2018 FAA Reauthorization - Not Good

[dronerdave]

Letter sent back to me. Interesting. (probably the same letter going out to all who contacted her)
Dear Dave :

Thank you for writing to share your thoughts regarding the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) regulation of drones. I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

In recent years, drones have emerged as a transformative new technology that are present in our communities in a way that manned aircrafts never could be. Drones create new opportunities for commerce, recreation, and business efficiency, but also new challenges for safety, privacy, and security.

I understand you support Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95 ), which prevents FAA regulation of certain aircraft operations by instituting a Special Rule for Model Aircraft . Under this provision, recreational drone users may operate under the rules of the Academy of Model Aeronautics or any other “community based organization,” whether or not the user is a member of that association, and not under rules of the FAA .

One effect of Section 336 is to draw a bright line between commercial and recreational operations. While there are important differences between these types of operation, there are also circumstances where generally applicable rules are appropriate. In my view, it is important to ensure that FAA will have the authority it needs to maintain the safety of the national airspace, including, for example, through generally applicable registration requirements and remote identification standards. At the same time, I recognize the interest of some to continue safely operating model aircraft s as a hobby without interruption.

Please know I have made careful note of your views regarding the Special Rule for Model Aircraft and I will be sure to keep them in mind should related legislation be considered by the Senate.

Once again, thank you for writing. Should you have any other questions or comments, please call my Washington , D.C. , office at (202) 224-3841 or visit my website at feinstein .senate.gov . You can also follow me online at YouTube , Facebook , and Twitter , and you can sign up for my email newsletter at feinstein.senate.gov/newsletter .

Best regards.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein

United States Senator

 

[Photo Booth]

The Las Vegas drone "incident" is 100% fake. But, sadly, few legislators have the technological chops nor common sense to tell the difference.

Mark

 

[Floater]

Yeah that’s why I was wondering. What craft goes above 400 ft at an event, and how often? I’m sure there are waivers as you say that can be applied for. I think we should be more concerned about being under the arm of the FAA.

Sailplanes all the time. Thermal lift gets narrow and turbulent close to the ground, and is very difficult to fly below a few hundred feet.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

The Las Vegas drone "incident" is 100% fake. But, sadly, few legislators have the technological chops nor common sense to tell the difference.

Mark

Do you have proof of that?

 

[Photo Booth]

The Senate is voting on HR 302 today at noon (Eastern).

Schedule for Wednesday, October 3, 2018 | Senate Democratic Leadership

Mark

 

[Lopez0015]

The Senate is voting on HR 302 today at noon (Eastern).

Schedule for Wednesday, October 3, 2018 | Senate Democratic Leadership

Mark

This a copy paste from my email


Today October 3 2018. Is been passed


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Dear members,

Today, the Senate passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and we expect President Trump to sign it into law soon. This bill includes significant modifications to our hobby. While some of the changes are positive, and include provisions that AMA has championed, overall the bill is problematic, such as a 400 AGL altitude cap in Class G airspace.

Please note: None of the provisions included in this bill will go into effect immediately. The status quo remains – and you should continue to fly in accordance with AMA's safety guidelines until the FAA creates new rules, which could take some time. We will let you know as soon as we have more information on this process and timeline.

In the meantime, we are already working behind-the-scenes to minimize the impact of this bill and advocate for a lighter regulatory touch on our hobby. In fact, we anticipate there will be many opportunities to work with the FAA on protecting and preserving our hobby in the future.

Lastly, thank you again for your efforts to contact Congress over the past 10 days. Your engagement and passion on this issue has been critical and we truly appreciate all your support.

Thank you,
AMA Government Relations Team

P.S. Please continue to monitor your emails, social media and www.modelaircraft.org/gov for the latest information. In addition, you can read our detailed assessment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 here or the entire Section 349 here.

 

[Kevi0032]

400'?

For those wondering about 400' limit, it is not just "drones" that is being regulated, it is all things flying that are unmanned, including RC Airplanes, Helicopters, Quad Copters, Gliders, and even tethered unmanned aircrafts (but they are limited to 200')

For me, as I posted earlier, we fly competitively from a designated flying field beyond 5 miles of an airport, if one is closer than that they have the airport's approval, precision aerobatics. For F3A and Pattern the planes have a 2M wingspan, for IMAC I have planes with 89" to 123" wingspan. The Gliders that are Aero Towed at my field have a wingspan of 20', these are all designed to be seen at very high altitudes, well over 400'. my 104" IMAC Plane will be at 850' at the top of a loop or a Stall Turn so I can safely perform a maneuver on the way down to go back to horizontal flight. The same maneuver with my 123" wingspan plane will be at 1000'. The more complex classes will be over 2000' with a 123" wingspan plane.

One may think going to a smaller plane is the answer to stay below 400', but to do that we wouldn't be able to see or judge our planes flying a horizontal flight path. This Bill that passed, if no exceptions are made for what we do, will ground these SIGs. Its a shame that with the quad copters, "drone" unsafe operation, close encounters with real planes, and even made up stories, plus the nonsense we see on youtube with the crashes is putting all of us guys who have been operating safely for years at high altitudes on the ground. Its a shame really. And those that get upset because a national park says you can't fly a "drone" to take pictures has never seen a LIPO fire from a mishap or even a faulty battery. There's a reason you don't put a LIPO battery in the air and fly over peoples homes.

This Bill will indeed hold people accountable for any damage to property because the rules in this Bill were not followed. No ones insurance will cover burning down a neighbors house when the cause was do to illegal activity, which now flying over people will be illegal. I wonder who the first person will be?

By the way, for grins, I attached this years sequence from the Unlimited Sequence that our pilots fly with the 123" wingspan planes. Think how high one must go to get all of those maneuvers in before hitting the ground, especially number 6 and number 10. The start of each maneuver is the black dot, each symbol represents a maneuver. This drawing of each maneuver is from an Italian Gentleman who served as Jerez Pilot Training School named José Luis Aresti, developed in the 1940's. His family still holds the rights to the catalogs and scale IAC pilots world wide use them today.

It is truly a shame that this will all go away due to Legislatures fears.

 

[Kevi0032]

Are you in Class G airspace? Our AMA field had no problem getting approved by our local (less than 3-miles away) non- tower controlled airport that also serves an active general aviation and a CalFire air tanker base. I also got permission to fly my Mav 2 Pro within 3.75 miles out. With all the opportunities we have for flying here, hope no-one messes it up for the rest of us!

If you are asking me if my field is in Class G, the answer is yes up to 700 feet, then it is class E (because of a small airport 6 miles away). If I fly over the lake that is just under a mile north of our field we are in class G to 1200' and then Class E.

I had a friend who is a Col. in the Air Force, who trains pilots check for me.

Sorry I didn't answer you before, if you were asking me.

Airspace is complicated, here is a link to some reading if you are interested

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/17_phak_ch15.pdf

 

[Photo Booth]

Every drone mapping app I own (except one) shows that the area surrounding our home is uncontrolled airspace. There is Class B airspace directly above us but it doesn't start until 3,000 feet MSL. Our home is at 500 feet AGL so, if I fly my drone at 400 feet AGL it is at 900 feet MSL. That's a 2,100 foot buffer between my drone and the BOTTOM of Class B. And I've used FlightTracker to monitor commercial airplanes above our home and they are most frequently in the 5,000 - 6,000 foot range. WELL above my drone.

Except... B4UFly.. The FAA's app shows that we are within 5 miles of an airport. Yet, it doesn't show WHICH airport we are supposedly close to. I eventually figured out it is a heliport at a hospital that is about 4.8 miles from our home.

That explains why the DJI app warns that I am in Class D airspace.

Now that Class D will be permission only airspace (instead of notify only), I'm a little concerned about my ability to fly above my own property. I've called that hospital heliport when I got my drone last December and they acted like the didn't know what I was talking about. Future calls went to voicemail that were never returned. I just left messages that I was flying and assumed I was okay. But now with Class D being permission only, what the heck?! An uncooperative heliport operator could be a royal pain in the butt.

Mark

 

[tcope]

Letter sent back to me. Interesting. (probably the same letter going out to all who contacted her)
Dear Dave :

...

Best regards.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein

United States Senator

You wrote to Feinstein about the bill? That is pretty funny!

Feinstein thinks drones are used to look into windows to read documents. She also thinks state should control drones in the public airspace and not the FAA. She also claims a drone fly right in front of her face when she walked out of her home and that it then attempted to fly away and crashed. However, she never provided details on this and it's suspected someone in protest was flying a toy helicopter (but she stated it was a drone). The dumb part is she feels that more regulations will somehow stop what is already illegal.

 

[SKentBrown]

Except... B4UFly.. The FAA's app shows that we are within 5 miles of an airport. Yet, it doesn't show WHICH airport we are supposedly close to. I eventually figured out it is a heliport at a hospital that is about 4.8 miles from our home.

Mark

Unlikely that a Hospital Heliport is Class D - Class D airport has a control tower. If the hospital developed and FAA approved Instrument approaches to the Heliport, it might be Class E to the surface. Need to check a Sectional to verify the airspace class.

 

[Photo Booth]

Unlikely that a Hospital Heliport is Class D - Class D airport has a control tower. If the hospital developed and FAA approved Instrument approaches to the Heliport, it might be Class E to the surface. Need to check a Sectional to verify the airspace class.

Thanks. I have looked at the sectional. I'm no expert but, as best I can tell, I'm NOT in Class D as far as the sectional is concerned.

This is the most recent sectional for southwest San Diego county. Our house is in the approximate location of the tip of the red arrow I placed on the sectional.

We are well beyond 5 miles from Gillespie and Brown. We are below Class B. As mentioned, our home is at 500' MSL (495'). The bottom of Class B in our area is 3,000'.

The FAA's B4UFly app definitely places a circle around the heliport at the hospital that is just barely less than 5 miles from us. That is why I believe the DJI app is saying we are in Class D. But it sure doesn't look like it to me from the sectional map.

I believe up to 700' above our house (possibly as high as 1,200' ) is Class G.

Today I was out mowing the lawn and I took a break to use the FlightTracker app for a variety of aircraft passing overhead. All of the commercial jetliners were no lower than 4,500 MSL and most were between 5,000 and 6,000 MSL. Two helicopters flew by while I was out there and both of them showed to be at about 2,900'. They were flying just below the bottom shelf of Class B for directly above our area.

Mark

 

[SKentBrown]

We are well beyond 5 miles from Gillespie and Brown. We are below Class B. As mentioned, our home is at 500' MSL (495'). The bottom of Class B in our area is 3,000'.

Looks like you are about 6 - 7 miles from Gillespie.

I have had same issue in my area. B4UFly showing heliports and airports that are not there.

I believe up to 700' above our house (possibly as high as 1,200' ) is Class G.

Class E begins at 700' AGL in your area, Class G below Class E. Notice the Magenta broad line around the area. Inside that line E begins at 700. Outside at 1200 AGL

Today I was out mowing the lawn and I took a break to use the FlightTracker app for a variety of aircraft passing overhead. All of the commercial jetliners were no lower than 4,500 MSL and most were between 5,000 and 6,000 MSL. Two helicopters flew by while I was out there and both of them showed to be at about 2,900'. They were flying just below the bottom shelf of Class B for directly above our area.

I have flown, as a pilot - Lear 45, Challenger 300, etc, into San Diego many times Normally on the LUCKI arrival. And yep, we will be descending through about 6000 MSL over your area to clear the 2700' Mountains just to the east.

 

[Photo Booth]

Looks like you are about 6 - 7 miles from Gillespie.

I have had same issue in my area. B4UFly showing heliports and airports that are not there.

When you say "not there", you mean not there on the Sectional map, right? Because there is absolutely a Heliport at that hospital and it is definitely just within 5 miles from us. But as already mentioned, there's really nobody to call. And B4UFly doesn't give a name or phone number either.

Class E begins at 700' AGL in your area, Class G below Class E. Notice the Magenta broad line around the area. Inside that line E begins at 700. Outside at 1200 AGL

So, from the ground at our house to 700' AGL it's Class G, uncontrolled airspace. Then from 700' AGL to 3,000' MSL, its Class E. Right?

Thank you very much. It is nice to have a knowledgable person confirm what I believed all along.


Mark

 

[SKentBrown]

When you say "not there", you mean not there on the Sectional map, right?

Yes, I just do not see a Heliport. Could be there.

So, from the ground at our house to 700' AGL it's Class G, uncontrolled airspace. Then from 700' AGL to 3,000' MSL, its Class E. Right?

Correct. Class G to 700' AGL, Class E from 700 to the bottom of B - 3.000' MSL

 

[JamTek]

So under this subsection (g) for having a knowledge test now, this does not mean that I can not fly without it since there hasn't been an official test made correct?

I feel like I might as well get my part 107 done so if I have an LEO encounter I will be on the safe side until they get this stuff straightened out for hobbyist. I feel like my FAA $5 registration won't be enough to convince LEOs now if they have been brought up to speed on the new legislation. I do agree on having some aviation knowledge as I have been educating myself on part 107 anyways.

 

[sar104]

So under this subsection (g) for having a knowledge test now, this does not mean that I can not fly without it since there hasn't been an official test made correct?

I feel like I might as well get my part 107 done so if I have an LEO encounter I will be on the safe side until they get this stuff straightened out for hobbyist. I feel like my FAA $5 registration won't be enough to convince LEOs now if they have been brought up to speed on the new legislation. I do agree on having some aviation knowledge as I have been educating myself on part 107 anyways.

The Act gives the FAA 180 days to develop the test, etc. Until they do that and change 14 CFR Part 101 then the regulations are as before.

 

[Bigbird48]

Has anyone clarified VLOS, that is, the pilot or observer must have 20:20 vision and be able to see the aircraft at 400' away? My Mavic is essentially invisible at 300' straight up. Does this mean that any flight where the drone cannot be seen is illegal? What does this mean to 107 pilots flying mapping assignments or inspecting a 500' tower?

wow is you can't see you mavic at 300 ft you need to get your eyes checked. I'm old and need reading glasses but I can see my MA at 400 ft up and at least 700 or more feet out.

 

[Photo Booth]

Anybody want to guess how long it will take for the FAA to get this aeronautical knowledge test rolling? I, for one, am looking forward to the "challenge" of studying for the test and then, hopefully, ace'ing the test. I'm already tempted to enroll in one of the Part 107 schools that are now popping in ads at just about every site I visit. But that may turn out to be overkill.

I sure hope the FAA makes the hobbyist test at least difficult enough to require some study. I hope it requires the hobbyist to be at least a little bit knowledgable about Sectional charts. I'll be disappointed if it is nothing more than a multiple choice questionnaire about the rules and regs as stated in HR 302.

Mark

 

[Bigbird48]

I wrote both of my Senators and asked them to vote NO on HR 302. I also renewed my AMA membership 4 months early!

Personally, I am in FAVOR of required aeronautical knowledge testing for hobbyist drone pilots. This forum (and other social media sites) have proven there are far too many "rules are meant to be broken" cowboy drone pilots out there making it tough on those of us that care about this hobby. If required testing and more stringent policing keeps them out of the skies, all the better.

My unhappiness with HR 302 lies in the broad authority it gives the FAA Administrator to regulate hobbyist drone pilots with zero Congressional oversight and in possible violation of my 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

Mark

Its just like everything else rules and laws only apply to law abbiding citizens, all the rules and laws mean nothing to the lawbreakers. Gessh what do people not understand about this. Making more laws and rules will only make law breakers out of honest people.