SEN 3173
- Automatic Timing and out of sight Flying
- Fab Feb / About Time Clarifications and correction
AUTOMATIC TIMING AND OUT OF SIGHT FLYING
From:Urs Schaller
Hello all,
every time I read a new addition to the timing argument, I wonder that everybody assumes the CIAM rulebook is the one and only rule existing and to be considered. Nobody seems to take into account that CIAM rules are subject to overhead rules written by far larger safety organisations. In Europe, we have the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) rules, which controls the “in the air” behaving of us all. Now we talk about automatic timing mostly because in many Fly-offs we and the timekeeper lose sight of our planes.
Under the EASA rules, we FF pilots operate under the “Open” category definition. One of the first requirements to be “Open category” is:
(d) the remote pilot keeps the unmanned aircraft in VLOS (visual line of sight) at all times…
If we fly out of sight, we are not even able to DT our model to avoid an eventual hazard to other planes or people! In other words, under the current rules we are not allowed to fly out of sight. If we do it up to now is simply because we never wrote rules considering it. However, if we start to write/rule about, we admit that we do not care about EASA rules. That could be, eventually, the end of FreeFlight activity altogether.
Urs
PS: as a European, I quote the EASA, but surely, in the USA you have a similar agency with similar rules.
Editor’s Comment
With the About Time timing project we decided that timing properly was important so we would address that particular issue. We do not especially see it as timing thing you can’t see but more timing things properly There are many issues concern us, performance of models, junior participation, flying sites, civil aviation requirements, even war and pandemic. We have chosen to work at this one. We know that model aviation organizations everywhere have lobby groups addressing and refining some broad regulations that are possibly unduly restrictive for model aviation and others and they are more effective than us. . We have seen some progress on this in the USA. It would seem that for the moment the setting flyoff targets based on the site size, natural obstacles, windspeed and human vision by the Contest Management is the best way of controlling this by site at the moment.
Fab Feb / About Time Clarifications and correction
Fab Feb email correction the place to send changes to entries.
Lindy.murrell@gmail.com
Flying Neuron are making additions to their Neuron and mini-Neuron software to move full flight timing closer and help with the About Time project.. This can be used to upgrade existing Neurons and Mini-Neurons or put on new ones. Details laters