For those pilots who are in the US, please help FliteTest and the FPVFC try to get the weight limit requirement for Remote ID moved up from sub 250g to 1kg as part of the FAA Reauthorisation Act in July 2023. Time is of the essence and details are in the video below so please watch it.

In a nutshell you need to go to the link below and follow the instructions. It involves doing a copy/paste of some memo text which you then need to send to your congressional representative and your two senators. For anyone in the US who has a vested interest in this hobby PLEASE DO IT NOW to help all of us.

https://fpvfc.org/congressional-outreach

If raising the weight limit restriction can be achieved in the US it will also help other countries whose aviation regulatory bodies have also just followed suit and used the 250g weight limit as a baseless foundation for their regulations.

Watching this now.. for once some reasonable common sense..it’s NOT a win yet… but we all need to do our part

This is just a bump / reminder for anyone who hasn't already sent an email to their congressional representatives and senators.

Bruce is strongly advising in his video below that sending individual personalised emails rather than just a copy/paste of what is on the FPVFC web page will have a much better chance of being taken notice of.

Most people who subscribe to JB's channel have probably already seen the video below, but I'll post it here anyway so that all related publications around the efforts being made to try and get the 250g weight limit raised to 1kg are all in a single thread. For anyone who hasn't seen it I suggest watching it on 1.5x or 2x speed so it uses up less of your valuable time.

Another gentle poke for any people who haven't already done their bit to help before the window of opportunity to do so closes.

EDIT: Even if you don't give a rat's arse about regulations and aren't planning to comply, please spare 10 minutes to submit the necessary emails in order to help others including school and STEM programs who have no option but to follow all the imposed rules and regulations whether they like it or not.

Done.  
Richard Durbin, Tammy Duckworth and Sean Casten all got letters today.
I didn't include a "donation" however, so most likely all three letters were ignored/discarded/deleted.

LoL.  7 months later.  Copy-Pasta yields Copy-Pasta, but only from 1 of the 3 (better than I thought).  Cuz money talks. Everything else walks …

Thank you for contacting me about reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  I appreciate hearing from you.

         Established by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (P.L. 85-726), the FAA is the federal agency tasked with regulating and overseeing civil aviation and maintaining the safety and efficiency of air travel for the public.  Every five years, Congress reviews and updates its funding priorities and federal safety aviation policies by reauthorizing the FAA.  The most recent FAA reauthorization, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254), was signed into law on October 5, 2018, and authorized the FAA through the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

         Introduced by Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2023 (S. 1939) would authorize the FAA through FY 2028.  This bill would fund the FAA's Airport Improvement Program, address the shortage of air traffic controllers, modernize our nation's airport infrastructure and regulatory functions, and invest in the future of civil aviation.  This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

         On September 30, 2023, the House of Representatives passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-15) by a vote of 335-91.  This continuing resolution avoids a devastating government shutdown and funds the government for 45 days.  It also temporarily extends FAA authorities through December 31, 2023.  The Senate passed the same measure by a vote of 88-9, and President Biden signed it into law.

         Reauthorizing the FAA is crucial for maintaining the safety, efficiency, and competitiveness of our nation's aviation system.  I will be sure to keep your views in mind as Congress continues working to reauthorize the FAA.

         Thank you again for contacting me.  Please feel free to keep in touch.


     Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

I have read (or actually just glossed over) the bill passed by the House of Representatives,
which is much like the 2018 version with some changes, but nothing that stands out. I
don't know if the Senate has passed their version or not but the 773 page document
that I "breezed" through has several changes. It is my understanding that when the
Senate passes their version, a committee will "meld" the two together for a final
product which will them be sent on for signing.

Given that there is a lot of information and some of it refers to changes to the 2018
law rather than spelling out what it actually is and that there are two slightly different
versions, I would not venture the final outcome so will see what it looks like when
signed into LAW.

I did see something about flights Beyond Visual Line of Sight when connected to
the UTM with Network Remote ID. I did NOT see anything about changing the
Recreational Exemption which is where the 250 gram weight marker has an effect.
Weight is irrelevant for Part 107 activities and remote ID required for any weight.

Remote ID will likely always, from here on in, be required for any UAS (drone) 
that is required to be registered as it is tied to registration. The registration
exemption is only applicable for the Recreation Exemption.

Does anyone know if the FAA reauthorization pending in the US Senate just now (May, 2024) holds any good or bad news for us?

Well, the Bill still has not passed.

One thing that might be note worthy is that there is something in there about
Fine Increases for Consumer Violation.

There might also be some changes for BVLOS. What I had seen previously is that
this will only affect Part 107 pilots and the drone must have Network Remote ID
and get clearance for the flight. We will see.