[NSRCA-discussion] Don’t think the US is alone in the 400’ thing...

[Vogel, Peter]

>From the Australian IMAC community on Facebook:

IMPORTANT UPDATE - CHANGE OF RULES - 400FOOT HEIGHT LIMIT

Guys, there's some changes of rules that we as IMAC flyers need to be aware of. Its a bit technical and there is a bit of misinformation going around so please bear with me.

In October last year, CASA put out a directive that no model aircraft could fly over 400 feet unless they were flying in an area with an "Area Approval" issued by CASA. (Note that most model clubs did not have an Area Approval and a lot of these area approvals limited clubs to 400 feet).

The MAAA very quickly worked with CASA to procure an exemption for MAAA members to allow us to fly over 400 feet provided we complied with relevant MAAA MOP. This allowed us to continue to operate as we pretty much always had. That is, if you were operating outside of controlled airspace (in an area that did not have an Area Approval) you could fly above 400 feet provided you maintained visual line of sight and stayed clear of full size aircraft.

This exemption was originally til April 2018 and was extended to 31 October 2018. The MAAA and CASA have agreed not to continue with the rolling exemptions for MAAA members.

What does this mean? From 31 October 2018, if you fly over 400 feet and you do not have an Area Approval for your flying site, you will be in breach of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (ie breaking the law).

My understanding is that the MAAA will assist clubs/MAAA flying sites to obtain from CASA an Area Approval to allow clubs (in appropriate areas) to continue to operate above 400 feet. From my discussions with the MAAA their view is that there are only a small number of clubs that need approval to operate over 400 feet.

Obviously, anywhere you practice or fly IMAC is going to go over 400 feet. I suggest each of you confirm with your local club that it has requested MAAA to process an area approval with a height clearance to 1000 feet. Don't assume that your club is cognisant of your needs.

This information is supposed to have been communicated to clubs - I suspect some of this may have been confused or ignored by clubs. (For example, I was told WRONGLY that all area approvals would be of no effect after 31 October 2018). Please follow up with your local club to make sure that they have an appropriate area approval so that you can continue to fly IMAC. — with Tyson Dodd.

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