by Greg Carter | Sep 16, 2015 | UAV
Well, it seems everybody is taking shots at the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) phenomenon, in particular, the so-called drone. The media has been able to capture our attention with the potential crash of an airliner by a drone. However one pilot said, “Fear of drones crashing into passenger planes is ‘much ado about nothing’ says airline pilot.” Most of these hobby drones are under 4 pounds, and many pilots have hit birds weighing up to 10 pounds with no real damage. Still the fear of the unknown exists. There is also the next door neighbor who may threaten to shoot your drone down if it invades their privacy. Well, many have gone to jail by committing the act. Source Property Casualty 360, “Shooting down drones” is all over the news lately. A Kentucky man used “Number 8 birdshot” to shoot down a multi-rotor over his backyard. A Modesto marksman shot down a drone over his neighbor’s farm. A New Jersey Man hit the news for doing the same thing.” All aviation regulations apply to drones. Hobbyist drone flights are permitted only under the FAA’s guidelines. Commercial drone flights are allowed only for a Section 333 Exemption or similar approval. You should know before you fly and that is the way things are until the FAA finalizes its “ small drone,” or “sUAS” rule. To be safe, in many of the regulations the term “nationwide community-based organization” is intended to mean a membership-based association that represents the aeromodelling community (ex. Academy of Model Aeronautics, AMA) within the United States; provides its members a comprehensive set of safety guidelines that underscores...
by Greg Carter | Jun 3, 2015 | UAV
The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) has an educational partnership with Fly Robotics. I like this partnership because it can provide additional educational opportunities from instructors who have gone full circle and understand the needs of the AMA. There are two complementary courses that you can view that focus on Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) that is well worth the read. Login to the Fly Robotics website with Username = guest and password = guest Click on the course “AMA Flight School Complementary Courses” and get the know before you fly. As I went through the course material, I began to think about how I got to this point with you. I am an Information Technology and Services Professional with a love for Aeronautics. I grew up in Rocket City, USA during the Saturn rocket booster era and was always firing an Estes rocket for one reason or another. I got the hobby bug early. My first job in Aeronautics was at the wind tunnel test facilities at Arnold Engineering Development Center at the Arnold Air Force Base. We worked on a lifting body model that later evolved into the Space Shuttle. We all knew the motivation behind “unmanned” because the Space Shuttle was nearly entirely a Reaction Lift system, which essentially had no Bernoulli Lift virtually, therefore incredibly unstable, where avionic systems had to keep it safe to fly, a lot like some of our sUAS...
by Greg Carter | Apr 23, 2015 | Radio Control
Submitted by Gilbert Cofer, CD Spring Sodbusters week is here and I look forward to seeing all of our warbird friends this weekend (04/24/2015). Remember that we have returned to the old Friday-Saturday schedule. We will be setting the field up on Thursday afternoon and will be able to fly after 5 PM. Those of you who have LMA aircraft (over 55#) or turbine aircraft be sure to bring your paperwork to registration. If you haven’t done so already check RCFlightdeck for details on the event flyer and also register for the event. http://www.RCFlightDeck.com/event.cfm?id=3990 See you all this weekend....
by Greg Carter | Apr 18, 2015 | UAV
Who knows where the ideas from our hobby will lead us. We take our smartphones to the airfield to get a shot of our latest model and ask someone to take the picture or shots of our club event to post on our club website. How long will it be before you take out your smartphone and it records your day at the...
by Greg Carter | Mar 31, 2015 | UAV
Join an AMA Club and get in the know before you fly. Some clubs are beginning to test FPV multirotor setups for events to give our associates more safe flying activities. An FPV-equipped model must be flown by two AMA members utilizing a buddy-box system. The pilot in command must be on the primary transmitter, maintain visual contact, and be prepared to assume control in the event of a problem. The operational range of the model is limited to the pilot in command’s visual line of sight as defined in the Official AMA National Model Aircraft Safety Code. The flight path of model operations shall be limited to the designated flying site and approved overfly area. The model weight and speed shall be limited to a maximum of 15 pounds and 70 miles per hour. Read more … AMA Document #550 – Radio Controlled Model Aircraft Operation Utilizing “First Person View”...
