Southeast and Southwest Regional Qualifier Recap
And the race is on! Pilots from the southeast region put their fierce game faces on as they closed out yet another regional qualifier last weekend, this one in Carrollton, Tennessee. Knoxville FPV Racing hosted the race with 19 pilots competing –some who even traveled from the carolinas to race for their chance to advance to the regional finals. And a special appearance from Joshua Bardwell who stopped by to check out some of the intense racing action. Well known pilots like Evan “Headsupfpv” Turner, Sam “Tropical Onion” Pankratz, Dave “Maker fpv” Schlitzer and Ricardo “Champino” Samuel all showing off their skills on the sticks while putting up a good fight for the top qualifying spots in the race. The qualifier track making for some intense competitive racing. Evan “Headsupfpv” Turner who is known to fly at a supersonic speed says the high-speed track was quite a battery burner for the upper tier pilots who enjoy pushing their batteries to the limit. Still the track pushes the limits of not only the current technology, but the pilots who are always trying to get that extra lap in. Pilots say the most challenging part of the regional qualifier track is the hurdle section as well as the corkscrew. After several rounds of intense racing and some nail biting competition Sam “Tropical Onion” Pankratz completing 18 laps in 06:37.807, Dave “Maker fpv” Schlitzer taking second with another 18 lappers in 06:19.781 and finally the one and only Evan “Headsupfpv” Turner walking away with the number one spot in the race with 19 laps in 06:18.213.
Courtesy: John-David Hatch
Now heading to the west coast in Silverado, California. Some of the best pilots in the country prepared to throw it down on the qualifier track showing us their strengths and skill set in the competition. The Regional Qualifier was organized by orange county modelers association and the entire event sponsored by E-max USA, thirty-six pilots some among the best in the country traveled as far as north as Sacramento and as far south as Mexico to compete for a chance to advance to the finals. The event running smooth as butter with zero hiccups along the way. The competition getting serious and extremely intense by the second as pilots annulated the track. Ashton “Drobot” Gamble pushes ahead with full force and takes the third in qualifiers with 20 laps in 06:36:360. James “Jamestheripper” Mcgee neck and neck with Dolmafpv but ends up taking second with 21 laps in 06:32.728. Andy “Dolmafpv” Marachilian ripping it up nasty on the course snagging the number one sport in the qualifier with 21 laps in 06:46.556. 11 of the top 12 on the Southwest leaderboard were from last weekend’s race.
Courtesy: John-David Hatch
Congress Does Not Repeal Section 336, here’s what you need to know
Courtesy: Academy of Model Aeronautics
This week, the House of Representatives passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R.4), a long-term reauthorization of the FAA. We are happy to share that Section 336, also known as the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, is included in this bill with meaningful refinements that we supported to help make it stronger. We especially want to thank the thousands of members who participated in our Call to Action in the last few weeks to let Congress know the importance of protecting our hobby. Your efforts during this critical time have made a significant impact. While much of what we fought for was included in this bill, there are also some provisions that concern us. Rest assured – we will continue to work on improving FAA Reauthorization moving forward. Protecting our hobby is AMA’s top priority and we will do everything possible to ensure your ability and freedom to fly. Please remember there are several more steps in the process before FAA Reauthorization becomes law. The next step is for the Senate to consider its own version of FAA Reauthorization, and then both the House and Senate bills will be sent to a Joint Committee to hash out a final version of the legislation. This process could take months and we may ask for your help again during this time. Again, we cannot thank you enough for your unwavering support. Please continue to monitor your emails, social media, and www.modelaircraft.org/gov for new information and ways you can help.
As always, thank you for your support.
AMA Government Affairs
