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Why do I even bother?

I'm getting close to giving up.

Not giving up my daily drone here on Aardvark - but giving up trying to deal with people and systems that have no idea as to the meaning of the world pragmatism.

As regular readers will know (and be tired of hearing by now), the work on my SAA system has come along *very* nicely and I'm now at the point of throwing a new (far more compact) version of the "sense" element into a model aircraft and flying it, so as to create some complex datasets that will be used to further develop and refine the digital signal processing algorithms and code that are used.

Previously, I had planned to do this by simply flying under my existing "hobby" permissions at the Tokoroa Airfield, where the data could be streamed directly (via telemetry) to an acquisition/logging station in my workshop.

Very simple, very safe, very convenient.

Then of course, the idiot old-men at MFNZ decided that because I had pointed out their deficiencies and dared to criticise their Victorian perspectives, those rights (in the form of my "wings") would be withdrawn.

After much fluffing around, which involved them entering into and then unilaterally breaching a legally binding contract with me, it was decided that my SAA work was "commercial" and therefore fell under the direct auspices of CAA.

CAA said I could apply for a commercial operator's certification to continue the SAA work -- which sounded fine and dandy.

But that was *weeks* ago and I didn't even receive their list of requirements and expectations until a few days ago.

Not only is this process seemingly a very long and drawn out one -- but some of those expectations and requirements have to be seen to be believed.

Here's the kicker: "The minimum qualification for a UAS pilot is a Private Pilot License

Excuse me?

Do you know how much it costs to train for and hold a PPL these days?

And why on earth would I need a PPL just to fly a damned RC model in the way that I have been doing so quite safely and without incident for the past 8-9 years at the Tokoroa Airfield?

In "special circumstances" dispensations may be given that mean I could get away with only passing some aspects of the PPL exam (law and flight RT) plus gathering five hours of flight experience in a fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft (full sized) and undergoing a training course in UAS operation.

This has to be some kind of joke, surely?

All I want to do is put a 300g payload in an electrically-powered foam RC model aircraft and fly it around for a few minutes every few days or so.

I'm already a holder (and have been since 1978) of an RTOC - but I need to get another RT certification?

If the type of craft I'm flying constitutes a UAS then I've probably had more UAS flying experience than almost anyone else in the country -- but I still need to take a course?

Now obviously the costs and timeframes involved in achieving these requirements is totally beyond my resources at present -- so if CAA insist on this then I'm out of the game.

How dumb-arsed is this?

I have come up with a very clever solution to a problem that is right at the top of the list of all civil aviation agencies around the world. A system that can significantly reduce the risks of collisions between any aircraft -- manned or unmanned. And the best that they can do is put these hurdles in the way of me simply flying an RC model with 300g of electronics in it to further develop the system?

Remember that this box of electronics won't be controlling the model -- all it's doing is collecting data and relaying it back to the ground. From the point of view of control, this is just another lightweight RC plane being flown from the ground using proven RC technology.

The real kicker is that if I were to conduct these tests *anywhere* in the country (even on private property a hundred Km from the nearest airfield) I risk prosecution.

So much for fostering innovation and creating an environment here in NZ where good ideas with huge commercial potential are encouraged and promoted eh?

Meanwhile, we have people flying very large, heavy, fast RC jets at the Tokoroa airfield with ignorance of the technology (such that they end up catching fire or stuck in trees), and a very questionable level of skill with craft that ought to have failed any reasonable pre-flight inspection -- but that's okay?

Of course one option that I am very seriously considering is just declaring the SAA system to be an open-source project and donating the work done so far to the public domain.

This would effectively render any suggestion that what I was doing was commercial (and was therefore subject to all those ridiculous CAA requirements) invalid.

Or I just give up, and every time there's another mid-air collision that claims someones life here in NZ, I send CAA and the Minister for CAA a reminder that the deaths which resulted could have been prevented -- if only someone understood the meaning of the word "pragmatism".

I also have to say that if the issue regarding my own flying activities isn't resolved in the next week then I'll probably also leave CAA to deal with the problem of dangerous FPV fliers all by themselves. Right now I've been instrumental in creating a group called "Underground FPV" which has been very active in educating and changing the mindsets of (so far) at least a dozen or so people who've been flying "UAS" in ways that were neither safe nor legal.

Thanks to the work of the UFPV members, we've helped "newbies" to mend their ways and also got them off illegal frequencies and out of dangerous airspace.

If the bar to continuing my operations is to be raised too high then I'll simply let CAA deal with the growing number of folk who are buying FPV gear online and doing very unsafe things with it. Unfortunately, I fear that CAA's only response will be in reaction to a potentially fatal incident -- rather than a pro-active, educational, preventative programme such as that undertaken by the UFPV.

Let's hope that CAA appreciate the issues here and the importance of pragmatism, especially given the unique circumstances in this case. I should know either way by next week.

Although, as the title of this column asks... why do I even bother?

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