Bureaucracy gone crazy

Stuff reports:

Up to five days warning is needed to fly a toy aircraft in Wellington.

New rules governing remote control aircraft came into effect earlier this month so when lawyer Leith Townshend got a remote control helicopter from his partner for his birthday, he thought he better play safe.

He emailed Wellington City Council asking what he needed to do to fly his helicopter within the rules.

He was told he had to file his flight on Airways NZ’s Airshare website.

Airways require a complete flight plan of his toy, including latitude, longitude, the intended radius, the height of his flight above sea level, the height of his launch pad above sea level, and whether he had a certified transponder.

He also needed to refer to the Civil Aviation Act, supply a written description of the operating area, how long he intended his flight to take, and describe his emergency procedure.

His helicopter weighed less than 1kg.

“I understand why the rules are important for large drones. For some of the smaller stuff it seems crazy – to get children to fill flight plans,” Townshend said.

Crazy, crazy, crazy. This stuff drives me buts – taking all the joy out of a kid’s toy.