## Ac **a d**  **emy o** **f M**  **od e**  **l Ae**  **r on**  **a uti**  **cs** 5161 E ast M e m orial D rive M unci e, I ndiana 47302 (800) 43 5 -9262
– M e m bership S ervices www . m odelaircraft. org

**Ac a**  **d emy**  **o f**  **M od**  **e l**  **Aer on**  **a uti**  **cs 5161**  **East Mem**  **o r**  **i a**  **l Dr**  **i ve**  **M un**  **c i**  **e ,**  **Indi a**  **n a**  **47302**

(800) 43 5 - 926 2 | M e m bership Se rv ice s | www . m odelaircraft. org 

## A. **General:** 

# “SEE AND AVOID” **GUIDANCE**
1. The primary means to avoid collisions between all aircraft flying within our National Airspace System (NAS) is “See and Avoid.” 2. Vigilance must be maintained by each person operating an aircraft (whether model or manned) so as to “see and avoid” other aircraft. 3. Model aircraft must avoid manned aircraft. Our privilege to fly model aircraft in the NAS depends on our commitment to rem ain “well clear” of manned aircraft. 4. Simply avoiding an actual collision is not enough. A “near miss” is not acceptable. 5. U nl e ss fl y in g at a m ix e d --- us e si te w h ere m ann e d and m od e l ai rcr aft r outin e l y sh are ai rsp ace th r ou g h th e i r o w n si te ---sp e cific r ul e s , m od e l ai rcr aft m ust fl y suffi c i e ntl y far away f r o m m ann e d ai rcr aft so as no t to create a c ollision h azar d. 6. Model aircraft flying must not only be safe, it must be perceived to be safe by the greater manned aviation community. Modelers must continually demonstrate their respect for the safety of manned aircraft by remaining vigilant and well clear. 7. Whenever a potential conflict arises between model aircraft and manned aircraft, the pilot of the model aircraft must always give way to the manned aircraft. 8. The pilot of a model aircraft must never assume the pilot of a manned aircraft can see the= model or will perform any maneuver to avoid the model’s flight path. 9. Visual Line of Sight is required by the Safety Code. It means that visual contact with the aircraft must be maintained without enhancement other than by corrective lenses prescribed for the model aircraft pilot. All RC flying must remain clear of clouds sm oke or any other obstruction to the line of sight. 10. “Blue Sky” is a term used to explain the method used to increase separation between a model and a manned aircraft in the same vicinity. The modeler should maneuver the aircraft in such a way as to increas e the amount of blue sky perceived between the model and the manned aircraft. By increasing the blue sky separation, the question about depth perception is taken out of the equation and the modeler need not worry whether the model is closer to him than the manned aircraft or further away. Increasing the blue sky between the model and the manned aircraft automatically increases separation between them.

## Ac **a d**  **emy o** **f M**  **od e**  **l Ae**  **r on**  **a uti**  **cs** 5161 E ast M e m orial D rive M unci e, I ndiana 47302 (800) 43 5 -9262
– M e m bership S ervices www . m odelaircraft. org

**Ac a**  **d emy**  **o f**  **M od**  **e l**  **Aer on**  **a uti**  **cs 5161**  **East Mem**  **o r**  **i a**  **l Dr**  **i ve**  **M un**  **c i**  **e ,**  **Indi a**  **n a**  **47302**

(800) 43 5 - 926 2 | M e m bership Se rv ice s | www . m odelaircraft. org 11. A m od e l er should n ever pl ace an y c onsid er ation fo r th e we l l --- b e in g of th e m od e l ai rcr aft abo ve th e safety of m ann e d ai rcraft. Man e u ver in g to avoid th e c onfli ct may re qui re th at th e m od e l ai rcraft b e s acr ifi ce d. 12. Free flight models should not be launched with relatively low altitude manned aircraft in sight and downwind or headed downwind from the launch site. 

## B. **Spotters:** 1. Before a flight, the pilot must insure that the spotter understands his/her duties and expectations. 2. A spo tter should b e us e d to assist in m onito r i n g th e su rroundin g ai rsp ace fo r m ann e d ai rcraft w h e n ever a fli g h t is e xp ecte d to e x cee d 400 feet abo ve th e ground and th at op er ation is e xp ecte d to b e in p roxi m i ty to k no w n m ann e d ai rcraft tr affi c su c h as at a m ix e d --- us e fac ili ty o r w ithin th ree m il e s of an ai r po rt. Th e spo tter m ust h ave suffi c i e n t v isual ac ui ty and b e m atu re e nou g h to take this re sponsibili ty very s er iousl y. 3. A spotter should also be prepared to assist his/her pilot in the event that another model aircraft or spectators become endangered or in turn are perceived to be a danger to the pilot or the pilot’s model aircraft. 4. If a m od e l ai rcraft pilo t e xp er i e n ce s w h at h e o r sh e c onsid ers a n ear m iss w ith a m ann e d ai rcraft, th at m od e l ai rcr aft pilo t should notify AMA He adqu arters w ith a wr i tte n re po rt of th e in c id e n t, in c ludin g action take n b y th e m od e l ai rcr aft pilo t to avoid th e m ann e d ai rcraft. This re po rt is in te nd e d to h e lp th e m od e l er, th e c lub , and th e AMA c aptu re as m u c h d etail as possibl e so th at i t may b e us e d to assist all p arti e s in rec allin g th e p arti c ul ars of th e in c id e n t at a l ater ti me . Call 1 ---800---435 ---9262 (1
---800--- IFLYAMA ) e xte nsion 230 or 25 1 for assistan ce w ith this re po rt.