Bart Roye Elected as the 2018 TAAA President
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President's Welcome:
Thank you all for the time and effort you put into our organization. The members of TAAA make up a diverse group of pilots and representatives of the aviation and agricultural industries. By combining our talents and resources with each other, we can grow not only our own businesses, but the agricultural aviation industry as well. I encourage you to reach out to fellow members of TAAA whenever possible.
The Texas legislature will not m
eet this year, but there is work to be done to have our voices heard in Austin. TAAA has a great reputation with our friends in the legislature, and we need to be able to continue to work with them. There is no lack of important issues on the horizon, including safety concerns created by drones and figuring out how to co-exist with the growing wine industry in our state.
This is an election year, and we will continue to support and help elect candidates who share our values and understand the important role that our industry plays in Texas agriculture. With your help, Ag Air PAC has made a real difference in the perception of our industry as a reliable and credible association that speaks straightforwardly on issues that really matter to each of us.
Safety is one of our top priorities as an organization. Our focus on safety led to the passage of meaningful tower marking legislation in 2015, and helped NAAA lead efforts to achieve national reforms in this area. We strongly support PAASS and are proud to offer it at our convention each year to the more than 150 operators who spray the vast majority of acreage in our state.
I am honored to serve as president of your organization! I want to thank you for the opportunity to represent the voice of TAAA. I welcome any comments, concerns, or matters that you may have in order that we might improve our organization.
Fly safe,
Bart
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NAAA: One Million UAVs Officially Registered with FAA
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Last Wednesday the number of UAVs registered with the FAA eclipsed 1,000,000. According to the Department of Transportation, the 1,000,000-total registration figure includes 878,000 hobbyists, who receive one identification number for all the UAVs they own, and 122,000 commercial, public and other UAVs, which are individually registered. For comparison, there are currently 320,000 manned aircraft registered with the agency.
Registration was originally required under the FAA's small drone registration rule effective December 21, 2015. Under this rule, aircraft weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms), including payloads such as onboard cameras, must be registered. After briefly being halted by a judge in 2017 for conflicting with the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act, which prohibited the FAA from regulating model aircraft, the registration system was reinstated through the 2017 National Defense Reauthorization Act.
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