Airservices Australia has taken the extraordinary step of banning model airplanes from entering Canberra airspace during next week’s planned visit of President Obama, Crikey has learned.
A radio-controlled model aircraft flyer received a document from his club released by the air traffic control body, which states that activities involving, but not excluded to, the use of gliders, hot-air balloons and model aircraft have all been prohibited from use during the President’s visit:
As a result the club has had to close its model flying field for the two days of the visit.
The restriction has been placed on 45 nautical miles (83.34 kilometres) of airspace that surround Canberra airport, an area that includes the fields of six out of the seven clubs of the ACT Aeromodellers Association (ACTAA).
Typically, model aeroplanes are put together with balsa wood and duct tape and have a wingspan of approximately two metres. The President’s Boeing VC-25, on the other hand, has a wingspan of 59.6 metres and weighs about 238,800 kilograms.
As Crikey’s resident plane expert Ben Sandilands put it “you’d do more damage with a well-fed duck”.
Even if a model aeroplane were strong enough to damage Air Force One, it would still have a difficult time catching up with it. The VC-25 lands at speeds of about 300 kph, more than a match for the two-stroke aircraft used by the aeromodellers community.
Perhaps these guidelines are actually aimed at the serious potential for model enthusiast terrorists to send a remote-controlled plane packed with explosives to Obama’s address at Parliament. However, if one had the serious intention of sending a balsa wood bomb to the house on the hill, it would take an awfully sophisticated — and exceptionally lightweight — explosive device to be able to make it the full journey.
And therein lies the issue. Some critics say that this ban is clearly not a serious safety concern, it is simply another box to tick on the list of measures that modern day security staff rely on and that these are the kinds of over-the-top procedures that brought Sydney to a standstill during APEC.
Crikey understands there are no sanctioned ACTAA events being held during President Obama’s visit, and there would be little chance of modellers out there flying on a Thursday or Friday.
I think this is a fair enough precaution. A model plane could carry lighter malicious payloads other than explosives..i.e chemical/biological weapons.
Modern “DIY UAV’s” are exceedingly straightforward to construct. Multi-engined “Model” UAVs are capable of carrying video transmission equipment, sound recording, and… “other” Payloads.
The restriction is no doubt as suggested a ‘standard security practice’ – but it does have genuinely serious reasons.
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/a-newbies-guide-to-uavs has some info on how easy it is to assemble a GPS/Autopilot controlled UAV capable of carrying a couple of Kg’s payload that can have its flight plan plotted using Google Maps.
They’re gonna have to start rounding up the ducks straight away if they have any hope of getting them all in time. And what about pigeons? I’ve been led to believe that the African Racing Pigeon can carry a coconut from Africa to England…
Hungry Beast did a rundown of Obama’s entourage. Holy dooley!!
This decision is correct;-there’s no bloody room left in the sky above Australia!
(Rushes out to trim tops of trees).
Benjamin Franklin, founding father of the United States who was an author and signatory to the “Declaration of Independence” and the “United States Constitution”, said this:
“Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security” .
This more true today than its ever been especially when we see the brainlessness of bureaucracy in action as with this issue and going by the comments above some people , perhaps many, are quite happy to see their fellow citizens liberties taken away and get nothing in return.
Adrian’s comments above suggest that its “exceedingly straight forward” to make a an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can carry a payload (dangerous or otherwise) to a target. This is rubbish, on paper it seems simple but in reality it is very difficult. There is a competition in Qld every year with a prize of $50,000 to “rescue” a dummy called Outback Joe. The object is to locate the dummy in relatively small area and drop a bottle of water close by. No team has even got remotely close getting the prize as yet.
As for calling it “standard security practice” is that the same as saying Air Services can do what ever they like without being questioned. If it is “standard security practice” why did the Indonesian president’s visit not need these standard practises.
Scott’s comments are also misleading as stopping law abiding citizens from flying of model aircraft isn’t going stop someone from attempting to break the law. Why not make it a law that when the US President visits no one is allow to commit a terrorist act. If the President’s security is threatened it wont be because of a lack laws or rules.
These new rules for the Presidential visit will not improve security in the slightest. Air Services Australia (and their Masters) and just pretending to do sometime by removing our citizens liberties because they can.
Beware of the public servant that serves someone other than the public!