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| General RC Aircraft Discussion Discuss anything RC related |
Topic Review (Newest First)
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| 11-26-2014 06:33 AM | ||
| HOMEFLYR |
Re: flying in national parks It was all over the cbc news earlier this year. There is no laws governing rc planes .Transport Canada is currently working to change that. The only thing stated for their use is to use common sense. These quadrocopters that people use in the cities has brought about concern about invasion of privacy etc. Also , one idiot flew close to a jet in the sky and he was reported. So now transport canada is looking at making some rules . This all came to light on the news about 6 months ago on the cbc network. I watched it . I fly close to an airport and i was told there was a 5 mile restriction . Well...bull ka ka . It's not true at all ...common sense is the only rule. That's all i know ! |
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| 11-25-2014 10:39 PM | ||
| retiredVTT |
Re: flying in national parks Quote:
..good luck with your struggle, Bill |
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| 11-25-2014 09:56 PM | ||
| footsy |
Re: flying in national parks Quote:
I would worry that the insurance is limited to club fields or areas away from things that you might damage such as cars and people. For clubs, it's very understandable that insurance is mandatory because there is a real risk of injuring people in such crowded areas. Some of the big events look like injury is almost probable. So for that, MAAC is good. It just doesn't seem to have anything to offer the rest of us. As for the fire part, it is very unlikely that one would start a fire. Has there ever been a case of that? Maybe but the odds are very small. Lipo fires are usually more of a fizzle than a fire. The hot fires from lipos and from overcharging. Having said that, if there is high fire risk, it is something one should be aware of. If you compare the odds of a glider with a 850mah battery starting a fire with the odds of a small trainer hurting someone at a club, it's pretty obvious that the difference would be measured by orders of magnitude. I don't want to bash club flying. I'm sure its lots of fun. It's unfortunate that some people feel that their way of flying is the only proper way. We all love aviation and it would be nice if there was an organization which respected that. MAAC is fine for what it does but it would be nice if either they encompassed more than a small segment of RC enthusiasts or some other organization would form to promote and grow the hobby. In a short time, trainers are going to make it easy for people to teach themselves how to fly as autopilot hardware is becoming better and cheaper. The hobby is growing in a way that MAAC will not support at this time. |
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| 11-25-2014 08:53 PM | ||
| retiredVTT |
Re: flying in national parks quote.."I also have to say that I was very disappointed with the lack of support from MAAC. It seems like they only support clubs." ..end quote. I've read the entire thread, and twice I've read discouraging comments regarding MAAC...but nobody has mentioned that to enjoy the 7.5 million dollar MAAC Insurance Policy we have as members, you must have the PERMISSION of the land-owner where you fly. The other possible concern is the source of power that we electric flyers use. In the case of a "rupture" they could start quite a bonfire! Bill |
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| 11-25-2014 08:24 PM | ||
| footsy |
Re: flying in national parks So just to make things clear, I was told by a warden that for now, it's ok to fly. They will likely have to pass a new law banning it but its possible that they could have a new directive which would attempt to go after people with the law that was intended to stop aircraft from taking off and landing at the airport. At the same time, for some reason, one warden (Anderson) in Banff hates model airplanes so don't ---- him off. He's known as being a hard ass for many things though. I'm pretty sure he is the one who shut camprounds down at times to make the park loose money and pressure them into giving the wardens hand guns. I would discourage the use of combustion engines in the park too. I guess its easy for me to say because I don't have any but on the other hand, I would have at least one nitro if I didn't live in the park. I also have to say that I was very disappointed with the lack of support from MAAC. It seems like they only support clubs. Clubs are great for many people but I enjoy being alone with my glider and I think that many other people don't require the social part of the hobby. I probably would join a club if there was one within 10km but there isn't one within 100km. At the same time, I fly 4-5 days a week year round but even if I was in a club, I'd probably only go once a week. Clubs don't make any sense when it comes to slope soaring which to me is the most exciting way to fly. I think I would crash more at a club because of the distractions too. I especially find that it's important to be attentive when you get an aircraft ready to fly. It's easy to forget a step while having a conversation. I dont mean to bash clubs. I would enjoy more contact with other fliers but I deal with so many people at work that it;s nice to be alone with the wind, my glider and the occasional sheep lying in the sun beside me. One other note, I'm teaching an aerobatics pilot who lives here in Banff to fly RC. He has an apprentice but so far I've just been letting him fly my Radian pro and he's pretty tense when he does. So in return he has promised to take me up from Springbank and we will fly around the park and do some aerobatics. I'm pumped for that. You can fly aircraft in the park but the law they have been trying to apply to rc aircraft and kite skiers who do jumps is the law that was meant to stop pilots from using the airfield. It's a wildlife area. They do maintain it for emergency landings and even cut the grass. The more I learn about park management, the more Banff seems like a zoo than a wild area. Wardens cu antlers off elk, traquilise and move them because mothers are afraid of elk attacking their kids. I was really angry when they shot some wolves that were harmless. One attacked a dog that was tied up but that's no cause for a death sentence. In India, an elephant has to kill 17 people before they kill it. The park is about making lots of money. The amount of construction and expansion in the last 10 years has been at a very heavy pace and they just tore down half a block to make another big hotel. about 4 million people come here each year most of them come to drive around and shop. There are plenty of skiers in the winter but it is a very small minority of people who climb, hike or fish. Banff must be by far the most developed national park in the world. I spent 3 months in a national park in Colombia that didn't even allow any cars in the park. Just horses and donkeys to bring in food and supplies. They also are going to open some paragliding sites. I think paragliding will be the next natural step for me. I love trying to figure out how the wind flows. It's almost magical because it's an invisible force. Anyhow, I find people's perception of Banff can be far from the reality, especially the night life. EVERY night there are at least 3 cop cars around McDonalds and still lots of fights break out. Enormous amounts if cocaine and ecstasy are consumed here. I don't see this stuff as so bad. After all, I make my living here and the millions and millions of dollars in revenue help fund all the parks that don't make money and its certain that the federal government makes a profit even after supporting the other parks. At the same time, from any point in town, you are no mare than a 10 minute walk from places where you can find yourself all alone in wilderness. That's why I really enjoy living here although I plan to move to Colombia within 10 years. I would be typing 10 times as much if I got into how much I love that country. |
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| 11-25-2014 06:26 AM | ||
| mwavesdave |
Re: flying in national parks When I first saw the post, my gut reaction was NO! But having grown up in the region, and spending decades camping and backpacking the region, I get your point. I gave up on Banff as a backpacking destination decades ago. In my teens, we went to Kootenay, much more isolated, and far less packed with tourists. Marble Canyon was one of my favorite areas to base my trips from. Sadly, even that now is getting overrun. The National Parks should be all about the wildlife, but they're not, especially Banff and Jasper. It's all about tourist dollars, and big business. Electric gliders won't terrify the wildlife, pollute, or ruin the tourist experience. At worst, Chris will be surrounded by foreign tourists taking photos, and wanting to pose with him. I pity the locals within the parks. Many have settled there to live the outdoor life, only to be hampered by endless red tape, while the big ski and tour companies run rampant. We used to fly our Tri-Pacer into Banff, from Calgary on weekends. I miss that. But no limit on the motorhomes, large trucks, and thousands of tour buses belching smoke. It's absolute insanity that someone is being hounded for doing some slope soaring. The best solution would be to present Parks Canada with a proposal, and guidelines. If you do their work for them, it's far easier to get approval. Simple stuff, electric or glider only, no flying around built up areas, no use for filming/harassing wildlife, MAAC Insurance, etc. Providing highlighted Transport Canada Regs and definitions, as well as MAAC Safety Guidelines, will go a long way. The Rangers don't have any authority, other than that granted to them by the bosses at Parks Canada. Get their approval, and you're golden. When I told people I was going to start an RC Club at CFB Shearwater, everyone told me it would never happen. I ignored them, did all my homework, wrote up all the regs, restrictions, etc, and submitted a 3 inch binder full of info to the Wing Commander. He checked out the table of contents, asked a couple of quick questions, and approved, as I'd obviously done my homework, and thoroughly planned ahead. If there's nothing left for them to do but sign, you'd be surprised how quickly they will, and shoo you out the door! I'd love to slope soar in Banff! |
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| 11-25-2014 04:10 AM | ||
| footsy |
Re: flying in national parks Finally today I got to fly this sweet new "warm liner" in a good stiff wind. It's really nice to fly for $140 (arf, motor included) It has very thin wings and a sleek profile. I wanted something a little more sporty that my radian. In a strong wind, all I could do is dive, do a maneuver or 2 and dive some more. The Kunai has no issues with penetrating the wind and really sounds cool in a high speed dive. It's hard to resist using the throttle to either climb and dive strait down or just to see how fast you can make it go. I just ordered a 4 cell 850ma battery for it. Anyway, the price was amazing. It has a 1.4metre span. the links didn't work so you'll have to click here to see the images https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...3&l=67fc39cf2c https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...3&l=550c091f93 |
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| 11-25-2014 03:57 AM | ||
| footsy |
Re: flying in national parks There are lots of wild animals here but you see more on the prairie because trees don't get in the way. When I was flying 3 weeks ago, 2 big big horn sheep lay down about 30 feet from me. Some people twice as far away as I was scared them away because they were excited about taking picture.s |
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| 11-25-2014 03:54 AM | ||
| footsy |
Re: flying in national parks I've had a couple of more experiences with wardens. One really likes to watch me fly. I was packing it in and we had a long talk not all about flying. He became really interested when I told him that I only use the motor about 5% of the time or less. He actually asked me to fly again. He told me that there may be a new directive from above but until then I was ok to continue flying. About 3 months later a young French warden was watching me fly for about 45minutes. I knew someone was sitting behind me but it's hard to be aware of your surroundings when your trying not to crash. Some Aussie girls were having a really annoying conversation so I decided to land and listen to a podcast. If it wasn't for that, I probably would have been flying for at least another half hour. This warden was completely clueless. First he asked if I had a permit to fly. I found this confusing because I didn't know that one could get a permit. It seems that he had read the laws for operating commercial drones and thought that applied to me. I asked him if the park issued permits and he said that it was Transport Canada that issued permits. He was going to call the RCMP but I explained that the law he had read was for commercial activities and how Canada is becoming a major player in drone technology because it is quite easy to get such permits. Then he explained that the main concern was that more people would be coming to the park and they want to keep the numbers down. I told him it would be much easier to stop advertising all around the world for people to come to Banff than to ban an activity. Then he went into the real plane part. He had no idea of what the law was but he was sure that its was illegal. I explained that the other warden had told me it is ok. He didn't believe me until I gave him several details about the guy. I've run into this so many times. I tell one warden what another warden said and they think that I was mistaken or lying. One problem is that we have more wardens than we need. Poachers are extremely rare. Very few people break rules in the park. The wardens need to make busts to justify themselves. My friends who fish on lake Minnewanka tell me that they are checked for fishing permits, bait and barbed hooks more than half of the days they fish. A girl whom I dated briefly told me just to throw and catch the planes. The law is not that aircraft cannot fly in the park, it is just that they cannot takeoff and land. If they were to squeak by and convince a judge that a 600 gram glider is a real aircraft, they would further have to equate landing to catching and taking off to throwing. Someone mentioned that it may be annoying to picnickers. Just the opposite is true. I have so much positive feedback that it kind of gets old. I was invited to have the best coffee ever (green coffee) from Saudi Arabia with Saudi Royalty. A couple of people told me that watching me fly was the highlight of their trip. Many days I don't want the attention so I climb up where few people would go or if I sense someone walking toward me, I walk away. I even got laid once. I had to stop flying because the wind was blowing too hard down the hill. Often a light breeze down the hill will tuck under the warm air created by the slope basking in the sun making for some very powerful thermals if you fly far enough from the slope. Anyway the girl was telling me that she had a really hard day and that watching the plane put her at peace and she couldn't imagine how zen it must be fore me. The rest, well I didn't worry about which way the wind was blowing. I think some wardens hate things that aren't traditional and a little out of the ordinary. I was talking to some people who were with a warden about my telescope and how awesome it is for looking at the night sky. The warden said that it sounded pretty stupid. I don't know if he was interested in one of the girls and had some envy that I had her attention but it was really odd. A guide for the park told me it was silly to lug a telescope around Banff too. With that and the planes its so strange how most people are totally fascinated and certain wardens don't see anything good at all. I was flying once when Vice was filming some guys singing and playing music. The camera man filmed my radian about 1/3 of the time and stuck around to film it some more after. About 5 seconds made it on to the final piece. Anyway, I hadn't been here a while and saw there was quite a discussion. I figure we are ok just so long as people don't do stupid things. The warden whom I get along well with said that he saw one video on youtube where someone harassed some deer with a quadcopter. I think he may have been mistaken because I saw one where a quadcopter scared some sheep a little bit. It wasn't that bad but it did cross a line as it flew towards them after spotting them. I explained to him that there are already laws against harassing wildlife so there is no need to have another law. And the fact is that the vast majority of wildlife harassment is people chasing animals with their cameras. I've even seen people jogging towards grizzlies. If cameras were banned, that would reduce wildlife harassment by an order of magnitude. |
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| 08-23-2014 04:18 PM | ||
| cncarinspector |
Re: flying in national parks Guess instead of flying I have to take my golf clubs..... |
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