Model aircraft fans find flying tough in city
Print Edition
CONSTRUCTION and other development work is forcing Shanghai’s only flying club to pull the shutters, leaving a bunch of model aircraft enthusiasts out in the cold.
The Shanghai International Flying Arena in Jiading District, a 30,000 square-meter open air space near Shanghai International Circuit, has been the venue for a passionate group of remote-controlled-aircraft fans since 2006.
The arena is run by Shanghai Military Sports Club. A notice put up last week said the arena would be closed in January next year due to safety concerns.
“The area was safe when we first started using it. However, a lot of development work have been going on in the neighborhood. Some of the buildings that have come up have aerials on top that can be potentially dangerous,” said Zhu Yongnian, who works at the club.
The 300m long and 100m wide area is owned by the Shanghai International circuit, which rented it out to the club. The arena is actually a training base for the Shanghai Military Sports Team, but it started accepting model flying enthusiasts, who just had to pay a 30-yuan (US$4.7) entrance fee.
Zhu said since the club could not find another suitable flying field in Shanghai, it would take the military sports team to neighboring provinces for trainings next year.
“That means Shanghai’s model pilots have no place to go anymore,” said Tang Zenghao, an amateur model aircraft pilot who has been visiting the arena in Jiading since 2008.
Tang said the arena usually has 20 to 30 model flying enthusiasts coming over every weekend. The model aero crafts are either handmade or purchased. Some of them are as heavy as 10kg, with propeller speed reaching 10,000 rpm.
The arena’s closure means Tang and his friends would have to fly low at parks or look for other open areas in suburban districts.
“Shanghai has hundreds of model aeronautics lovers, but space has always been a problem. It would be dangerous to fly the crafts in parks and other areas without proper supervision,” Tang said.
Shanghai has no regulations for model aeronautics activities but the Shanghai International Flying Arena had its own rules. Turbo model jets were banned, and no flying activity was allowed when Shanghai circuit hosted any events.
The Shanghai Model Aeronautics and Vehicle Association has been trying to work on a set of rules since July to manage the model aeronautics activities.
It was reported that the association would insist that flying fans acquire a Model Pilot License that is issued by Aero Sports Federation of China before they are allowed to fly the model crafts in a public area.
Tang said he had to undergo two months of training and tests to get one of the licenses.
“We are licensed, however, we need support from related authority or associations to help solve the problem of space,” Tang told Shanghai Daily.
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