A small collection of passionate remote-controlled airplane hobbyists have found themselves exempt from the recent drone rules.

On June 1st, Transport Canada put a new law in place requiring all pilot’s of aircraft between 250 grams and 25 kilograms to have proper license and registration. These rules also limited the areas these recreational vehicles could be flown.

Steinbach’s Diamond Aces RC Flying Club was worried they would be forced from their airspace behind Diamond Construction, as it is within city limits, near a large population of people, and closer than nine kilometers away from the nearest airport, all of which are now illegal.

However, President Larry Moore says because his club belongs to the Model Aircraft Association of Canada (MAAC), which has its own safety procedures, the Department of Transportation has exempted them from the laws. Larry Moore is the President of the Diamond Aces RC Flying Club.

“We don’t have to apply for permission to fly and we don’t have to follow some of those regulations such as distance from airports, buildings, and people, because those are covered by our MAAC rules,” he explains, “Our rules are a little bit different, but the Department of Transportation is okay with that.”

Moore indicates that MAAC certified clubs have been operating throughout the country without incident for 75 years. Though their rules vary slightly from those more recently introduced, their good track record has allowed them to continue as per usual.

“We’re ecstatic,” laughs Moore, “This really took a load off of our minds because we do really enjoy our hobby and to have to put it aside would have been terrible news.”

The RC Flying Club only experienced one real change with the new legislation: to get individual identification for every plane so they can be traced back to their owners. Aside from that, the Department of Transportation merely asks that club members take special measures to ensure they are adhering to the already-established MAAC rules.

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