0416 EX Minutes
Executive Council Meeting
April 16, 2016
Muncie IN
Official
Introductions
President's Report
Executive Vice President's Report
Chief Financial Officer's Report
Executive Director's Report
NAA Report
Committee Reports
Old Business
New Business
1. Opening Business
Note: The President reported he had received a letter from District IX VP Jim Tiller that District IX AVP Brandon Koch was sitting in his place and per the bylaws, was allowed to vote.
a. Introductions: President Bob Brown, Bradford, PA; Executive Vice President Gary Fitch, Franklinville, NY; Chief Financial Officer Keith Sessions, Burlington, KY; District Vice Presidents: I-Andy Argenio, Smithfield, RI; II-Eric Williams, Schenectady, NY; III-Mark Radcliff, St. Marys, WV; IV-Jay Marsh, High Point, NC; V-Kris Dixon, Dexter, GA; VI-Randy Cameron, Springfield, MO: VII-Tim Jesky, Monroe, MI; VIII-Lawrence Harville, Hurst, TX; Dist IX AVP Brandon Koch, Bismark, ND; X-Lawrence Tougas, Fairfield, CA; XI-Chuck Bower, Langley, WA; NAA President Jonathan Gaffney; Executive Director Dave Mathewson, and AMA Legal Counsel Felix Gora, Rendigs Fry Kiely & Dennis.
Others in attendance: Dist. II AVP Al Kanser; Paul Bretsen, Harry A. Koch Company; Darryl Jenkins, Russ Miller; and from HQ staff Shawn Grubbs, Jeff Swift, Rich Hanson, Tony Stillman, Ilona Maine, and Mandee Mikulski.
Flying Site Grant (Committees), Foundation report moved to Committees, Bylaws report deferred and an Executive Session added at the conclusion of the regular meeting.
c. Final Flight recognition (Appendix):
Additions to the list-Edward Tougas, Dan Curtis, Vern Campbell, Don Krafft, Daniel Fuller, and Gary Frick. A moment of silence was observed.
2. Consent Agenda:
It was moved, seconded, and approved by unanimous acclamation to accept the minutes of the January 11, 2016 Executive Council meeting. The President wanted it on record that during the mail vote of March 23, 2016, he requested that the original motion (Motion VI of the October 2015 EC meeting) be rescinded and/or the individuals that made the motion and seconded it, approve the amended motion of March 23. No action was taken by Council on his request.
The following votes were previously approved and read into the minutes:
Feb. 8, 2016 mail vote re: Award of Excellence.
Mar. 15, 2016 mail vote re: FAA (UAS) registration number.
Mar. 23, 2016 mail vote re: National Model Aviation Day charity.
3. President’s Report
The President reported on his travel Jan. 26 – April 9, 2016.
• This included the March on Congress where he and others visited 32 different congressional offices.
• Champaign, IL for E-fest and meetings with Horizon and Hobbico.
• WRAM Show in Secaucus, NJ.
• Statesboro, GA to visit Prosser Field (developed by Blois and Helen Prosser), the home of the District V Fun Fly.
• Attended the Southeastern Model Show (Perry, GA) and the District V membership meeting.
• Toledo Weak Signals Expo. The President asked T. Jesky to offer his thanks to the Weak Signals for their hospitality and all they do for the Academy.
• FAI CIAM meeting in Lausanne Switzerland: “The recent meeting of the FAI CIAM was what I considered one of the most positive in recent years. It is becoming apparent that the FAI membership now recognizes the need to represent aeromodeling throughout the world with the various government efforts. The new Secretary General is Susanne Schödel. Her résumé illustrates enthusiasm not only in competitive aviation but also in the need for aviation to be recognized in the political arenas throughout the world. She is well versed in the intricacies of politics after working for several years for the Ministry of Social Affairs in Hessen, Germany. Ironically, Ms. Schödel was headed to Barcelona, Spain for a meeting to discuss air sports political concerns. Our own Rich Hanson was a part of the group that generated some of the thoughts that were to be discussed. The overall change in FAI philosophy will certainly be a very appreciated aspect for the modelers throughout the world; this has been needed for years.” The United States was awarded the 2018 FAI F1D World Championships which will be held in West Baden, Indiana. The FAI recognized a subcommittee with the responsibility of moving FPV Racing into a specific FAI Class. The most enjoyable part of the trip was to bring back the FAI World Cup Diplomas and medals for two outstanding members of the Academy; Alexander Andriukov for first place in F1B World Cup and Peter Brocks second place in F1E. The Academy is extremely proud of the success of these fine gentlemen. FAI CIAM President Antonis Papadopoulos will attend the November 12-13, 2016 Executive Council meeting. Roger Williams, President of the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada and others will be invited to attend. The Frank Ehling Diploma was awarded to the National Association of Rocketry. Only one Diploma is awarded annually for outstanding accomplishment by an organization in connection with the promotion of aviation through the use of flying models. The Academy congratulates the National Association of Rocketry.
There was a brief discussion of the World Air Games in Dubai; they have set the standard very high for other organizers. Gaffney reported the NAA is NOT involved in the next World Air Games where there is discussion it may be held in Albuquerque, NM. The next F3A world championships will be held in Qatar; the organizer reported discounted airfare and hotels might be offered. Brown reported the CIAM currently has rules for international FPV racing and races are scheduled in various countries. (The rules are located on the CIAM web site; the subcommittee continues to massage the rules.) The US has representation on the new CIAM FPV subcommittee.
Rich Hanson reported on his call with the FAA regarding FPV racing. The FAA is looking to the Academy to manage the activity; bringing the community together and standardizing the rules, specifically the safety aspect of the rules. The FAA indicated if this turns into an actual professional sport, they wanted the Academy to be the sanctioning body. If AMA is not going in that direction they need to know so they can look to another organization to do that. Council was in agreement to move in that direction. Hanson noted the FAA has a long-standing position that if you are flying for money as a prize, this does not make it a commercial operation. The FAA is familiar with AMA’s documents 550/560; they are interested in seeing a set of racing documents/rules. The President will take the lead on this.
4. Executive Vice President's Report
• Traveled to D.C. with R. Hanson, B. Brown, and C. Budreau, met with E. Lawrence and other FAA individuals to discuss the registration issues and the AMA’s need for a written statement from the FAA recognizing the AMA as a community-based organization (CBO). Opened up discussion on the possibility of negotiating rather than litigating the legal action taken against the Interpretive Rule of our Special Rule. Later, met with CLS to discuss the results of the meeting.
• January 26 went to D.C. and along with other EC members met with CLS to discuss what to expect when meeting with congressional staffers concerning the new Reauthorization Bill. The next two days the groups met with 37 congressional offices; came away feeling we were in a better place than before.
• On February 2 went to AMA HQ and met with D. Mathewson and B. Brown to discuss the D.C. effort and other issues. Met with J. Nance to discuss the meetings in Champaign the next day. Met with S. Grubbs to learn what our membership looked like compared to last year.
• While in Champaign for E-fest met with Horizon Hobby in the morning bringing them up to speed on the FAA and working on marketing programs. Horizon agreed to begin selling AMA membership on their website; still in the process of working that out but this is a direct result of our marketing efforts. Thanked Horizon for their B-17 program and the significant contribution they made to the AMA Foundation. Met with Hobbico/Tower Hobbies in the afternoon; they also agreed to sell AMA memberships on their website.
• Attended and worked the WRAM Show and participated in the District II membership meeting.
• Also attended: Lebanon (PA) Flea Market; NEF in Akron Ohio where he served as the AMA Jurist for the F3P team selection as well as working the AMA booth; visited the Thermal GRC club in Erie, PA.
• Chaired a conference call meeting of the ad hoc committee formed to consider an offer to enter into a partnership with a software developer
• Participated in an investment advisory conference call with K. Sessions and V. Barkdull along with AMA’s financial advisors discussing investment strategy. Fitch has a lot of confidence in K. Sessions as well as our investment manager Don Shuck; he is exceeding our investment objectives.
• Attended and worked the Toledo Weak Signals Expo; participated in the combined District III/VII membership meeting
• Traveled to Dallas, TX at the invitation of the Richardson RC Flying club and Lawrence Harville for the 50th anniversary of the club. Met with club members and presented the club Vice President Christopher Quinn (12 years old) with a district award
• Attended a Marketing/Membership meeting at HQ prior to the EC meeting.
5. Chief Financial Officer's Report
• Met with Don Shuck, had a conversation with him outside the investment advisory conference call. K. Sessions is very confident with what he is doing. It is a tough environment in the markets at this time. He expects this to be a challenging year; he and Shuck are working on how to best position the portfolio for the coming years.
• AMA’s bank for day-to-day operations: Sessions reported the current bank (JP Morgan Chase) requested AMA use some equipment for check cashing that does not work well and would increase our labor costs in the process. The comptroller and Sessions discussed this and explored other options. After considerable discussion between K. Sessions and V. Barkdull, AMA will move the banking relationship to a local institution, Mutual Bank. Sessions is confident AMA will save approximately 10k/year using Mutual Bank for day-to-day operations vs. JP Morgan Chase.
• The audit by Brady Ware was moved to the second quarter; this saves about 4k in audit fees. It will start in May and hope to have the report at the July EC meeting. The IRS audit is still not over; he was last here on January 29 and told AMA he needed at least another week. AMA has not heard from him since, but he did indicate that everything looked to be in order. Issues did come up that Council members should pay particular attention to and make changes. These include: AMA credit card usage; must turn in receipts for all credit card charges, even under $25. AMA has a per diem under its Travel Policy; Council was encouraged to use this. If a credit card is used for dining purposes, the receipt must include who was in attendance and the business purpose.
• Executive Council expense reports: make sure to get them in within 30 days; 60 days is considered late and 90 days is not acceptable. Sessions noted that there are some that are at and beyond the 90 days; these must be turned in immediately.
6. Executive Director’s Report
• Best Buy Program: revenue generated through end of February was $62,092; the program has become profitable for us although not what we had hoped. Still working with them to make improvements.
• Site 4 improvements: these were approved at the October 2015 budget meeting. The well digging began last week; they were held up for 3 weeks due to weather.
• Member outreach system: switched to the Salsa program which allows member outreach to congress as well as the ability to reach out to state and local legislators. If VPs have legislative issues within their district and it would help to have members reach out to local legislators, HQ can assist with that using the Salsa program.
• AMS system: the deadline for the Request for Information (RFI) was April 1st; B. Elk is reviewing those. Will narrow the vendors down to 5 or 6 and they will be asked to demonstrate 4 or 5 mission-critical functions. Once that is complete the Request for Proposal (RFP) begins.
• HQ is trying to finalize details with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in connection with National Model Aviation Day (NMAD).
• Proposed 2017 Foundation dinner: Council received a list of potential venues to host a dinner. Council should review and in the next 7-10 days send an email to M. Mikulski with copy to D. Mathewson with their choice. K. Sessions thinks this is a great idea; this type of fundraising for foundations works out well. Mathewson noted is also builds credibility for the foundation. We must weigh the venue choice against the cost; we may not make a profit the first year. The speaker for the event is very important as well.
• AMA’s 80th Anniversary Celebration: M. Mikulski did some research on items (stickers, t-shirts and windsocks) to offer associated with NMAD; they would also be made available for a fee to clubs not participating in NMAD and sold in the store to offset some of the costs. In the past AMA had offered an item as an incentive for clubs to participate; those costs were partially offset by sponsorships. Following discussion, it was decided to give a packet of stickers to the participating clubs and offer the other items at cost. These items will be branded with the 80th anniversary logo.
• Congressional Awareness Campaign: 27,922 letters were sent to senators, which averaged out to about 423 letters being sent every hour.
• Drone Zones and Cities Initiative: T. Stillman created cards which will be mailed to city officials, city managers, parks & recreation, county commissioners, etc. The cards will point them to the website (why.modelaircraft.org/drones) to explain why they would want to create a drone zone in their town. The plan is to do a limited launch to park & recreation officials in the next couple of weeks to get a response and then move forward with groups Headquarters feels would be interested. At the end of the website, they are instructed to contact Tony and he will work with clubs or modelers in the area to aid in developing these sites. Stillman will do a push email to clubs notifying them of the initiative. E. Williams noted that there are MultiGP chapters across the country, many of which are AMA clubs, that could be helpful.
• FPV Racing System: As part of the education trailer re-work Stillman did over the winter, he created a way to use the trailer as a viewing area for FPV racing. He demonstrated the system he put together, which is housed in a case for easy transport. This system will be kept in the education trailer; Stillman is working with J. Symmes to develop an instruction manual on how to use it. The cost for the system is around $500-$600. Stillman will put together instructions on how to make the system and send a copy to Council.
7. NAA Report
• J. Gaffney reported the Collier Trophy Selection Committee met and selected its recipient; he thanked B. Brown for participating in the process.
• NAA paid the FAI dues last week.
• If anyone has questions they can contact Jonathan.
8. Committee Reports
a. Marketing (Appendix)
Membership as of yesterday – New Open/Adult memberships up 4,478, renewals were down 2,102. Overall Open/Adult memberships up 2.7% to 70,678 year to date. Senior, Park Pilot, and Youth memberships were all up. Memberships are up 10,895 to 178,863 for a growth of almost 6.5% over this time last year. Best Buy accounts for 692 new members since December and 821 overall with renewals; revenue from Best Buy program $62,092. New members from the following sites: 21-AMAGOV, 54-Facebook/Facebook CTA; 146-MA print; 70-Flitetest; 2,521 from Google advertising (cost of acquisition is around $6/member). The program Nance developed to allow renewing members to opt in, keeping the dues the same had a very positive impact in retaining our members. G. Fitch is working with S. Grubbs to find a way to track the interest of the new member, including those interested in multirotors.
New Mobile Enrollment App – This app is for new members only; it has not been rolled out yet but should very shortly. Anyone using a mobile smart phone will have the ability to become an AMA member; they will have to acknowledge they have read the Safety Code before they can become a member. This app will contain an area for a promotion code to allow for the $10 discount at various shows; HQ will have the ability to turn it on/off during show weekends. Currently the form does not ask for the area of interest; Council asked that this be included, as well as having “Multirotor” as a primary field. It was asked that HQ work toward having the mobile app for renewals as well. Last year membership of 188k was the highest ever; Fitch feels we are on track to break that.
Weekly membership reports – S. Grubbs will resume sending this to Council members once a month.
Hobby Shop Program – Total stores that have joined the program since July 1999 is 375; total hobby shops that have closed their place of business is 133; total AMA members from the program over the last 16 years is 8,293. This year HQ signed 8 new shops bringing the total number of shops to 250; received 44 new members from hobby shops this year and the committee believes this will increase with the new incentives that were instituted last year. Horizon Hobby, Tower Hobby and MultiGP have agreed to sell AMA memberships on their websites. EAA and AMA will conduct a member merge/purge to determine how many of our members are also EAA members. Horizon Hobby will be offering special pricing on their Sportsman airplane through AMA as a member benefit and Foundation fundraiser.
Membership renewal reminder strategy – S. Grubbs reported they are trying to get all renewal reminders automated; he explained the process. Reminders will be sent to members and club officers when members approach a lapse. He noted that in the past renewal bills and ballots were sent together; with the new year-to-date membership only those with a December 31 expiration date will receive the combined bill/ballot.
Boots on the Ground Proposal – Darryl Jenkins
At this time Rich Hanson introduced Darryl Jenkins who addressed the Council. Hanson noted Headquarters has been working on educational outreach to the new UAS consumer community. Determining how we accomplish that, targeting the right people with the right message, and getting them involved in the aviation safety arena. Mr. Jenkins has been an educator all his professional life, with George Washington University in teaching aviation curriculum as well as being by profession, a mathematician/statistician. He has been working on aviation education for years and has recently been working on getting the drone industry involved. One of the problems is there are a lot of different activities going on and much talk about doing the education for this new community but there has not been a way to bring all the entities together.
D. Jenkins (Appendix) reviewed his program called Boots on the Ground which would teach basic safety principles to local press, local police and local users. They will be taught regulations, about airspace, how to use a drone and potential problems. The program would be operated as a nonprofit with four employees (three directors that will have geographic areas to oversee, and a PR director). The first thing to do will be to put together training material; build a website, YouTube videos, and a compilation of best practices. The initial budget is $600,000 to be split amongst 6 organizations, one of which they hope will be the AMA. D. Jenkins will be co-chairing the organization. They hope to get stakeholders involved, such as AOPA, EAA, ATC, etc.
Jenkins thinks we are seeing a leveling-off of higher level recreational users; he feels two years will be sufficient time to hit the top 100 major markets in the U.S. The approach with Boots on the Ground is to go in and train people at the local level, give them materials they can work with; after that it is up to them (locals) to keep it going. Local AMA clubs will be involved as well.
As far as funding for this project Jenkins stated he has the ability for people to come in at smaller levels if needed but right now in addition to talking with AMA, they are talking with pilots (Air Line Pilots Association, and hope to talk with Southwest and American Airlines pilot unions). They do not have helicopter pilots involved but may look to bring them in. The people they are looking to involve are those that have something at risk. Hanson noted that many organizations have approached him and stated they support education; although we don’t see eye to eye on the regulatory approach and airspace usage issues, it is in everyone’s best interest to have educated operators out there (both in the manned and unmanned side). That is common ground that we should explore. Hanson clarified that the co-chair position with Jenkins should AMA become the lead organization in this effort, would be appointed by the Executive Council. M. Radcliff was of the opinion that this non-commercial usage is a fad and will die down after a while; needing more data on non-commercial usage before AMA invests. E. Williams stated that what is reported in the news is not reality, in terms of sightings, events, etc. Reporters take great license in their reports and headlines when they characterize what is going on; he asked if Jenkins was looking to correct this mischaracterization. Jenkins stated that is why you start with reporters and show them what is actually going on; that gives them the opportunity, along with any local leaders, to correct any misinformation.
The timeline would be to start this summer; it will take a month or two to get all the material ready and start planning events. They will plan the initial half dozen events with space between them so they can adjust material if needed and talk with participants. After that they are focused on addressing the top 100 markets in two years. After they have achieved this goal the coalition will break up. He has approached AMA first because we have local clubs and fields to offer demonstrations; if AMA signs on we could have the co-chair position as well as a delegate. Jenkins is looking for funding of $100,000 from AMA.
Darryl was thanked for his presentation; Council will take the request under consideration and get back to him.
FAA Update
R. Hanson updated Council on the Micro UAS ARC. This was to be a way to handle the proposal that went into the FAA two years ago asking the FAA to write new regulation for micro UAS (micro UAS at that time was 4.4 lbs. or less). The FAA took the proposal and rolled it into the NPRM for small UAS rule. Although it wasn’t written into the rule itself, the public was asked to comment on the concept of adding a micro UAS class to the small UAS rule. Most recently FAA has said they weren’t going to put micro UAS into the small UAS rule but they did form an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to look at the micro UAS issue. In actuality, it had to do with flying over people and was not restricted to 4.4 lbs. or less. It includes everything in the small UAS rule (55 lbs. or less). It was a bit misleading in thinking they were going to handle the micro UAS proposal through this ARC. Both the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill and now the proposed Senate version includes special language that would create a micro UAS category.
The ARC dealt with flying over people, specifically flying over people under Part 107 operations (Part 107 is the new FAR that will address nonrecreational small UAS operations if and when it becomes a final rule.) Hanson asked the ARC why there is a compelling reason to fly over people; we know that is one of the most problematic activities that you can do with this level of device (off the shelf, noncertificated platform). Examples of applications for doing this include news media use, cell tower inspectors, and planned events where a drone would be used for coverage to create a story around an event. The position Hanson relayed on AMA’s behalf was there is no compelling reason to extend that to recreational use; there is no rationale for a recreational user to deliberately fly over people. Hanson reiterated that this only relates to Part 107, it has nothing to do with recreational people flying under the special rule for model aircraft (336).
New Reauthorization Bill – Hanson updated Council on the proposed revisions/amendments. AMA’s amendment was sponsored by Sen. Inhoff who was the original sponsor of the special rule for model aircraft in 2011. In summation, there is the Senate bill that could go to the floor for an initial vote on Monday or Tuesday, and may potentially have some problematic language for us. As the bill progresses AMA will continue to work to resolve our concerns with the bill. The House bill (that added a provision for education and a definition for a Community-Based Organization) that has not gone to the floor for a vote yet, is fairly favorable to us, but is stalled because of other positions. Ultimately, in order for the FAA Reauthorization Bill to get passed both sides of Congress must agree upon the bill pass it. The differences must be reconciled through a joint conference committee; this is where AMA won a lot of ground in the last Reauthorization Bill and where we will put our biggest effort. Hanson anticipates the next push from AMA will be when the bills from the House and Senate go to the conference committee. We need to make sure the members know this is an ongoing, incremental process and they need to stay engaged and be ready for the next push when it comes. It was suggested that AMA generate a thank-you note to all those who responded to the latest call for action; Mathewson stated this could be done.
Foundation (Appendix)
Council received copy of the minutes from the March 1, 2016 Foundation Board meeting. The Board requested a change to their bylaws naming the sitting AMA President a permanent member of the Board. Sessions reported that according to the IRS there must be a separation of leadership between the AMA Council and the AMA Foundation Board. Mikulski stated when they originally set up the Foundation, the documents submitted stated a member of the AMA Council must be a member of the Foundation Board; this was approved.
MOTION I: Moved by T. Jesky (VII) and seconded by R. Cameron (VI) that Council accept the Foundation Board minutes with the exception that the Foundation Board motion be modified to read it is the Executive Council’s recommendation that the sitting AMA President or his designee, be a member of the Foundation Board.
MOTION passed: 12-Y;1-N (EVP)
Ad hoc Foundation Guidance Recommendation (Appendix)
Jesky was tasked by the President to chair this ad hoc committee to provide guidance and direction to the Foundation in their activities and give them some clear set goals. He thanked E. Williams, C. Bower, J. Tiller and M. Mikulski for working on this. The general consensus was that the Foundation focus its efforts towards the education plank of the Foundation goals. The committee would like to see the creation of a model aviation academy; a learning environment. Focus the curriculum and learning in a progressive manner over a period of time. AMA should be known as an incubator for future aviation professionals. This can be leveraged when soliciting corporate gifts and grants. While it’s important to look at planned giving, the committee sees far greater potential in the corporate boardrooms.
E. Williams explained the aviation career path trajectory the committee envisions, noting that AMA has been doing this for years but needs to capitalize on it. The Education department should take all of the programs it has and assemble them in a progressive, stepping-stone program. Students are more apt to stay with a program if they know where they go next.
The President asked the committee what they would like from the Foundation. Williams stated the ad hoc committee needs to put together a further plan, road map of objectives, milestones and goals. He noted the committee would like the Foundation Board to add an additional focus in corporate giving, toward the educational goal. The committee’s report will be given to the Foundation Board as the vision. Right now the report shows a number of programs, but the Foundation needs to know how the proposed programs will be tied together. Mikulski reminded the committee that when you go for grant money, those organizations want to know where you are going to spend the money, what are you going to do with it; the committee realizes this. Fitch believes AMA needs to develop a corporate message. Williams understands the committee needs to show more of a timeline, goals; create a vision. The Foundation Boards responsibility is to raise funds for AMA programs, not develop those programs. The Foundation Board will review the committee report and provide input to the members; the committee will continue their work.
National Model Aviation Day – In an EC conference call it was decided to name DAV the benefitting charity for NMAD this year. M. Mikulski reported she is attempting to coordinate with them. Clubs are anxious to get started working on their NMAD procuring sponsors, etc.
MOTION II: Moved by L. Tougas (X) and seconded by L. Harville (VIII) if AMA can’t coordinate with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) charity by April 21, the decision for the National Model Aviation Day (NMAD) charity should be selected and administered locally by the clubs.
MOTION passed unanimously.
Executive Session 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Club Legal Defense – ad hoc
Since the chairman was not in attendance at the meeting Council was asked to review the proposal in their agenda and be ready to discuss it at the July 2016 Council meeting.
PADCOM (Appendix)
Site 4 – R. Cameron reported that Council authorized 16k for a well; the work is currently in progress.
Site 3 runway – E & B Paving did core samples. They submitted a bid for grinding the top of the runway to make a rough texture so the new asphalt would adhere and applying another 1.5 inches of asphalt to the entire surface. Their bid was $86,700. It was noted that there is an area that is extremely wet and water seeps up through the runway; trenching and drainage should be done to preserve the new asphalt. The ED asked Cameron if he was confident if AMA spends this money that the base is adequate; Cameron reported that E & B Paving felt it was. The project will be funded completely by member donations.
MOTION III: Moved by G. Fitch (EVP) and seconded by T. Jesky (VII) that Council approve the Site 3 improvement/paving as submitted by PADCOM April 16, 2016; additional funding was approved for site drainage. Maximum allowed is $110,000.
MOTION passed unanimously.
Bylaws
No report this meeting.
Flying Site Grant
There was $23,025.70 total in qualified grants; some applicants did not qualify or had received a grant last year and were not eligible. It was requested that the excess from the fund be set aside to develop a web interface for online application. This has not yet been discussed with Headquarters personnel; possibly an outsource project.
It was moved, seconded, and approved by unanimous acclamation to approve the Flying Site Grant Committee recommendation to award grants totaling $22,025.70. Note: the balance will be set aside and discussed at a later date.
Museum
Williams reported the committee has a goal of taking the museum to the people; the way to do this in the short term is through the website. The long-term realization of that may be a traveling museum or having displays that go to other major museums across the country. As part of making the museum more aesthetically pleasing on the outside a fence is being installed between the parking lot and the building to conceal the air conditioning units. Also in the works is some type of vinyl wrap for the side of the McCullough building near the overhead doors.
M. Smith is accepting résumés for a media producer to take pictures for a 360- degree virtual tour for the website. He is also interviewing for a museum education position. The hands-on gallery in the museum is being reworked with a revised simulator and improved wind tunnel.
9. Old Business
SLRP Update
Russ Miller handed out a compilation of what Council has done to this point. The next step is to create the strategies needed to fulfill the objectives. The ED will create a Basecamp for the specific use of compiling input relative to creating those strategies; this will be accomplished in May and June. At the July meeting, Russ will have a final draft form of an SLRP document (everything will be run past the President and Executive Director).
Council attendance at major events – ad hoc
The committee has decided that there is too much variance in events to develop a policy. They were of the opinion that VPs should attend [major] events within their respective districts. There was discussion of developing a system to inform Council members who would be attending which major events. The ED will create a Basecamp; Council members will be responsible for populating it with who plans to attend which major events. Since the committee finished their charge, the ad hoc committee is disbanded.
Event Manager Position (Appendix)
Tony Stillman created this position to be a parallel management position to a Contest Director (CD). The CD position was designed specifically for competition events. An Event Manager (EM) would have much of the same authority as a CD but would manage C, C-restricted, and D events. They would also have the same vicarious liability coverage as a CD. Stillman then reviewed some of the qualifications. He indicated there is a change to the document as presented in the agenda: the last sentence of the first paragraph should read….”and return all required documents within 30 days of the event.” (This is required to qualify for the 25% reduction in dues.) The position of EM would require that a person be a member of the AMA for 12 months prior to applying; VPs would be allowed to waive this requirement. The District VP will also have to sign off on the EM applicant. The testing process will be done online.
MOTION IV: Moved by A. Argenio (I) and seconded by K. Dixon (V) to adopt the Event Manager position/program as presented by T. Stillman April 16, 2016.
MOTION passed unanimously.
Stillman reported he had received an Urgent General Section Rule Book proposal from a member. The section it pertains to is controlled by both the EC and the Contest Board. The proposal is to remove a section from the competition regulations that states that CDs may compete in all classes of contests or records trials, except for AAA, AAAA, or AAAAA (Nats) events. After discussing this with many people including W. Yeager, it is recommended that this rule be kept in place. Council needs to accept or deny this proposal.
It was moved, seconded, and approved by majority to DENY Rule Proposal GEN 15-01 Urgent presented April 16, 2016. (Rule Proposal GEN 15-01 Urgent reads: “to remove a section from the General Section of the Competition Regulations that states that CDs may compete in all classes of contests or record trials, except for AAA, AAAA, or AAAAA (Nats) events”.)
sUAS
B. Pritchett reported that over the last few years the Education department has discussed different ways to approach the sUAS phenomenon. Archie Stafford, with help from M. Benson, built a website that will tie into Flight School and modelaircraft.org. Council previewed the site and some of the features; the link is suas.modelaircraft.org. It was designed as a catch-all informational piece for UAS material; the feeds are constantly updating. An app is being developed for cell phones; the app will be free to AMA members. Members of the FAA’s Fast Team (Safety Team that does the FAA safety.gov website) contacted AMA Headquarters because they needed educational resources and information about how radio control helicopters, multirotors, and planes work. They are being pushed to put more information on safety.gov regarding model aircraft. They can now link to the suas.modelaircraft.org site.
10. New Business
Plastic membership cards
This is an initiative that A. Argenio and S. Grubbs have been working on for a few months; they felt the flexible AMA card does not suit the organization. It then blossomed into much more. Argenio started by presenting his motion which reads: “To replace AMA’s membership card with a new card capable of providing additional features and extended longevity.” Both Argenio and Grubbs presented their extensive research findings and options to Council. Grubbs stated the membership card is the most important thing that gets mailed out of this building and it should do the organization justice. The Executive Director recommended that before moving ahead, give staff the opportunity to look at this and understand potential obstacles. Following this discussion and input from Council members, a motion was made.
MOTION V: Moved by E. Williams (II) and seconded by L. Harville (VIII) that Headquarters staff working with the Executive Director, research and investigate development of enhanced membership card/kit and electronic membership cards.
MOTION passed unanimously.
Turbines
A number of years ago G. Fitch attended an electric jet event in Columbus, Ohio; he saw a number of jets that he would not put in the same class as turbine jets (from a size standpoint). He is talking about EDFs; they have the same size and mass, but they do not have the speed limit. He witnessed EDF jets exceeding 200 mph and anticipated presenting a motion to modify the turbine speed limit rule to include ducted EDF jets. Instead he would like the agenda item to go to the Safety Committee for further review. Comments included: should we look at mass times velocity, energy potential, should we limit all model aircraft to 200 mph; eliminate the turbine speed limit. C. Bowers stated that the turbine community has accepted the 200 mph limit; he is of the opinion that all model aircraft should be limited to 200. The Safety Committee was charged with reviewing this proposal and the 200 mph limit. E. Williams cautioned that we don’t want to call attention to numbers; there could be unintended consequences.
11. Awards
No awards were presented at this meeting.12. Other Business
L. Tougas noted that there were a number of issues we talked about today that were on the agenda that did not have supporting documentation in the agenda book or in Dropbox. He would like to be able to look back at items from previous meetings. People who make verbal reports should at least submit a bullet list of items they will discuss. Argenio stated that there will always be those last minute items that were not completed in time to include in the booklet. It was pointed out that face-to-face meetings are not always essential; Council should utilize webinars whenever possible. Radcliff is of the opinion that if an item is to be presented at a Council meeting, material should be placed in Dropbox prior to the meeting. The President reiterated policy states items must be submitted 30 days prior to the meeting date to be placed on the agenda.
Executive Session
Meeting adjourned.
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