Steve

McKeown

, Campbell

, New York

, United States

Posted on
2020-02-24 21:03:02
“My participation in this hobby goes back to my childhood. I’ve been building and flying models since I can remember, and I’m 68 now. Aviation has been my vocation and avocation all my life. Model building and flying still dominates my free time and any restriction to my current ability to fly out of my back yard and the open field behind it would have an impact on my life. I would adapt to these new restrictions as best I could but my question is, why is it necessary? Are recreational modelers being burdened with the responsibility to avoid interfering with commercial UAS operations? I believe that line -of-site limits in the unrestricted flight zone for recreational flying has always been appropriate and adequate to insure the safety of the flying public. If UAS package delivery is the real issue here, I believe a compromise can be worked out by designating airways for their operations. We would naturally avoid operating in these airways while flying recreationally. I also believe that registration of recreational PILOTS such as was done in 2016 would be an acceptable and cost efficient way to track violators that collide with a commercial UAS. There is no need to register each airframe. Finally, what is the rational for a 0.55 lb weight limit for the exemption? I agree that a limit should be established, but why that particular weight? Was there actual research and testing done to establish that figure? Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my concerns and suggestions. As I said above, I’ll continue to participate in this hobby in some form or fashion as long as I am physically able.”