SEN 3331
- Flying beyond visual line of sight
- Hatschek International Challenge
- Fab Feb 2026
Flying beyond visual line of sight
From: Chuck Etherington
Flying beyond visual line of sight
Before we get too wrapped up in this, let’s put Free flight more into perspective. Besides being a full-scale pilot, I worked in the aeronautical navigation industry for 30 years, and much of it was dealing with airspace throughout the world. Like the U.S. FAA, each country has a governing body responsible for its own airspace and air safety. They work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in developing airspace regulations. Their focus is on controlled aircraft of all descriptions, not uncontrolled like Free Flight. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are of concern in three general areas: interference with full-scale aircraft, particularly in ‘controlled airspace’, First Person View (FPV) aircraft flying beyond visual line of sight, and programmed UAS (usually drones) that can fly beyond visual line of sight to a set of geographic coordinates. There are legitimate safety issues they attempt to address, but all of them are focused on controlled aircraft. They lump all model airplanes, model helicopters, drones, etc. into the same bucket of regulations and don’t specifically exclude nor address Free Flight. Most airspace regulators don’t even know what Free Flight is and it’s best to keep it that way. The last thing we need are regulations that specifically target uncontrolled Free Flight. Trying to comply with each country’s airspace regulations is important but understand that we’re not the focus nor intent of the regulations.
Chuck Etherington
Editor s comment
Chuck, thanks for input from the point of view of reasonableness.
Hatschek International Challenge
+ Skyscraper s Annual Dinner
American Cup/ National Cup
Wawaywanda, NY
May 17-18, 2025
FIRST DAY: Saturday May 17
Starting at 10 am. Five one-hour rounds.
F1B (Wakefield) 180 second max.
F1H (glider), F1J+F1P (power), F1G (rubber), F1S (electric),120 second max.
Flyoffs are possible in the evening or on Sunday at 7 AM.
AMA events: 10am-4:00pm.
E20, E36, Electric A, Electric B, Hand Launch Glider, Catapult Glider and P30 rubber. (May fly either day; complete the event on the day of your choosing. A flyer who maxes out the first 3 flights on Saturday, may continue with the flyoff flights on Sunday.)
The Club Annual Dinner: 5:30 pm at Pasta D oro at the Jolly Onion (845) 981-7474
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SECOND DAY: Sunday May 18
FAI events: Five rounds starting at 8:00 am. 180 sec maxes. First max 240 if feasible.
F1A (glider). [Possibility to start at 7:30am if all competitors are present and agree.]
F1Q (electric).
F1H (glider), F1J+F1P (power), F1G (rubber), F1S (electric) can be flown on Sunday provided no one flew them on Saturday. 120 second max.
AMA events: 9am-1:30 pm.
E20, E36, Electric A, Electric B, Hand Launch Glider, Catapult Glider and P30 rubber. (May fly either day; complete the event on the day of your choosing).
Entry fee is $25 for all events.
Winners are recognized at the conclusion of each event.
Camping is possible on the field. Hotels such as the Super 8 in Middletown are available, though they have all become expensive. Participants should feel free to compete just one day to make it a day trip. Directions at www.brooklynskyscrapers.org
CDs: Aram Schlosberg 917 446 3222 and Andrew Barron +1 207-997-5229
Emails: [email protected] [email protected]
Please inform Contest Directors in advance of your plans to attend the contest or dinner
Fab Feb 2026
We have received some questions on Fab Feb 2026 dates.
Background. The Fab Feb contest week finishes with the Bob White MaxMen International event on the USA Presidents day public holiday weekend.
In 2026 that will be Monday 16 February. The first contest is on the preceding weekend. The sign-up day at Lost Hills is on the Friday before that.
The Fab Feb requires sanctions from 4 different organizations. The FAI/CIAM and the NACs from the USA, Canada and New Zealand. The last one is issued after a CIAM Meeting in November. So, we cannot you the official dates until we get the sanctions from all those people. These are the dates that we will be applying for.
Sign up day at Lost Hills Community Center. Friday 6 February 2026
Start of Kiwi World Cup of New Zealand at Lost Hills , CA Saturday 7 February 2026
Start of North American World Cup of Canada, Wednesday 11 February 2026
Start of California F1E World Cup of USA, Thursday 12 February 2026
Start of Bob White Max Men International World Cup of USA Friday 13 February 2026
Last Reserve Day of the Fab Feb Monday 16 February 2026
A more detailed breakdown with details of the supporting and social events will be available later after the sanctions have been approved and issued by the sanctioning bodies.
There will be an online entry form available in the October-November timeframe. You should enter online. It is not necessary to pay entry fees before you arrive at Lost Hills. When you enter you will get detailed information and we will make sure you have the necessary documentation, FAI ID etc.
. There is a sign-up day on the first Friday of the contest . Here you pay for all events. If you are not arriving later day you can pay then.
If you are coming from a country that requires a visa for entry to the USA, you can get an official invitation from the AMA competition department and information on how to do that will be available when the official dates are available. This invitation says that you are coming to the USA to take part in a recognized event.
SEN Status
Our new web site is online with archives of SEN going back to 1997 plus many items about FAI Free Flight. It can be found at http://www.faifreeflight.org
Existing SEN subscribers can update their preferences by following the update your preferences link at the bottom of this page.
New users can sign up at this link http://eepurl.com/crOnvj
or at the SEN website
…………..
Roger Morrell