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Feb 6, 2020

A call to action from RMRC owner Tim Stanfield on the proposed FAA rules for model aircraft.

If you aren’t aware already, the FAA has posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which would cripple our hobby and industry by enacting onerous and excessive remote ID requirements for all UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) over 250g, which includes both hobbyist and commercial operations. Back in January, we had requested that you wait to submit comments while we and the leaders in RC and FPV community compile information for the most educated and impactful comments. We now believe it is the time for you to comment on the proposed rule.

YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR REPLIES BEFORE THE MARCH 2 DEADLINE

We have had discussions with the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), Flite Test Community Association (FTCA), and other groups. We also are now a part of the AMA Coalition. The AMA has been having high level meetings in Washington DC this week with legislators, and other organizations have been in discussions with the FAA and legislators regarding the issues related to the proposed rules.

As we previously stated, we do not believe that supplying a form letter is the best route. We recommend each individual look through our summary of bullet points and any other points by others relating to the issue and include items that they feel are most applicable. We believe the FAA will take the comments more seriously if they are not all carbon copy replies. That said, the AMA has released a few templates that you can use as starting points, although we feel they do not go far enough to allow freedom to fly in any safe location.
https://www.modelaircraft.org/about-ama/advocacy

Here is our list of some recommended talking points:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XCAfHuRah_ms9J3SqEv5hdt9xju8IPl_BkPl2nzmCL4/edit?usp=sharing

If you believe there are points we have missed, please reply to our social media posts or email us with your suggestions.

We also believe that Pilot Institute has released a good guide regarding the regulations and some specific talking points.
https://pilotinstitute.com/nprm/

It is important that you are respectful, rational, and clear with your comments. Simply complaining isn’t going to help. We need to offer concise reasoning and alternatives backed up with facts when possible. If you don’t have time to create your own letter, then sending one of the premade letters is better than nothing.

Here is the link for officially commenting on the NPRM:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/12/31/2019-28100/remote-identification-of-unmanned-aircraft-systems

Continued updates on the RMRC website located here:
https://www.readymaderc.com/pages/faa-remote-id-announcement

Sincerely,
Tim Stanfield
President, Ready Made RC,LLC

We will continue to update this page with additional information.

Important Links

FAA's Proposed Rules

Academy of Model Aeronautics

Flite Test Community Association

Previous Updates:

Jan 23, 2020

RMRC has officially joined the AMA coalition. 

We have officially signed on to be a part of the AMA Coalition. This group was created by the AMA to show a unified front to US government representatives from various RC related manufacturers and retailers. This organization has the support of the Civil Air Patrol, in addition to many companies. 
https://www.modelaircraft.org/govcoalition

January 7, 2020

A message from RMRC owner Tim Stanfield on the proposed FAA rules for model aircraft

The FAA has recently proposed remote ID rules that will have an enormous effect on the entire model aircraft community, both fixed wing and multirotor, FPV and traditional line of sight.. From the initial reading and impression, it is clear that these rules would pose an overwhelming burden on both the pilots and the manufacturers of these items.

We are at the beginning of a 60 day comment period regarding the proposed rules. We urge you all to NOT COMMENT YET on these proposed rules. It is far better to wait and have measured, well thought out comments for the FAA to consider than to comment quickly with statements that may not actually be relevant or helpful. The proposed rules are complex and confusing, and without a full understanding of the proposed rules we cannot all supply comments that are likely to result in improvements in the proposed rules.

We are working closely with community organizations that have a vested interest in the future of all the model aircraft and drone community. In the coming weeks, we will be having discussions with both the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and the Flite Test Community Association (FTCA). We feel that both of these organizations have it in their best interest to ensure the long term success of the hobby as a whole, and they don’t have the possible conflicts of interest that may be present in other organizations that have close relationships with companies that manufacture remoteID technologies.

Based on this cooperation as well as our own research, in the coming weeks we expect to have a list of items that we feel are important talking points for anyone’s comments to the FAA and to their representatives in congress. We feel that supplying a form letter will not be as useful and would likely be ignored by FAA representatives, but if everyone uses talking points that are relevant to themselves as starting points, the FAA may be more willing to read, understand, and adjust to propose a more reasonable set of rules.

Again, we are not asking you to NOT comment on the proposed rules. We recommend waiting until we can convey a clear voice about the changes we need as a community

Sincerely
Tim Stanfield
President, Ready Made RC, LLC