Alex and Austin sit down to discuss the new RC registration requirement, take some voice mails and make some announcements.
If you own a drone, you must register it with the Federal Aviation Administration's Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) registry. A federal law effective December 21, 2015 requires unmanned aircraft registration, and you are subject to civil and criminal penalties if you do not register.
FAQ
Do I need to register my hobby RC airplanes or "toy" quadcopters?
Yes. "Registration is a statutory requirement that applies to all aircraft. Under this rule, any owner of a small UAS who has previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to December 21, 2015, must register no later than February 19, 2016."
Any aircraft over 0.55 pounds and under 55 pounds qualifies and must be registered.
Do I have to register each of my RC aircraft separately?
No. For those of you who have dozen's of aircraft, you register once as a pilot you will receive a registration number that must be displayed on all of your aircraft. As a pilot you will need to give your name, home address and email address.
Does it cost?
Yes and no. There will be a $5 fee for registering that is good for 3 years. However as a big 30 day push from (from Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan 20, 2016) to get as many people as possible registered they will be "refunding" the $5 to anyone who registers in this time frame.
Well what if I don't?
"Failure to register an aircraft may result in regulatory and criminal sanctions. The FAA may assess civil penalties up to $27,500. Criminal penalties include fines of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment for up to three years."
Why is the FAA doing this now?
“We expect hundreds of thousands of model unmanned aircraft will be purchased this holiday season,” said FAA Administrator Huerta. “Registration gives us the opportunity to educate these new airspace users before they fly so they know the airspace rules and understand they are accountable to the public for flying responsibly.”
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I think the we should all be following the AMA's recommendations, including the Flite Test guys.
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Congress passed Code Section 336 titled FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Section 336 specifically stated the “FAA may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding model aircraft if 1) flown for hobby or recreation; 2)aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based and nationwide set of safety guidelines; and 3) the aircraft does not exceed 55 lbs...”.
When the Task Force meeting convened, the FAA opened by informing all participants that the assumption moving forward was that the FAA HAD THE AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE REGISTRATION and the SPECIAL RULE FOR MODEL AIRCRAFT WOULD NOT BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, thereby shutting down AMA's argument at the beginning. AMA should have walked out of the meeting and filed an injunction to stop the FAA from moving forward with the regulations, and notify Congress of the FAA's intent.
The FAA from the outset knew they were regulating CONTRARY TO CONGRESS' INTENT to exempt hobby model aircraft.
Instead of caving in like a bunch of sheep, we need to fight back against this unlawful action.
We need to inform Congress that we are a significant industry, which generates and pays taxes, we vote, and we are one voice.
I would incourage all modellers to not register – by registering, you are legitimizing the FAA with the power to rule over us. By registering, you are entering into a contract with the FAA, and thereby opening the door for more rule making.
Do not be fooled by the 30 day free, then $5 registration fee. Next time it could be $50, then $250, then they announce that there are not enough modellers for this program, and exclude hobby flying all together. Later they may require that we register every model, every component, and require vendors to establish registration prior to selling you a servo, esc etc., putting the burden on the vendors to track sales and maintain a federally accessible database.This will put many vendor's out of business.
This action by the FAA is nothing more than to create a greater need for the FAA and increase their taxpayer funded budget.
Unfortunately, the AMA did not represent its 185,000 members by walking out of the task force meeting, instead they taught the FAA how to regulate the hobby (e.g. weight restrictions, numbers inside of our 'toy' airplanes.)
I suggest that modellers should NOT attend the AMA expo, should cancel their AMA membership (or ask for a refund if already renewed), and any lifetime members ask for a refund of their contribution, and show the AMA that we are a force, and we do not accept the AMA's failure to protect our rights. Isn't that why we joined the AMA? We relied on the AMA to protect our hobby, and we could have accomplished more without them. Did you stop to think why the AMA offered an early discount for renewal, before the FAA released their regulations? Coincidence in timing? I think not.
If the FAA registration website begins operation on 12/21/15, that means they have been working on it for a while, and the AMA has been misleading its members regarding their working with the FAA to protect our right to fly.
If no one registers, the FAA rule making will fail, just like obamacare is failing.
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I wonder if this maybe considered like a drivers license.
Separation between Professional/Commercial Drivers and Non-Commercial.
The different classes/levels etc.....
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As a long time flyer and a LEGAL permanent resident am I to be banned from flying?
In the FAA QA - Q22. Is there a citizenship requirement?
A. Only United States citizens can register their small UAS. The certificate serves as a certificate of ownership for non-citizens, not a registration certificate.
But only REGISTERED UAS can fly.
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The FAA will likely screw up your name, physical address, or email address, esp. with people having the same last name;
Different pilots will be issued the same number;
You may be issued someone else's number;
Or a combination of all of the above.
The FAA never seems to answer their phone, so to correct the errors you will be directed to their email system. Have you ever tried to correct something over email? It will take weeks or months to correct the errors.
If you are ever able to speak with the FAA to try and resolve the error(s), they will proceed to ask you for more information to prove who YOU are, and they always default to your social security number, or other irrelevent, personal information.
If someone is in violation and using your number, YOU will receive the threatening letters, and the burden of proof on YOU to prove otherwise. If the FAA does not have your correct address, then you will never receive the violation notices, and you do not respond within the allowed time frame, your non-compliance will result in their impossing against you the excessive fines and penalties. Next step – collections and levys. Similar to IRS procedures. Good luck with that.
Finally, if you happen to also be a full scale pilot, your pilot's license, which may be your profession, may now be at risk for violation because of an error in the FAA's toy airplane database.
By the way, full scale pilot licenses are issued for no fee. Why should modellers have to pay $5?
If this is a registry to promote safety, why should there be a fee?
So the whole registration system is pointless. It is just another way to punish the law abiding (modellers, in this case) under the gise of protecting the public from a problem that does not exist.
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They've killed our hobby.
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I thought FT would be a leader in pushing this FAA reg back but it was more like you guys are shills for their program.
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I think this a perfect time for FT to get behind the AMA whole-heartedly, and permanently, if FT really believes in safe flying.
Here are the reasons.
0) Process: the FAA has illegally skirted the necessary public commentary period required for such a measure
1) The ruling was issued in the "middel of the night" showing the FAA's complete false pretenses in indicating public opinion was being considered.
2) None of what we are seeing coming down from the FAA would have happened if it weren't for the proliferation of multirotors. There is a small crossover of fixed wing that represent the same threat to invasion of privacy, and invasion of national airspace. More below.
3) FT fully pushes the multirotor hobby and is part of the commercial / retail community. FT is in a leadership role with this. I do recall the word "responsible" coming up often in FT shows.
4) Here are the five issues with RC and/or autonomous model aircraft flying:
a) cameras, at all, mounted on RC and/or autonomously controlled model aircraft
b) FPV-capable model aircraft
c) GPS-capable model aircraft
d) Beyond-line-of-sight flying, at all (autonomous or FPV)
e) Specifically, flying model aircraft in any controlled airspace
Realize that the classes, above, cover both multirotors AND fixed wing.
However, it is the anticipated massive growth of MR ownership this holiday season on which the FAA is activating.
Any one of these classes of flying should be under the scrutiny of the FAA.
I have maintained that there has to be a new FAA certificate for most of those classes of flying - and I hold a private pilots certificate.
These classes have to be separated from traditional line-of-sight, recreational flying - as in add-on membership levels for AMA. For basic, within-line-of-sight only flying should, registration should not be required. This would be reasonable IF the FAA considered the AMA a legitimate Community Based Organization, that self-governs RC flying.
AMA will never get the millions of multirotor flyers the were hoping to get - there just isn't a motivation for those flyers to join AMA. This was a big miscalculation, seen by many. OK, the AMA gave it a try - and failed. It might have worked, no crying over spilt milk - just move on. Separate the five classes of flying, above, into a different membership level.
This is a watershed moment for the AMA, where it HAS to fight for relevancy and credibility, now that its authority was usurped by the FAA. What will be the AMA's next move?
Let the FAA registration for the aforementioned five classes remain. $5 fee with legally binding restrictions controlling the possible future rate hikes.
Here are some big problems with registration, at all, with the FAA.
1) The FAA is criminalizing all RC flying in the view of the public. The FAA would just as soon have all RC flying die off.
2) In so saying, my current understanding of the new rule is that the database would be made public - inviting retaliation by the public. The same public that has been enticed to handwringing over the criminality of ANY RC flying, by the FAA.
3) Cases of "drone" sightings by pilots have not been proven - and need to be. Many hobby-disconnected pilots would just as soon see general recreational RC flying destroyed, as well.
4) AMA has maintained a high level of civic involvement, public relations, educational programs, and more. The FAA knows this and chose to throw the AMA and all RC Flyers under the bus.
You can do something specific to disrupt this FAA move - just call your Congressperson, as I have done. If you need to know who that is, and how to call, and then how to write them, use this website to get that info:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
If anybody thinks there are other places in the FT forum to put this info, please send me a PM or email...
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Love from Norway
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https://registermyuas.faa.gov/
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Imagine if FT did encourage people not to register. Then, some of those people got nailed by the FAA for flying without registration. In our litigious society, someone is going to go looking for someone else's pockets to pay the fine. FT and Lauren could be on the hook for advising folks. Maybe it sounds crazy, but there is a very real reason why there are "Coffee is hot" warnings on coffee cups.
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As a pilot of full scale aircraft with a commercial pilot certificate, graduate of an "air traffic control college", and DIY multirotor enthusiast I have experience on both sides of this debate. The big picture really needs to be considered here and with common sense. Do you really think it's a good idea to put millions of RC aircraft into the hands of people and kids who know nothing about airspace structure, regulation, or aviation safety? It doesn't take much thought to realize that one should probably not fly near an airport, but who besides an airman with formal training would know that you're still in Class C Airspace 2 miles away from the airport even at the surface? The hobbyists have no knowledge of the world of aviation when it comes to regulation and that's why I'm a bit surprised at all the negativity. I love my quadrotors, and I'd love to fly them anywhere but I don't because I know the airspace system. I knew it was a matter of time before someone put a stop to the people who know nothing of aviation horsing around in airspace where they don't belong... because of everything I've heard in the news and seen online, near misses and what-not.
For those who are enraged, let's dumb it down a bit and consider this. A foreigner comes to America, to your town, from a country which had no cars or electricity. They rent a car and drive backwards, they park on your lawn, they don't use blinkers, no headlights at night, and they drive 120mph on the wrong side of the highway. Don't you see a problem? Just because they didn't know the rules doesn't give them the right to do whatever they want. We already have an established way to operate on roads here, and they must be adhered to if they wish to drive. Same thing is true in the air. Planes have been there since 1903 and the FAA was established in 1926(then as the Aeronautics branch). We played nicely for a while with our toys, but now that people are causing a danger something should be done. I'm not saying Registration is the right answer because I see no implication of education along with it.
Although I do not want to register, and probably won't until I'm forced.
The FAA is not a blood thirsty beast. Instead they are driven by the blood of past accidents. They don't make rules for fun. They make laws to prevent injury and death. Most of the time with the FAA has to make a law after death has occurred. In this case they are being proactive because of the large-scale use of RC aircraft is becoming dangerous because users are ignorant.
Basically I support that the FAA is doing something, but it should be education rather than registration.
And Controllers aren't FAA minions, they probably hate the FAA more than you do. Every facility is severely understaffed and controllers are working double shifts and overtime to cover the FAA's backside because they don't have enough money to properly fund their ATC program, which is ultimately the government's fault.
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You said "They don't make rules for fun. They make laws to prevent injury and death." Seriously? You really believe that laws can prevent injury and death? Laws punish wrongful injury and death. They cannot and will not prevent it, and the FAA does not make laws for that reason. If they did, Pt 135 wouldn't exist, the war between UPS and FedEx would never have happened, and the Cirrus SR20/22 would NEVER have been certificated for production.
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Also, this registration is for the pilot, not the aircraft, so the FAA will not be able to identify what you fly or own based on this data, only that you "fly drones". So, if a done crashes into a plane near you without a registration number, you will be a suspect automatically, even if you never have purchased a drone and only scratch build foam planes. This isn't about safety, there is not any provision to require training of any kind. It is only about the FAA appearing to do something, and establishing a list of suspects for when something goes wrong. Do any of you actually think that people who are flying a DJI Phantom near an airliner or over the White House are the kind of people who put their contact info or a registration number on their drones?
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READ THIS THERE MIGHT BE HOPE?
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As for the new ruling everyone needs tor right their senator and congressman, and voice their opinion.
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Now, the FAA has added an account requirement for registration. The challenge portion is to respond to an email sent to the user's email account. There are now two bars for many: 1) required email account (about 20% of US families do not have internet access); 2) credit card requirement (about 30% us US households do not have a credit card). Those who do not have credit cards and internet access will likely not have smart phones, thus are discouraged from registration.
This has gotten completely out of hand.
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In Poland for non commercial use of any rc aircraf under 25kg(~55lb) we can use it with camera. The Polish FAA start up a website where u can check any information araund you and other places and it's updated every 3h. 40km araund me i can fly my quadcopter so it's god for me :)
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