It is time for the last Flightline of the year. Go grab a copy from the Flightline page or you can get the December issue directly from this link.

If you want to be notified of future Flightline releases, be sure to sign up for email alerts at the bottom of the newsletter page.

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This is a reminder that the Bayside Auction is coming up this Saturday October 29th and we need about 15 people to help out. If you can help, please email Mike West at iflyi16@comcast.net to let him know you will be there. Everyone is welcome to attend and we always have a good time.

This is kind of a last call for you to get items together to sell or come on out and find a new treasure. We always have a huge number of items and lots of interesting things. Whether it is a plane, heli, car, boat, new or old stuff, collector items……….you just never know what is going to show up.

The main help we need is unfortunately first thing in the morning. We get to the facility at 6:00 AM (yes in the morning) in order to start setting up. Sellers are let in at 6:30 AM and then it gets busy. There is a registration and item check-in process that takes the next three hours plus that keeps us all very busy. The auction starts at 10:00 and we go ’til it’s all gone.

Once the clean up is done we go for pizza a block away to wind down tell each other stories about the day.

So come on out to the auction and help out if you can.

Thank you,

Mike West

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Looks like the military (and eventually law enforcement & security firms) are out scouting for remotely flown vehicle operators, or so says this article. Is this a full time job for you or someone who flies R/C?

R/C Flying As A Career

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Just released to the web is the June 2011 Flightline. Go grab your copy from the Flightline page that can be found at this link.

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In what is probably the first real justification for FAA regulation of model aircraft activities, the National Transportation Safety Board has found that the RC pilot is at fault for the collision at a flying event in Colorado in August 2010.  This marks the first time (that I’ve seen) the NTSB and FAA have publicly admonished the RC community for using the National Airspace and causing damage.

It is difficult to say whether this will set precedent with the FAA and NTSB, but I believe this is the first concrete step in bringing the full weight of federal regulations into the RC community.  This is not a good thing for the hobby, but as this event showed just one person doing something anywhere with an RC craft in the NAS is likely to draw attention from regulators.  We will have to wait until the summer of 2011 before we find out the full impact of this incident and the FAA’s decision on whether to regulate and how much the RC community.

Full details of the NTSB report can be found here.

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The President will be in and around the Bay Area again this week and unfortunately that means no R/C flights.  The AMA web site has the full details, but like before it prevents just about everyone trying to fly model aircraft from flying anywhere within a 30 mile radius of the visit sites, which span the majority of the North and South Bay cities.

For more information on these flight restrictions, please visit the AMA web site:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/clubs/notams.aspx

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In what will certainly be viewed as grounds for future FAA enforcement action, the NTSB has released their factual report of the incidents surrounding a Saturday, August 14, 2010 in Brighton, CO accident between a Shpakow SA 750 bi-plane and an AJ Slick R/C 3D plane. You can read all the details, the AMA’s input and see some aviation commentary here:

Aero-News: NTSB Releases Factual Report On Biplane Collision With Large RC Aircraft

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For those folks flying anywhere inside the immediate Bay Area, which is pretty much all of us, the FAA has just released information on a Presidential Temporary Flight Restriction for both Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22.

This TFR covers virtually the entire Bay Area and prohibits all model airplane activity from taking place, in addition to the standard restriction of GA flights and training.  It is strongly advised that you do not attempt to fly any model aircraft during this period unless you want to spend time with the Secret Service and FAA.

For details please see the FAA TFR web site.

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Pictures from the May 27-30 IMAA West Coast Festival held at Castle Airport are now posted and available for viewing in the Photos area of the web site.  Big thanks goes out to Mike West for providing both the photos and the organization and posting of them! Go take a look to see what you may have missed.

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The Federal Aviation Administration has notified the flying public that the President of the United States will be in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 25 and 26. During the afternoon of the 25th and all day the 26th there can be NO MODEL AIRCRAFT FLIGHTS at the Bayside R/C Field.  For full details please please see the FAA posted NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) on this web site:

FAA Temporary Flight Restrictions

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