RCMB News Link Page
Standard remote identification unmanned
aircraft broadcast the remote identification message elements
directly from the
unmanned aircraft from takeoff to shutdown. The required message
elements include: (1) a unique identifier to establish the
identity of the unmanned aircraft; (2) an indication of the
unmanned aircraft latitude, longitude, geometric altitude, and
velocity; (3) an indication of the control station latitude,
longitude, and geometric altitude; (4) a time mark; and (5) an
emergency status indication.
An unmanned aircraft can be equipped with a
remote identification broadcast module that broadcasts message
elements from
takeoff to shutdown. The required message elements include: (1)
the serial number of the broadcast module assigned by the
producer; (2) an indication of the latitude, longitude, geometric
altitude, and velocity of the unmanned aircraft; (3) an
indication of the latitude, longitude, and geometric altitude of
the unmanned aircraft takeoff location; and (4) a time mark.
Unless operating under an exception to the
remote identification operating requirements, a person operating
an unmanned
aircraft without remote identification must always operate within
visual line of sight and within an FAA-recognized
identification area. An FAA-recognized identification area is a
defined geographic area where persons can operate UAS
without remote identification, provided they maintain visual line
of sight. Persons eligible to request establishment of FAA-
recognized identification areas include communitybased
organizations recognized by the Administrator and educational
institutions including primary and secondary educational
institutions, trade schools, colleges, and universities.
• For Option 1, 2, and 3, the rule goes into
effect 60 days and 30 months from the date of publication (Dec 28
th .)
• For Option 3, organizations can begin
applying for FRIA status (FAA Recognized Identification Area) 60
days and 18 months after Dec 28 th .
• Altitude restrictions were not addressed in this ruling and the 400 foot range rule previously in place was removed. Altitude limits will likely be determined at the time of application.
• Operations are restricted to Visual Line of Sight; First Person View is permitted with a spotter (colocator) who maintains visual line of sight without optical enhancements other than eyeglasses.
• RCMB will designate a Point-of-Contact to
work with AMA/FAA for FRIA application.
• Request for Comments normally generate about
1000 comments; FAA received 53,000
comments in this case. They considered/approved many of them,
even citing many in
their final document. A few noteworthy ones:
• FAA eliminated the 400 foot network based Wi-Fi scheme they had proposed
• FAA removed the FRIA timelines, both for submissions, renewals and relocations.
• Individual aircraft registration was removed—one registration number per individual to be used
for all models of that owner.
• Pathway for exceptions for special events now exists
• The 50% amateur/home-built restriction removed with no requirement to meet manufacture
certification standards
• The certification test is now 20 multiple choice questions and you can’t fail it.
• Overall, this was a huge win for us and a nod that
AMA modelers were not the intended target of this rule. We don’t need to do
anything for now and minimal impact going forward when flying at the field.
• Per FAA and AMA recommendations, RCMB will not enforce rules other than requiring (as we do now) that members obtain AMA and FAA registration.
Profile of RCMB listed in Baltimore Country Library
Check it out NEW Electric Plane Info Page is here
North County News Article on RCMB (pdf files)
Congress protects aero modeling from burdensome federal regulations
M U N C I E – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 658, the first full FAA Reauthorization Bill in more than four years. In passing the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 the House adopted a provision aimed at protecting model aviation from burdensome regulation.
Passage by the House is the first step in the final process of bringing this bill into law. The Senate will take up the bill on Monday with a final vote expected by the end of the day.
"AMA will continue to advocate for the rights of the modeling community, and we look forward to continuing our constructive dialogue with the FAA on safety matters." said Rich Hanson, AMA’s Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs representative. "We appreciate Sen. James Inhofe (R-Ok) for sponsoring the amendment and the leadership of the House and Senate committees for respecting the concerns of aeromodelers.."
Efforts in bringing awareness to Congressional representatives by AMA members have played a pivotal role in conveying the concerns of the aeromodeling community. AMA President Bob Brown expressed his per-sonal gratitude by saying, "I want to personally thank all of the members of the Academy who took the time to write Congress about this issue. Last year more than 90,000 letters were sent to Congress expressing concerns regarding proposed federal regulation that could potentially diminish existing model aircraft activity."
For additional information, and to stay current with this issue, please visit the Academy’s government relations website at
www.modelaircraft.org/gov.The Academy of Model Aeronautics, founded in 1936, represents 143,000 aeromodelers and 2,400 clubs throughout the United States. The AMA sanctions more than 2,000 events and competitions every year.
RCMB Emergency Info
911 Emergency Calls – Charlie has been
working with the Emergency Dispatcher office to determine
the best “location description” to use when calling 911 from the field and
surrounding landfill.
In the past 800 Stablers Church Road would work but that address appears to
be out of date and
900 Stablers Church Road is what MapQuest and Garmin are now using. However,
because the County
still does not have GPS capability in ALL their emergency vehicles they still
rely on an old system.
The Dispatcher has suggested we submit a selection of phrases that will be
entered into the database.
We have submitted three possible phrases and when we get a confirmation they
were accepted we will
post them on the field boards as well on the back of your 2012 membership
card. Till them you
can use “RCMB Flying Field, Parkton” or if you are somewhere else on the
property state what
direction you are relatively to the flying field cell.
First Aid Kits – Dr. Harvey Cohen has
cleaned out the old kit and added missing items.
The kit is on the shelf above the PA system. A BACKUP kit has been mounted
behind the pin
board and remains SEALED. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS KIT UNLESS YOU HAVE
ABSOLUTELY NO ACCESS TO THE
CLUBHOUSE KIT. If you think there should be items added to the clubhouse kit
please e-mail Charlie
with a suggestion.
Emergency Clinic and Hospital Maps – Work in
progress to place maps strategically to show location
for GBMC, York Hospitals, Patient First Clinic, and Express Care Clinic. One
idea is to print the
4 maps onto an embossed page that can be borrowed for the trip, leaving them
(several copies) in the
club house and posted on the pin board.
Recycling – A Recycling can has been placed
next to the deck and “tied” to the railing so it will
not blow away. Use this for your soda cans and bottles as well as small
cardboard and clean paper
trash. NO PIZZA BOXES – PLEASE! Be SURE to snap lock down the lid
"Airplanes of theWorld" Show Info
Updated Flying Field Rules: Please Read !!