Why you should probably join the AUVSI if you are in the USA (or anywhere else)

I will probably get a wrap over the knuckles for posting the AUVSI response to Mr Babbitt of the FAA's comments at a recent Washington, DC chapter event of RAeS.

http://www.suasnews.com/2010/11/2667/well-done-the-auvsi/

I think they did a pretty bang up job with that.

Comments at sUAS News have to be filtered because they can get really quite horrid, so perhaps the debate should happen here in the safe environment of a Ning ;-)

Looks like the AMA, just like the BMFA in UK does not want anything to do with UAS, luckily for me and the same for those in South Africa our aviation authorities are a little more sensible than the FAA and have let us start. Similar in Canada, Australia, Norway umm thats all I can think of right now.

Joining AUVSI might just be a better thing to do and have them help fight the corner for UAS use in the USA. They already have the ear of the FAA and industry, support from DIYD might help. Also don't forget the other organisation if photography is your thing, RCAPA

I have not passed this one by Chris, I expect he has some thoughts on the subject.

But if you like over there you can keep on tutting and muttering and claiming you can do what you want. The rest of us will be busy making your safety case data in the real world for you. ;-)

Please lets try and be sensible here, otherwise I will just delete the thread. I realise this will light the touchpaper somewhat.

Comments

Gretchen West November 8, 2010 at 1:17pm

From AUVSI, I just wanted to respond to a few comments in the thread above. I'll tackle the easy ones first...the magazine is a monthly magazine and is delivered to our members worldwide. So if you're in Australia and you join, you'll receive a copy of the magazine in the mail each month (and you should also check out the local affiliate "down under" - AUVS-Australia). Membership also includes a weekly eBrief email which is another publication of value.

I agree with Bertrand's comment that "the more members of the DIY in the AUVSI, the bigger weight we will have in the future". AUVSI advocates for it's members, and if we don't have enough members of the DIY community with us, then it is hard to advocate for you. For our members, we are regularly encouraging them to provide feedback and messages and what they would like to see us do from an advocacy perspective. We do listen to non-members but when we go to the Hill in the US, we are really representing our membership. So if you want to get your message heard, I strongly encourage you to join and to come to one of our advocacy events. We're setting up a "call to action center" on the AUVSI website where letters can be written to members of Congress, or you can take an active role in our initiatives....but you have to be a member of the association to participate in these grassroots efforts.

That said, we do have a UAS Advocacy Committee that helps guide the strategic vision of our advocacy campaign. One of the members of this committee works for RCAPA and while not technically a hobbyist, he is representing the user community. So it's not just the "big guys" that have influence over the association's initiatives.

Regarding the letter to Babbitt - whether you're a corporate giant, a hobbyist, a user or an academic, the remarks that were made were detrimental. Our number one advocacy goal as an association is to safely gain accelerated access to the airspace and getting back to Bertrand's comment...well, the more the merrier. The more viewpoints we can represent, the stronger our voice. Not trying to sound like another politician because that is not my intention, but we want to make a difference and I truly believe we all need to work together to make that happen.

Now enough preaching from the soapbox before Gary gently tells me off on his thread! But we do want to hear from you. Please contact me if you want to get involved or have something to share.

Gretchen West
Executive Vice President, AUVSI
west@auvsi.org
Moderator

Gary Mortimer November 8, 2010 at 10:25am

I have the magazine delivered in UK fine, and I think it is bi-monthly. That letter was supposed to be kept quiet but I was only gently told off. Rory might have a point about membership categories.
T3

Rory Paul November 8, 2010 at 8:52am

I think AUVSI should have a membership classification called Individual - Amateur that was they could keep track of how many people like us belong to the organization and we could get a sense if our interests are being promoted.
Oscar Rosillo November 8, 2010 at 6:21am

Hi,

Just two questions about magazine:

it´s bi-month or monthly? (in AUVSI says bi-monthly magazine, chris says monthly).

They send to Europe?

Bye
Joel November 7, 2010 at 3:04pm

Something needs to be done to preserve the hobby! I know the AMA is working with them, but i'm not sure if they are fighting for us or not. Or what regulations there will be next year...
T3

Rory Paul November 7, 2010 at 2:17pm

I think AUVSI needs to do a better job communicating what they are doing on behalf of diy community here in the US before I give them a cent again. Let them spell out how they are lobbying on our (individual hobbyists and small businesses) behalf in Washington and then we can see. In my opinion they will promote their industrial members agendas first as these are the people that pay them the big advertising dollars and these do not necessarily correspond with our interests. Do you believe for an instant AV or Boeing or Raytheon want us out there building UAVs on the cheap...not in a million years they do not.
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson November 7, 2010 at 6:31am

I totally agree. It's a great deal, and you get the Umanned Systems magazine delivered to your door each month, too.

Individual: $50/year
Student: $15/year
Individual Three Year Package: $33/year.

Sign up here.