It is a truth universal...

[Timothy Huff]

I've just renewed my £9 CAA useless-annual-bumpf and am now given a longer number and completely different alpha-numeric code to apply to my model, a whopping 19 characters long including two hyphens.

By way of fun, I substituted the first 19 characters of a novel, sufficient to identify this novel amongst millions of lesser ones.

("It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" - Jane Austen, "Pride and Prejudice") - she clearly hadn't heard of Powerbox transmitters!

I am quite relieved I did not previously adulterate the tail of my my humble "Apprentice" with last years, in paint, but now am concerned that I may struggle to fit 19 bloody characters on it! I certainly do NOT want that little lot emblazoned on my Hawker Hurricane, on which much time and effort has been expended to make it a reasonable facsimile of a 303 Sqn airframe, without then putting the initial words of a damn novel on the side!

One would have thought 6 alpha numeric-characters ample to represent all UK users, and it would have occupied a lot less real-estate on my model!

If anyone feels likewise, could whoever liaseses with the "puzzle-palace" kindly give them "a come-off-moment". or failing that a "significant emotional event"? If some sanity can be brought to bear, there is a prize of one copy of the said novel to whoever at Gatwick can be persuaded to look at this again....

(off to read a book)

[Steve Mansell]

Number plates of 7 digits can identify every car, van, bus etc. that has ever been on UK roads. I thought last year's number was hard enough to hide on my scale jobs, as it has to be accessible without the use of tools.

Perhaps I'll try banner towing with my new registration number!

[Timothy Huff]

I believe it's the case the number can put on the inside providing it can be accessed without "special" tools. So that's what I'll be doing in future, printed on the smallest font I can find! It was by way of a semi-humorous rant, but this just goes from bad to worse. I think the hobby needs to pushback on this, both on the necessity of annual renewals, the cost thereof and even the principle of the thing. Above all we need separate treatment for drones and those of RC fixed wing, which are chalk and cheese as regards airspace incursions and other stupidity.

[Rob Buckley]

As a wise man once said 'there's a lot of good work been done to make things this bad'.

If anyone gets really bored, how the operator ID is (sort of) generated is detailed on pages 149-150 here-

https://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/dfu/Easy%20Access%20Rules%20for%20Unmanned%20Aircraft%20Systems%20%28Revision%20from%20September%202021%29.pdf

Now everyone has the 'new' format, they shouldn't change again.

The number needs to be visible from outside the model (so it can be on the dashboard if it can be seen through a window), or inside and not visible from the outside if it can be accessed without using any tool and needs to be in letters at least 3mm high.

The rules for fixed wing model aircraft and multirotor drones are different, just have a read of the LMA (or BMFA) Article 16 authorisation and compare with the Open category in CAP722a.

[Peter Smedley]

308 pages !!
Life is too short

Apparently a QR code is sufficient