QUADCOPTER - Helicopter or fixed wing ??

[Roger Cox 1]

Clearly quadcopters will become a favourite with existing and new members, it's going to be a way forward for our hobby.

How many of you 'out there' have your club struggling with "what is a quadcopter, helicopter or fixed wing"

If it is a helicopter then I'm assuming that he will have to obtain a helicopter 'A' and until he does, he'll be buddying up with a helicopter man. If the case, should he take his 'A' using the quadcopter or has he to buy / use a helicopter ?

We recently had an FPV flyer (fixed wing) join the club and he had to buy a fixed wing trainer to obtain his 'A' before being allowed to return to his fpv foamie and now we're telling him that his FPV spotter has also to hold a fixed wing 'A'

What's happenning 'out there' with regard to these problems ?

cheers

roger

[Allan Bennett]

I've only flown a quad once, and to me it was closest to a heli because it takes off and lands vertically, and you use rudder to turn it around.

I don't understand though why your fpv flyer needed a different model to get his A certificate -- couldn't his fpv model be flown manually?

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

That's really a matter for your club to decide - there's no global requirement for an A test although it's often used as a yardstick to define someone capable of operating unsupervised.

Much of the A test is about being aware of operating safely within a club environment so I think you'll find that many clubs would take the attitude that possessing either A certificate would be sufficient.