Dan

Marsiglia

, Maryland

, United States

Posted on
2020-02-15 0:22:13
“I’ve been flying rc airplanes for 25+ years. The way I was introduced to model aviation would have never been able to occur with the current proposed regulations, due to the fact the gentlemen were flying home-made rc airplanes at a public park. The current proposed regulations would make this common practice among model aviation enthusiasts illegal in 2 ways. The first being the public park is not a recognized flying site or FRIA as proposed, and the models being flown had no remote id capability. It’s possible there isn’t even WiFi coverage in that area. I have 2 sons, 2 and 4 years old who both show great interest in the hobby. They love to watch me fly my aircraft, even asking me to fly when we’re not able to, and flying small gliders and indoor quadcopters of their own. I can’t imagine continuing to teach them the basics of flight, set-up, testing, trial and error on a ready to fly aircraft we didnt build and are unable to modify, or while traveling over 2 hours to and from the closest AMA or FRIA flying field to fly our home-built crafts. That is if they even exist in the future. The proposed regulations are designed to eliminate FRIAs by not allowing any new fields to apply after 12 months. Building, testing, programming, fixing and tweaking would all but be eliminated and that’s 90% of the hobby. Flying is that last part, sometimes only minutes and realizing an error in the design or construction brings you right back to the workbench to tweak, modify, correct and then test again. Most flights only last up to 10 minutes and in areas that are not in any way able to interfere with manned aircraft. Sometimes we build a model and only fly it once or very infrequently due to the detail, time or cost. How can you justify having to pay for a remote Id device and subscription to sit on the shelf, or never fly at all? I understand the desire for remote id, and I feel it could be beneficial for off the shelf ready to fly products designed for consumers who have no knowledge or understanding of airspace or physics. Most, if not all these craft already have features in place that can and already do accomplish the goals of the remote id legislation. I feel this is what the sweeping regulations were intended for, without any understanding or research into who this legislation actually effects. However, to take away all those hours of fun and tinkering in the garage to regulate those few minutes of flight for the majority of us who build, fly and are enthusiasts of model aircraft is completely over reaching and unnecessary, and I fear the vast majority will not comply.”