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That really doesn't deserve a response........

It has been impossible to create a separation between drones and models so we are in it together. The arguements over this have long since run out of steam. Any effort by anybody (and especially from within the aermodelling world) to divide us as a movement must not be allowed to gain traction. You electric flyers wil be equally affected. We must all stand together, electric park flyers and 1/3 scale carbon glass glider flyers and everybody in between.

Honestly, I haven't read such drivel for a long time. So flying a thermal glider isn't model flying by your definition? What do you think the "end" is in riding a thermal to great height, other than the enjoyment and challenge of doing so? My Super Ava 3.7m span glider is perfectly visible, and therefore under full control, at heights in excess of 1,500 feet. Just because your misguided view is that model flying only consists of flying small electric models in circles a few hundred feet away doesn't mean it's right.

I never fly higher than I can see my model to be able to fully control it, but a glider (even an electric glider) weighing lees than the "2Kg small model" you quoted earlier can easily be seen by the naked eye and flown in a controlled manner at well over 1000 or even 2000 feet (without telemetry or cameras). I am happy for anyone enjoying whatever type of model flying they do. If some types are effectively banned, do you think it would stop there? Divide and rule is a very old concept. Dick

I'd suggest it's unreasonable to anyone that: Flies a jet turbine Flies a 'large' model - whatever you think that is Flies any ic powered aircraft Does not fly at a 'club' site - e.g. country members, many slope soarers Etc. Etc. As a niche hobby, we need to stick together and not exhibit an "I'm alright Jack" attitude.

Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed a tomb of someone covered in chocolate and crushed nuts. They think its the tomb of Pharaoh Rocher.

Simply saying 'we want to be exempt from UAS regulation' would, I'm sure, reflect the the views of most model flyers but, sadly, taking that line in isolation won't do us any favours. As you said in an earlier post, the CAA has almost certainly already made up its mind. The new regulations, including RID and geo-fencing, are coming whether we like it or not. For the continued future existence of this hobby, it is surely essential for us all to highlight the many flaws in the CAA's UAS proposals, and thus, hopefully, help to minimise their impact upon model flying. I think the BMFA's response does a pretty good job in this respect, and it deserves our support.

Hard to judge if some posts are serious or satire. After careful thought, I now believe we should ban all flights done via electric propulsion, In the days of I.C flight the noise we made counted in our favour, contrary to what some would have you believe. The noise, made conducting nefarious acts highly unlikely, as the lack of footage from Heathrow etc proves. Banning these, at a stroke (2 stroke or 4) does away with Amazon et als desire to infect our sky with "Drones" and "Proper" modellers can continue unaffected. Gliders, slope/thermal should be fitted with sound systems imitating Chinese trimmer engines, harsh but necessary. I.C it's the future.

The BMFA aren't asking for our views. They are asking us to tell our views to the CAA by getting involved in the process. And, again, this doesn't just affect people flying within a few hundred metres of a known model airfield......

YT International/Modeltech P51 D Mustang, electric. Spec: 4500mah 6s Lipo, Digital Hitec MG servos, VQ Retracts 80a ESC 4max 420 KV motor GT Sound module : Merlin engine

If that’s a generalisation then you clearly haven’t read through all of the thread, sure there is some moaning and FUD but there are some really useful and informative posts on here too that can help people make better decisions. IMO it’s no good just blindly following the BMFA/LMA suggestions if you don’t understand why they’ve made them, like a lot of others on here I’ve used that to assist me but do not agree with all of their responses.

Happy Christmas to all at Fantasy GP...

Correct Shaun, I'll assume it will ..... I have invested in too many models not to survive. Ite been a real stressful rollercoaster of a year and at 57 probably not a good thing but guess what ..... I'm ready for another. Let's hope for another year of flying ( hopefully ) and commaurederie on the forum. Thanks to everyone who have paid the slightest attention to my ramblings and newbie mistakes. Hats off to you all. Toto

It’s difficult to differentiate between an individual with a different viewpoint and someone deliberately trolling. Unless there’s strong evidence of malicious intent we should respect people’s rights to express their opinions even if we disagree with them. Perhaps there comes a time though to accept that one’s views are at odds with general - and experienced/informed - opinion and realise that there is little point in continuing to push them - it only muddies the waters and dilutes the very points being projected. This doesn’t disbar reasoned argument of course.

Managed to sneak a little more building Fuz upper sides on, then decided I would add the balance horns on rudder and elevators

Absolutely. Classic troll.

The height I will fly to is always dependent on the weather conditions. In good conditions I've flown a 1.9m Graupner Junior to 1100' and still had full control. Larger models even higher. The colour of the sky is the important factor.

The other interesting bit is a height restriction of 50 metres over the Channel Islands. Since when did the French government get to decide matters in a British Crown Dependency?

Works well with bicycles too 😉

Do you think anyone will read them? I don't. The consultation is a paper exercise - the decisions will have already been made, (like Rishi saying he will be weighing up the pros and cons of HS2 when the government had already decided to cancel it). I think FRZs will be increased in area, and clubs that fly within them will be forced to abandon operations. I also think that like a lot of government decisions, the unintended consequence will be that there will be an increase in unregulated flying. If our current police can't deal with real crime, they won't be able to spare manpower to stop individuals flying discreetly in parks and common land.

I sent an email to the CAA about the 'facts' within the document: Sirs As a regular UAS operator I am going through the process of understanding the above document so that I can provide my responses by the 10th January. However I have some concerns about some of the ‘facts’ listed or referred to in the document. On page 5 and page 7 you make the following statements: There is clear evidence that some of these risks have already materialised. Between November 2020 and October 2023, police received 18,290 reports of drone flights involving a legal, nuisance, criminal or safety concern. Police received 5,005 such reports between 1st January and 6th October 2023 - a 10% increase over the same period in 2022. Data provided by the police and government demonstrate that these risks have already materialised and are growing. Since November 2020, police have received 18,290 reports of drone flights involving a legal, nuisance, criminal or safety concern. In the first 9 months of 2023, police received 5,005 reports - a 10% increase over the same period in 20226 . In the 6 weeks following 23rd September 2023, the CAA received 558 reports7 of UAS operating within a Flight Restriction Zone (FRZ) or outside a FRZ but over 400ft. Between January and October 20238 , 9 UAS have been reported operating between 6,000 and 13,000 feet9 What you fail to list are the numbers of the reported incidents that turned out to be not UAS related. Which leads to the next statement, Page 8 1.5 The impacts of these risks go beyond just safety and security – they also require significant public resources to manage, cause disruption to lives and businesses, and compromise the viability of the commercial UAS sector. The closure of Gatwick airport in 2018 was estimated to cost the police £459,000, the airport between £1.4m and £15m, and the airlines over £35m. Whilst the cost of the disruption cannot be argued, the facts can be. Despite all of the investigations carried out it has not be proven that an unauthorised UAS was the culprit, it could easily have been a black bin liner blowing in the breeze (not the first time that has ’spooked’ authorities) On page 7 1.2 you state: Over the coming years, we expect the UAS sector to grow as even more individuals and businesses harness their benefits. This will support our economy to grow and create new jobs, benefitting us all. External analysis predicts that drones could save businesses up to £22bn a year and contribute up to £45bn to the UK economy by 2030. UAS could enable up to 270,000 jobs This refers to the consolation document ‘Skies without Limits’ commissioned from PWC which paints a rather nice rosy view of the future of commercial type UAS. I notice in that document it only refers to ‘best case scenarios’ yet to be a properly balanced report it should also, in my opinion give the ‘worst case scenario’ too. As it stands it is a largely biased viewpoint. I welcome a response to my concerns detailed above. And this was the CAA's response: Hi Ron, Thanks for your email. Feedback will be considered as part of the consultation process, and we expect to publish a full response in Spring next year. Kind regards, The Review of UAS Regulations team

At our age that should read "if it comes around ".🤣

Merry Christmas and a happy new year when it comes around. Stay safe. Toto

We should all agree not to feed the troll...

Look at his other postings on this topic, he’s got to be on a windup. 😃

"gaining thermals" "not model flying" I'm tempted to vent my spleen but it's Christmas so I won't.

I think you may have the same view as me (and I would guess the majority of model flyers). Smallish planes, flown in close proximity to the flying patch. People who want to fly drones miles over the countryside or sailplanes thousands of metres up are the ones who should have a beef with the CAA, not us. Their type of flying has a primary purpose (videoing or gaining thermals and using telemetry) which is not model flying, the model flying is just a means to the end.

They were given a roasting.

I'd want to know a lot more about the regulations before commenting on the site e.g. is there a mechanism to authorise flight in the red blanket areas? However, I do consider the area covering 100 miles or so out into the Bay of Biscay to be a bit of a red herring!

Keeps the weight down 🙂

As a glider flier that point really needs addressing. There is a great satisfaction and skill in being able to fly gliders without any assisted propulsion and using just the forces that the weather provides us with. Many of us fly our gliders at altitudes far higher than 150m and we are currently legally entitled to do that. As well as sport fliers competitors also fly higher than 150m, in fact a winch launch gets you to that height before the soaring then starts. I suspect F3A models also get higher than 150m during their routines.

Arthur, there's quite a bit to unpick there.... The CAS are consulting, not the BMFA. These are completely different organisations, with completely different aims. The BMFA are working hard to protect us from the CAA restrictions. Why do you think Peter should be constrained? Because he flies higher than you do? What about glider fliers - they commonly fly at significant heights.... ehat about pylon racers? They fly much faster and carry much more energy.... shoulf they be constrained? Have you considered people who fly slope soarers? They typically are not on 'club sites'. Yes, there is a world of difference between someone who uses a multi-rotor simply as a means to capture film/photographs and someone who flies for the enjoyment/challenge of flight itself. But, they are competing for the same airspace as, apoarently, the likes of Amazon. We have what is considered a niche hobby - we need to stick together to reach a workable solution for all.

Happy Christmas to all... And a Healthy New Year...

Not such a straightforward day after a lot of interruptions I eventually got the covering completed. It doesn't have downthrust, the spinner is just pushed on.

CAA consultation submitted. It was good to see in the BMFA response some of the issues that occurred to me. I also noted in the preamble from the CAA the mention of the Gatwick 2018 incident in which they counted the costs involved. If anyone cares to look its recorded as a 'malicious Incident' by the Police and there is no positive evidence of it being a drone, to my mind a somewhat disingenuous use of information on behalf of the CAA. Further there is no breakdown of the 18K+ incidents reported to the police and I note were reference is made to previous consultation and the use of percentage to indicate positive or negative outcome the figures tend to be high and in some instances closely matched, when they mention some or a few no figures are given. Manipulation at its best.

Thought I'd start a specific thread to discuss these things, many like myself know little or nothing about them. Bare in mind I'm not advocating we have them, just understanding what they are helps.

I'm slowly getting there... Wings done with servos and retracts. The legs on the undercarriage has to be shorten to give it the right look low on the ground. Still have some work to do, but hope to fly it at our annual Xmas indoor show on the 28th. But first family and Christmas! Happy holidays 🎅🎅🎅

Last couple of years I have been trying the new Futaba universal series (300, 301, 400). I like the S-U400 Universal Servo better that the others. Well worth the extra price. I have two sets that have been flying for over a year. These are now my go-to servo. .

Whilst driving past the end of the airport runway?

Naw. A pallet full fell on his head. 😁

Sometimes we don't 🤣

This is why I think we (model plane flyers) should disassociate ourselves from drones, large models, jet turbines and other models that draw attention to our hobby. Us electric flyers can keep our heads down and off the radar.

Sitting on a railway line with your eyes closed expecting the train not to come,,

Merry Christmas to all and wishing you many good flying days for 2024

Likewise Aidan, Hope Santa is good to you. If you receive anything interesting ..... dont forget the photo's. Merry Christmas

Welcome, yes, but FPV drones will be the end of traditional model flying, imo. They fly out of the line of sight, the aim is to make videos to publish online- drone flying has nothing to do with model flying! It is more akin to Twitch gaming. I really, really think we need to disassociate ourselves with drones.

So, don't confuse me with facts my mind is made up. Well,we really must all submit our responses now!

Building an old kit like this is a real treat and also a reminder of how the hobby has progressed and how demanding we now are. I recently built an old Stirling Ringmaster kit and found it a bit of a challenge!