying site information section of the application.

Do you have more questions about this topic? Email us at insurance@modelaircraft.org.

Note: It is important to understand that the information we share will provide general guidance and should not be interpreted as a final coverage determination of a situation.

Although we continue to ask the FAA to prosecute illegal drone operators, they do little to nothing. As a result when incidents occur, the true culprits never get identified and we the hobbyists continue to get blamed. Hobbyist who fly drones and are not members of a CBO are operating illegally and in violation of Part 107 just as the commercial operators mentioned in the following article. 

Andy

FAA Takes No Action to Prosecute Illegal Drone Operations

Illegal drone operators are flying under the radar, but what is the FAA doing about it? 

According toThe NY Post, not much at all.

Since 2016, when the Federal Aviation Administration began requiring commercial drone pilots to obtain a license, the agency has only busted a single pilot for operating illegally — and even he got off with a gentle slap on the wrist, according to FOIA documents obtained by MarketWatch.

Last year, Jeffrey Slentz was caught by a cop flying a drone over Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., for a music video.

The officer reported him to the FBI and FAA — but all Slentz received was a warning letter telling him to obtain a drone pilot’s license.

Read More: CybAero Partners With Missing People

Three other licensed pilots who violated FAA rules have been given warning letters or told to take a safety course at a local Flight Standards District Office, MarketWatch reported.

Some licensed pilots are upset that illegal operators are getting off easy.

“It’s annoying that other drone businesses are operating without a license and I have no competitive advantage,” said Flo Minton, a Florida-based photographer.

“I went through all this trouble to pass the test to get my license, including paying for a study course and the test fee, and it took me weeks to study.”

Another drone pilot, Daniel Carnahan, said he’s reached out to the Kansas City Flight Standards Office three times to report a pilot who’s been breaking licensing rules, called Part 107. He believes that pilot has gone unpunished. Continue reading about what the FAA is doing about illegal drone pilots.

Sent from my iPad

AMA has partnered with the University Aviation Association (UAA) , the unifying voice for collegiate aviation education, to launch a joint UAS program for college students. The UAS4STEM Collegiate Challenge will encourage teamwork, competition, and success through a STEM-based education platform. Much like the program currently available to high schools, the UAS4STEM Collegiate Challenge will provide university teams access to training, insurance, licensing, and equipment for the competition. The competitions will be held in spring 2018 at regional flying locations and hosted by AMA’s University Model Aviation Students Clubs (UMASC).

                                                          READ MORE-> UAS4STEM

Throughout the last several years, AMA and the Safety Committee had been approached about concerns regarding the layout/concept of the current Large Model Airplane (LMA) program document, as well as some potential inconsistencies. One of the LMA inspectors (LMAIs) submitted a proposal regarding these issues. The Safety Committee chair tasked a subcommittee to review the proposal and restructure/reorganize the program. This subcommittee, consisting of 12 LMAIs, volunteered their time and expertise for this project.

The intent of the review was not to change the program itself or to implement/recommend any drastic changes, but to simplify and streamline the document. Although we generally try to clearly mark any additions in bold letters, this approach proves more difficult with a document restructuring. The following is a summary of the changes that were approved by the AMA Executive Council at its July meeting:

Regulation rewrite
We divided the document into five sections for easier digestion and comprehension. They will eventually be available as separate documents/downloads:

• Program and model requirements.
• Supplemental information (servo torque).
• Inspectors.
• Foreign participants.
• Forms.

There was a major emphasis on simplification:

• Combined LMA and LTMA sections to eliminate redundancy.
• Some basic requirements displayed in tabular form to aid in overall comprehension and reduce text.
• Created a single table outlining FAA, national residency, weight of model, type of model, insurance, and other LMA requirements to aid in the understanding of these complex relationships. This will be a supplemental chart hosted separately on the AMA website (#540-F), but will be referenced in the LMA document.
• Eliminated items that were either unenforceable, change frequently due to evolution of technology, or were otherwise felt to be unnecessary.
• Collapsed multiple inspection forms into a single section.

Permits

• LMAIs can sign off on their own aircraft.
• Three-view photographs required.
• Unless the model crashes or is modified, permits will be valid for three years.

Inspectors

• Clarified and expanded inspector requirements.
• Created “Guidelines for Inspection” to promote consistency in approach.
• Eliminated open-book test in favor of more practical evidence of relevant experience in the inspector’s application process.

Servo Torque

• Extracted existing torque calculations into a separate appendix (Section 2).

Speeds and Weights

• Raised the LTMA-2 limit from 140 to 170 mph to provide more latitude in speed envelope and to conform with a more realistic expectation of how these models are operated.
• All other speeds remain unchanged.
• All weights remain unchanged.
• All weights in pounds and ounces, should be consistent with other AMA documents.

The safety committee, in assistance with HQ staff, will also look into additional, mainly administrative improvements of the program, including detailed clarification of forms and procedures, fillable web-forms, etc.

Please take a moment and review the updated document on our website at www.modelaircraft.org/files/520-a.pdf and contact us at safety@modelaircraft.org if you have any questions regarding the changes.

One Club, One Leader Member

Every AMA Chartered Club should make it a priority to have at least one active Leader Member among its membership. AMA needs active Leader Members who will assist AMA vice presidents and associate vice presidents with their day-to-day district functions.

Are you a Leader Members or potential one? Are you willing to keep up-to-date with AMA programs and benefits offered to AMA members? Are you willing to go to your club’s meetings and functions and keep the members informed of all that the AMA has to offer?

It’s challenging, but not difficult. Everything needed is available online on the AMA website. There are Leader Members throughout the AMA who have taken up the challenge and are seeing positive results. Clubs and members are learning more about AMA than ever before. If you want to volunteer as an active Leader Member and want to know more, visit www.modelaircraft.org/membership/leadermember.aspx and meet the challenge.