TMCnet News
Eye on the sky [Global Times](Global Times Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Remote control aircraft enthusiast Zhang Yongpeng flies an unmanned aerial vehicle at a suburban park in the west of Beijing on December 28, 2013. Photo: IC It was a beautiful sunny day. Three men from an aeronautics company were operating a remote control aircraft in Beijing's Pinggu district. They were trying to record a bird's-eye view video of a nearby airport construction site. Suddenly, two military helicopters rushed to the scene and ordered them to land their aircraft. Media reports said that the military had detected an unknown flying object on their radar and scrambled the helicopters to the site, while two fighter jets were preparing to take off. After learning the object was an unmanned aircraft, and its controllers had not applied for government permission to fly the craft, the authorities arrested all three.The incident had caused several airplanes to delay their takeoffs or alter their flight routes. The Air China airline reported that it lost at least 18,000 yuan ($2,940) as a result of the incident. The three men surnamed Hao, Qiao and Li have been waiting trial on charges of negligently endangering public safety.Grounded planesFlying unmanned aircraft without official permission is an ongoing problem in China due to lack of clear legal regulations. But the "Pinggu Incident" has deterred many aircraft lovers from flying their planes. "I have not flown my model aircraft for three months. I have been keeping it at home. If I really want to play with it, I can only take it out and clean it, that's all I can do," said a man nicknamed Wuming, who is the head of a Beijing remote control aircraft group.He explained that since the "Pinggu Incident," the government has begun monitoring such activities far more closely. As a result, their group was forced to stop holding events, due to fears that their members might get into trouble."I heard there were people flying remote control aircraft outside Beijing's fifth ring road the other day and some legal action was taken against them," a member of the group said.At the moment, Beijing has around 10 organized remote control aircraft groups, but Wuming said the groups have not been in touch with each other for quite a while.Ji Bowen, head of a Beijing-based remote control aircraft association, also said that their association and other groups have massively decreased the number of events they are holding. He said that the "Pinggu Incident" is just one of the cases that prompted the authorities to tighten their control over Beijing's airspace.Business models under threatThe increasingly strict supervision of the skies has also affected the remote control aircraft businesses. The authorities have said that anyone who wants to buy a remote control aircraft needs to register with their ID card for security reasons. A test flight is also not allowed. These restrictions have led to remote control aircraft stores losing revenue. Some stores in Chaoyang district, Beijing, were forced to close down. A store owner who used to sell remote control aircraft said that he changed his business because he knows that remote control aircraft flying has become a forbidden activity.In Beijing, it is illegal to fly a unmanned aircraft within the city's third ring road, or near airports and military areas, according to Wang Lei, director of the Aero Sports Federation of China.However, despite the risk of being caught by the police, some video production companies still offer discreet bird's-eye filming services."If the filming location has skyscrapers nearby, we can use them as protection and we will still be able to film within the third ring road," a staff member at a Beijing-based video filming company said.But he also pointed out that during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit period in early November, flying will be too risky because the authorities' monitoring of the skies will become much more meticulous.Cloudy regulationsTechnically speaking, buying a small model aircraft, or flying it, is not illegal in China. But any remote control aircraft equipped with cameras and video recording systems is classified by the authorities as an unmanned air vehicle (UAV). To operate a UAV in China, one has to go through a series of approval procedures.Ke Yubao, secretary-general of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of China said that any individual who wants to operate a UAV has to apply to the regional and national air traffic management bureaus and the air force for approval."Although the country currently does not have any clear regulations regarding the operation of remote control aircraft, it is still being strictly regulated by the authorities because it may affect airlines and air routes," Ke said."As long as the aircraft is flying above the ground, pilots are obliged to report this activity to the related authorities," he added.Since the application process is complicated and may take a long time to be approved, remote control aircraft lovers often choose to fly their aircraft furtively in the city and hold events in Beijing's suburbs or construction sites instead.According to Wang, there are over 30,000 remote control aircraft pilots in the city but since the authorities have not provided any venue for their passion, many can only fly their aircraft outside the capital."We hope that the authorities will create a special area for flying planes outside urban Beijing, which remote control aircraft pilots can get into as long as they show an entry pass," he said. Wang believes that flying model aircraft can help develop young people's interest in aviation and it can also develop a person's logical thinking skills and dexterity. He said that clear regulations dealing with remote control aircraft should be established to simplify the application process and help these pilots fly their aircraft legally. (c) 2014 Global Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |