Model Airplanes

With the approach of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC) this month, the government is issuing regulations and temporary restrictions on some activities, including the flying of small aircraft around Beijing. 

Beginning Wednesday (Mar 1) and until the conclusion of the “Two Meetings” on March 16, “gliders, unmanned aerial vehicles, delta-wing aircraft, hot-air balloons, and model airplanes, are all prohibited from being flown in, wait for it, a 200-kilometer radius of Tiananmen Square. In other words, if you live in Tianjin and want to fly a motorized model airplane with your favorite child, well, you’d better postpone those plans until St. Patrick’s Day. That glider? Better keep it in the hangar until then too. 

The “Two Meetings” are China’s highest-level annual legislative sessions. While the CPPCC is largely ceremonial, the NPC handles most of the year’s most important legislative matters. Representatives come from around China to attend. The CPPCC is held at the  Zhengxie Litang on Taipingqiao Dajie in Xicheng District; the NPC takes place at the Great Hall of the People, on the west side of Tiananmen Square. 

Also banned are kongming lanterns, the miniature hot air balloons used to make wishes, due to fire risk, although that prohibition goes back to 2014. Maybe local aviation officials saw The Great Wall and how balloons were used in that film and thought, no way. 

Given the increased security around the capital during this period, now is a good time to start carrying your passport (as well as dog licenses and driver licenses) or a

Article source: https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2017/03/01/dont-fly-your-small-aircraft-tianjin-during-beijings-two-meetings

ROCKFORD, Ill. (CBS) — A model airplane club has stepped up to the plate to fill the breech left by the cancellation of the Rockford Airfest, after the Blue Angels halted their air show performances due to federal budget cuts.

WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports Rockford dropped plans for the Airfest, which had been scheduled for June 1, when the Blue Angels cancelled all of their 2013 performances.

Now, the Rock Valley R/C Flyers Club has decided it will put on its own air show on June 1 in a field west of Rockford.

“We’re not your typical little, tiny model airplanes that the normal person things of,” club member Jerry Ream said. “These are hauled out in covered trailers or vans.”

Model Plane Flyers Plan Rockford Air Show

Ream said he owns a model Carden Extra with a 10-foot wingspan.

He believes the club, along with other flying visitors, will be able to keep model planes in the air all day long at the Harrison Road field.

Ream said spectators will be able to see aerobatic bi-planes, jets, helicopters, and many other models – all for free, all day long.

“They do things that you couldn’t imagine. I mean, acrobatics. You know, flying them upside-down, coming right down, and almost mowing the grass,” he said.

Meanwhile, the city of Rockford has been working on plans for a replacement air show with real full-size planes at the end of August.