Letters to the Editor
The coming regulatory storm knows no borders?
The In The Air piece in the April 2023 issue along with Adam Weston’s It’s Time to Raise the 250g Limit stirred up a lot of commentary. We were fairly sure would be the case. Here’s a representative sample of what we received. — Ed.
Responses to ‘In The Air’
Good issue, however I was surprised to read in In the Air: The trouble with Canada that the loss of the MAAC exemption was attributed to:
As such, it was really just a matter of time before somebody would not “abide by the organisations rules as to how and where to fly” and went ahead and flew wherever the heck they wanted and in a manner of their sole choosing
It was very clearly not just ‘somebody’ but rather people in positions of power within MAAC itself. I just want to slightly argue against the implication that this mess is the fault of average MAAC members and not organisational failures.
I know as little as anyone of what truly happened, though I think it has been basically concluded that the main issue was the authorisation of clubs post-2019 in restricted airspace, which I believe is indicative of a procedural shortcoming rather than individual failures of MAAC members, least of all a failure of Joe Average Model Flyer!
Joshua Mardling
(via Instagram Comments)
Thank you for mentioning the regulatory disaster in Canada which makes ‘the way were were’ over and done with through the imposition of ridiculously complex regulations which makes it impossible to fly RC sailplanes in Canada.
This especially so for solo flyers who have less than zero interest in flying sailplanes from a ‘sanctioned’ power flying field.
The requirement for a pilot licence, registration of the model, keeping maintenance logs of work done, flight logs, have an accompanying visual observer, hold a radio operator’s licence to operate a VHF radio on aircraft frequencies, obtain the written permission of owners of property being overflown, and the real hoof kick to the head of sailplane flying — nothing over 400 feet.
That’s not the worst of it. There are substantial fines associated with things like not deregistering a model if you crash it, the requirement to change your address on file within seven days of moving and a long list of other offences created by the introduction of Part IX of the Cdn Aviation Regulations. The fines are $1,000 per pop!
They are actually issuing those fines, and have served notice that Transport Canada will be briefing police forces and expect them to enforce the regulations, or at least report what they see and take down particulars. Wonderful. I have donated my large two scale models to the local full-scale gliding club to hang from the ceiling of their clubhouse.
I started flying RC model sailplanes in 1971. Because the juice isn’t worth the regulatory burden of the squeeze, they have driven me out of the hobby.
A true shame.
Lee Smith
(via Facebook Messaging)
So nice to read your viewpoint which by the way, resulted in me head nodding approval as I worked my way through your submission.
It occurred to me that the new Part IX requirements will affect the soaring enthusiast the most — primarily the 400' AGL limitation. Try keeping your 4m-5m composite wonder compliant whilst in the midst of a thermal boomer!
I like you will be staying under the radar until I have no other choice. I want to see what Exemption 2.0 looks like.
Lyle Jeakins
(via Medium Responses)
Responses to ‘It’s Time to Raise the 250g Limit’
Adam has an excellent point. Even better would be to eliminate all of this nonsense. It is making it next to impossible to comply when flying off the grid. How is the FAA going to enforce any of this?
Jeremy Fursman
(via Facebook Comments)
Raising the 250g limit for RC sailplanes would be like a dream come true! However, here in Canada my fear is when the powers to be determine how many pilots are flying under 250g, there may be pressure to lower even that paltry limit!
Historically, the flying of fixed wing RC planes has never been an issue. The majority of us belong to organized clubs with strict rules and fly at approved fields.
I fear there is more at play here that just the use of recreational drones and RC fixed wing aircraft. There is the ongoing development of commercial grade delivery drones systems, that will require exclusive use of our airspace, especially above 400ft AGL.
I wish you all the luck with your endeavours to raise the 250g limit. If you are successful in doing so in the US, there might be hope for us located north of your border.
Lyle Jeakins
(via Medium Responses)
Thanks to all readers who provided such thoughtful and respectful feedback and thank you for allowing us to publish it here for the benefit of others. One informal initiative we are undertaking is to solicit articles from all around the world to understand better how each country is addressing these issues. We’ll see if that bears fruit and we’ll present the articles as and when we receive them. Speaking of which — why not consider writing one for your country?! — Ed.
Resources
- In The Air: The trouble with Canada by Managing Editor Terence C. Gannon. — “It landed in my inbox ironically on Wright-mas, which regular readers of this column will know as December 17th. If email was capable of make the sickening thump of a dead-blow hammer, this incoming email would have made that sound…”
- It’s Time to Raise the 250g Limit by Adam Weston. — “FAA regulations requiring Remote ID (RID) and registration for both aircraft and pilot have exclusions for aircraft weighing less than 250g (8.8 oz). Two model aircraft organizations … have proposed raising the limit from 250g to 1kg…”
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