The AMA is not reliable nor truthful about happenings in legislation. At the very least tgey are complicit with the "slow" release of information.
As of May 16th AMA is not currently recignused as an official CBO. In fact there are no recognised CBO's "until the FFA can define what they will considder a CBO.
They also snuck some new legislation in with a school Bill that passed requireing ALL rc aircraft to carry a 7gram transponder once LAANC has been properly set up.
So blaming multirotor is no longer everyones excuse to blame for new stuff. Responsible multirotor pilots have never been the issue. Its been the unresponsible camera drone and long range pilots flying wayyyy over the historical 400ft agl and los guidelines.
Looks like the AMA *IS* recognized now as a an official CBO, per FAA Advisory Circular AC 91-57B, published on 5/31/19:
7.1.2
The Aircraft is Operated in Accordance With or Within the Programming of a CBO’s Set of Safety Guidelines That are Developed in Coordination With the FAA. Once the FAA has developed the criteria for recognition of CBOs and started officially recognizing CBOs, those CBOs’ safety guidelines will be available for use. During this interim period, the FAA offers two means to satisfy this statutory condition. Recreational flyers should be able to explain to an FAA inspector or law enforcement official which safety guidelines they are following.
7.1.2.1 The FAA acknowledges that existing aeromodelling organizations have developed safety guidelines that are helpful to recreational flyers.
An example is the AMA safety guidelines, which have previously been reviewed by the FAA as part of the organization’s Recognized Industry Organization (RIO) status for participation in the National Aviation Events Program (refer to FAA Order 8900.1, Volume 5, Chapter 9, Section 6, Issue/Renew/Reevaluate/Rescind an Air Boss Letter of Authorization). These or existing safety guidelines of another aeromodelling organization may be used for recreational operations, provided the guidelines do not conflict with the other statutory conditions of 49 U.S.C. § 44809(a).
7.1.2.2 The FAA has existing basic safety guidelines for recreational operations, which are available on its website (
https://www.faa.gov/uas/) that may be used
The advisory circular goes on to list some interesting things:
- FPV pilots MUST have a spotter who can see the aircraft via Visual Line Of Sight and MUST be able to communicate directly without use of technological assistance. That means you can't have them a mile away on a cell phone telling the pilot, "Hey, you've got airplanes coming down."
- If you are flying in Class G (Uncontrolled) Airspace, you cannot fly more than 400 ft above ground level (AGL).
- Aircraft must be EXTERNALLY marked and proof of registration must be made available to law enforcement or FAA personnel upon request (I kind of figured that would be required with the re-authorization of drone registration law, so I laminated a registration card and clipped it to my lanyard that has my club membership card, AMA membership card, and my club's electronic gate key). This means that you can no longer stick a tag on the inside in the battery compartment, like in previous days; HOWEVER, I note that they do not say how big that external marking has to be, so make a teeny tiny label that's barely readable, and argue that one.
- Operator of the aircraft has to pass an Aeronautical Knowledge and Safety Test and maintain Proof of Test Passage in case FAA personnel or law enforcement request it. What test does that have to be? We don't know - per the advisory circular, it states: "The FAA is developing the test in consultation with stakeholders. Recreational flyers would have to pass the test, which could be administered electronically, and would be responsible for providing proof of passage upon request from FAA personnel or law enforcement. The FAA will provide additional guidance and notice when the test is available and the date on which adherence to this condition would be required." That tells me right there that 1) they haven't come up with a test yet, and 2) they don't know when or if it'll go into effect.
Curiously absent is any notice that we have to have transponders for recreational flight. There IS mention of LAANC, but it doesn't specifically talk about using a transponder for recreational flight. My guess is it may not apply to us based on the email that
@moret posted earlier, and only to commercial flight. I'd personally love for it to apply to all of the photography drones, because most of those owners are the ones that go, "Hey, let me see how high up/far away I can fly," or decide they need to catch photos of airplanes landing at a busy airport.