Tony
Staff member
I have stayed away from this for far too long. Call it denial, call it seclusion, call it whatever you want, I simply didn't want to be a part of it. But I feel I have a duty to our members to inform them (in the States) of what is going on with our hobby.
When I started this hobby, you had to know how to fly, or you had to have the willingness to learn how to fly. Obviously with that statement, none of this applies to ground pounders. If you didn't know, or were unwilling to learn how to fly, then you kicked rocks down the road because that is the only option you had. We didn't have self leveling flight controllers, we didn't have flybarless controllers and we damn sure didn't have "drones".
That all changed obviously and we are now in an era where ANYONE can pick up a controller and do whatever they want with it. It doesn't matter who you are or what your skill level is, you CAN fly just about anything out there. Why? Because of self leveling technology, GPS technology! And for a very select few, this technology is actually a good thing (more on that in an upcoming video in July).
But where this all goes wrong is with the 1%. The ASSHATS out there that are flying INSIDE malls and buildings with people, those that are flying on PUBLIC roads, those that are flying over sporting events, those that are flying over natural disasters, crime scenes and otherwise controlled areas. And I fully agree, something needs to be done about the 1%
So thanks to them, the US Government feels they could step in and do some good. Yea, because what they are doing is "good" in this day and age... They decided to require everyone that had a "drone" to register with the FAA, the FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION and give your personal information to them. I would have had no problem paying the $5.00 for 3 years that they were wanting. Except for the fact that all of that personal information you just posted on their site, including your physical address and phone number, is PUBLIC INFORMATION!!! So I absolutely refused to sign up for them when they first started this.
Then, the AMA got off of their lazy asses and actually went and did something about it. Because lets face it, the AMA is REACTIVE and not PROACTIVE and imo a complete waste of money. But this is not the post for bitching about the failures of the AMA. But they (the AMA) got this "law" pushed out and we went back to where we were thanks to section 36. I think it was 36 anyway, correct me if I'm wrong.
The government, being the crybabies that they are realized they are missing out on a GOLD MINE but they can't do anything because of section 36 which puts us hobbyists off limits. So what do they do? They vote, AND PASS!!!... TO REPEAL SECTION 36!!!!! So no longer are we safe from the government for doing a HOBBY that we love!!!
If this is not proof of a MASSIVE MONEY GRAB, then I don't know what is. For people like me, who do videos on multiple models to help out those looking to get into the hobby, this is a HUGE chunk of money that we have to fork out to keep things going. Money that frankly, I don't have.
And this isn't just for "drones", or QUADS as I call them. This is also for airplanes and helicopters as well. Not only does the US Government call quads "drones", but they also call them "UAS" or Unmanned Aerial System. And a UAS is anything that flies, is over 250 grams or .55 lbs and that some asshat can do stupid things with.
So what does this mean for RCH? I will still continue to do videos on how to build, repair, and maintain everything I can get my hands on. But, because I don't have a quarter of a million dollars or the time to spend in federal prison, I will no longer be flying anything over 250 grams in weight. Is this the end of RCH? I sure hope not and I hope the AMA gets off their ass and does something about this. I had some awesome comments on the post I made on YouTube about this that I will be covering in a live stream soon.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think the 99% should be punished for the faults of the 1%?
When I started this hobby, you had to know how to fly, or you had to have the willingness to learn how to fly. Obviously with that statement, none of this applies to ground pounders. If you didn't know, or were unwilling to learn how to fly, then you kicked rocks down the road because that is the only option you had. We didn't have self leveling flight controllers, we didn't have flybarless controllers and we damn sure didn't have "drones".
That all changed obviously and we are now in an era where ANYONE can pick up a controller and do whatever they want with it. It doesn't matter who you are or what your skill level is, you CAN fly just about anything out there. Why? Because of self leveling technology, GPS technology! And for a very select few, this technology is actually a good thing (more on that in an upcoming video in July).
But where this all goes wrong is with the 1%. The ASSHATS out there that are flying INSIDE malls and buildings with people, those that are flying on PUBLIC roads, those that are flying over sporting events, those that are flying over natural disasters, crime scenes and otherwise controlled areas. And I fully agree, something needs to be done about the 1%
So thanks to them, the US Government feels they could step in and do some good. Yea, because what they are doing is "good" in this day and age... They decided to require everyone that had a "drone" to register with the FAA, the FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION and give your personal information to them. I would have had no problem paying the $5.00 for 3 years that they were wanting. Except for the fact that all of that personal information you just posted on their site, including your physical address and phone number, is PUBLIC INFORMATION!!! So I absolutely refused to sign up for them when they first started this.
Then, the AMA got off of their lazy asses and actually went and did something about it. Because lets face it, the AMA is REACTIVE and not PROACTIVE and imo a complete waste of money. But this is not the post for bitching about the failures of the AMA. But they (the AMA) got this "law" pushed out and we went back to where we were thanks to section 36. I think it was 36 anyway, correct me if I'm wrong.
The government, being the crybabies that they are realized they are missing out on a GOLD MINE but they can't do anything because of section 36 which puts us hobbyists off limits. So what do they do? They vote, AND PASS!!!... TO REPEAL SECTION 36!!!!! So no longer are we safe from the government for doing a HOBBY that we love!!!
this part is no longer true because I don't know how to read. Who am I kidding anyway, this is never going to make a difference in this hobby.
That is when the FAA really kicked the hobby in the nuts! Not only were you REQUIRED to register with them in fear of a very large fine and/or jail time, BUT... you now had to register EVERY SINGLE AIRCRAFT AND EVERY ONE OF THEM IS $5.00!!!! Yes, in black and white text it states, on the FAA's site "Registration costs $5 per aircraft and is valid for 3 years."! PER AIRCRAFT!!!
If this is not proof of a MASSIVE MONEY GRAB, then I don't know what is. For people like me, who do videos on multiple models to help out those looking to get into the hobby, this is a HUGE chunk of money that we have to fork out to keep things going. Money that frankly, I don't have.
And this isn't just for "drones", or QUADS as I call them. This is also for airplanes and helicopters as well. Not only does the US Government call quads "drones", but they also call them "UAS" or Unmanned Aerial System. And a UAS is anything that flies, is over 250 grams or .55 lbs and that some asshat can do stupid things with.
So what does this mean for RCH? I will still continue to do videos on how to build, repair, and maintain everything I can get my hands on. But, because I don't have a quarter of a million dollars or the time to spend in federal prison, I will no longer be flying anything over 250 grams in weight. Is this the end of RCH? I sure hope not and I hope the AMA gets off their ass and does something about this. I had some awesome comments on the post I made on YouTube about this that I will be covering in a live stream soon.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think the 99% should be punished for the faults of the 1%?
Last edited: