Subject: [WCRC] Maybe some good news concerning the FAA

The content to follow was posted this morning on Facebook by Frank Tiano. He is the organizer of the annual Top Gun meet and other meets in the South. Not much of what's said on Facebook is worth repeating but Frank has been one of those exceptions. Don't let what he states deter us from sending our concerns to the FAA by March 2nd.

I had to cut and paste his comments from Facebook to here. Here's the content.

ANNOUNCEMENT!
I don't talk about the current AMA / FAA program with very many people but I believe it may be time for me to make a statement. Because of what I do for a living, and because I am responsible for hosting two of the largest Model Aircraft events in the World today, I do my best to keep very well "Informed" on what is going concerning Flying Sites, Altitude restrictions, Drone practices Etc.

I have spent countless hours over the couple of weeks speaking with various AMA and FAA related people. I have condensed the pertinent information into the following statement which I pray will clarify things for all.

Currently, clubs are being asked for their flying site data by other entities claiming to be a CBO. One such entity is the Professional Modelers Association (PMA). You may see Face Book posts, emails or receive calls from fellow club members who seem confused. For clarity, at this Very MOMENT, any claim to be a CBO is false............. as the FAA has not YET even created procedures to apply to be a CBO. I am NOT saying that the future will not change all this, but it's simply not true, NOT NOW!

Currently, and this is right from the mouths of FAA and AMA people, the FAA continues to work with AMA and REPEATEDLY identifies AMA as the national body for model aviation in everything from press releases to even the proposed Remote ID rule. ( BTW, this is Proposed to commence in FIVE Years, NOT NOW) Members should also know that the AMA has already successfully conducted efforts to ensure our flying sites are protected to include altitudes OVER 400 AGL. So, while competition for being a large Model Aircraft Organization is great, and there may come a time when an alternative to the AMA is productive, for the time being, the last thing any sane modeler needs is to have others literally meddling in operations or procedures which are truly already being taken care of! Hopefully this statement will serve as one which is informative. Rumors can Hurt, Kill or otherwise Prohibit any project or business from succeeding. In this particular case,

I, Frank Tiano, believe we need to allow the AMA and FAA to work things out on our behalf, before we make an effort to tear things up!