Model Airplanes

Posted: Friday, January 1, 2016 9:01 pm
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Updated: 11:06 pm, Fri Jan 1, 2016.

Local model aircraft enthusiasts start off new year on a high note

Article source: http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/local-model-aircraft-enthusiasts-start-off-new-year-on-a/article_b389868f-c9bc-5a6d-b5cf-175468c19670.html

Spurred by numerous reports of drones flying near jets and airports, the federal government will require that the aircraft be registered to make it easier to identify owners and educate amateur aviators.

The move, announced Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration, comes at a time when the agency is receiving more than 100 reports per month about drones flying near manned aircraft. The FAA prohibits drones and model airplanes from flying higher than 400 feet or within 5 miles of an airport.

Drones have become increasingly popular with hobbyists. The FAA estimates that 1.6 million small unmanned aircraft will be sold this year, with half during the last three months of the year.

The drones must be marked with the owner’s unique registration number. The FAA said that would let authorities track down owners if they violate the rules. But registration also gives the agency a vehicle to educate owners just as thousands get drones as presents for Christmas and other holidays.

The requirement covers aircraft weighing from more than half pound up to 55 pounds, including any payload such as a camera. Drone owners who are 13 and older will have to register on an FAA website that becomes available starting Dec. 21. The FAA expects parents to register for younger children.

Registration will cost $5 and must be renewed every three years, but the fee will be waived for the first 30 days, until Jan. 20. Owners will have

Article source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drone-rules-20151214-story.html

Eric Pipenger releases an airplane.Karen Waite 

Rain, snow, high winds, and even new FAA regulations requiring registration haven’t managed to ground area pilots of remote aircraft.

The Wolverine Skyhawks Club, which is one of five local members of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, is based in Cedar Springs.

With two flying fields, members take to indoor flight at Woodland Sports Center on inclement days. Flight enthusiasts pay a daily charge to use the soccer fields to “keep their hands on the stick,” said Skyhawks president Eric Pipenger.

Remote control flyers range in size from only a few inches to those with wing spans of 10 feet. Engine size can be a small battery to 50 cc to 200 cc gasoline engines – all the way up to “turbine jets that look, sound and smell like a real jet,” said Pipenger.

While the largest planes are flown outside, the club members gather indoors to build new aircraft, set remote controls, practice stunt flying and socialize.

Bob Ness, a member of a Lansing Club, had about 20 of the 400-some he owns with him. Other remote pilots stopped to watch him work on the retractable landing gear.

Bob Shaffer, of Grand Rapids, makes a few adjustments before flying his plane.Karen Waite 

Robert Shaffer, of Grand Rapids, is new to the hobby but may have been a pioneer.”I turned 90 and wanted something new to do,” he said.

“I remember when I was 14, I saved 90 box

Article source: http://www.mlive.com/rockford/index.ssf/2016/01/post_46.html