Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 2: February 2014 | Page 13

aviation. Nonetheless there might be a
good lesson in this story for pilots here
in the US. The principle of voluntary
adoption of instrumentation is seen
by the authorities in Europe as a sign
that Swiss free-flyers can be trusted to
responsibly play their part along with
all the other airspace users.

What next?
To some extent our ability to be heard
at the decision-making table, and resist
crippling regulation, rests on our track
record.
The FAA was the first national
aviation authority that entrusted the
licensing of free flying pilots to an association (then USHGA, now USHPA)
in the mid-1970s. Other countries have
since followed suit. The FAA likes us
and trusts us. Showing that we respect
airlaw and airspace regulations, and
understand the complexity of how the
skies work, helps maintain that trust
and means our perspective is taken into
account when decisions over airlaw
changes are made.

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ccording to airlaw, we only have
the right of way over ultralights
and powered paragliders; nothing else, so if we find we’re on a collision course with any other aircraft
it’s down to us to get out of the way,
even though we are slower. Checking
aircharts of your proposed crosscountry route to see where the traffic
is likely to be provides useful information for keeping out of the traffic.
Proving we pilots have these good
airmanship skills and that our association is doing a good job training and
regulating free-flight pilots, as they have
done over the last 40 years, means the
FAA will trust us to continue doing so
over the next 40 years, and that’s our
best weapon in avoiding this draconian
regulation that the drone industry have
their sights on.

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