Teej
10-17-2006, 10:55 AM
This is a post I wrote elsewheRRe...but it's worth putting here as well.
RCAPA - Remote Controlled Aerial Photography Association - http://www.rcapa.net could use your support (membership). Right now it's free to join although I plan to contribute financially when I can (ie if and when I start making money from the AP).
It's a young organization but it's got some teeth. When one member was required to show certification in order to get some work overseas, RCAPA's certification program fit the bill and he got the job.
attached post...
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I would also like to see RCAPA get more support.
We have lots of people in forums here and elsewhere flying planes and helis (and blimps and masts)...but I became only the 9th person total to meet AP-P requirements, and only the second one to do it with a heli. The tests aren't rocket science and they're not meant to be. They're meant to make you think a little, research a little and prove you can handle some basic flying safely.
It's almost a foregone conclusion that regulation is coming which will have some effect on our pursuit. Not today, not tomorrow....but it's coming. Some of those at the forefront of the RCAPA are making sure our voices are heard and our concerns are addressed. If we don't present a unified front, we could find ourselves like Australia where flying RCAP for compensation is effectivley prohibited. One "proposal" that was floated was to require a commercial pilot's license (full scale) if you were going to be paid for RC work. This is less likely now, thanks to some of the RCAPA members...but not quite out of the question.
I'd encourage everyone doing AP work, even if just as a hobby, to join up, pass the tests, and help grow a positive image of RCAPA.
Teej
RCAPA AP-P #0008
RCAPA - Remote Controlled Aerial Photography Association - http://www.rcapa.net could use your support (membership). Right now it's free to join although I plan to contribute financially when I can (ie if and when I start making money from the AP).
It's a young organization but it's got some teeth. When one member was required to show certification in order to get some work overseas, RCAPA's certification program fit the bill and he got the job.
attached post...
--------
I would also like to see RCAPA get more support.
We have lots of people in forums here and elsewhere flying planes and helis (and blimps and masts)...but I became only the 9th person total to meet AP-P requirements, and only the second one to do it with a heli. The tests aren't rocket science and they're not meant to be. They're meant to make you think a little, research a little and prove you can handle some basic flying safely.
It's almost a foregone conclusion that regulation is coming which will have some effect on our pursuit. Not today, not tomorrow....but it's coming. Some of those at the forefront of the RCAPA are making sure our voices are heard and our concerns are addressed. If we don't present a unified front, we could find ourselves like Australia where flying RCAP for compensation is effectivley prohibited. One "proposal" that was floated was to require a commercial pilot's license (full scale) if you were going to be paid for RC work. This is less likely now, thanks to some of the RCAPA members...but not quite out of the question.
I'd encourage everyone doing AP work, even if just as a hobby, to join up, pass the tests, and help grow a positive image of RCAPA.
Teej
RCAPA AP-P #0008