mumbai after growing exponentially over the last few years aero modelling has virtually got grounded in the country now the reason fearing use of drones to launch terror attacks the government has banned all unmanned aerial vehicles though significantly different in their appearance aerodynamic capability and functionality remote controlled model aircraft and drones are under the same category of unmanned aerial vehicles uavs this means the stringent ban in place against the use of drones in india also applies to model aircraft under the new guidelines being put in place by the directorate general of civil aviation dgca an aero modelling enthusiast would need an approval from the dgca and the local police to fly a model plane and every such plane would need to be registered with the dgca and irrespective of whether its a flying machine that costs a few hundred rupees and lasts only a flight or two according to the norms these planes cant fly above 200 feet from the ground level which would make it nearimpossible to fly gliders for the 36000odd aero modelling hobbyists in india the drones have already made their first kill in october 2014 the dgca had put a blanket ban on use of uav and unmanned aircraft systems till new regulations are formulated the ban was aimed at preventing the use of drones for terror attacks it has taken away the liberty of all aero modellers be it hobby or recreational flyers or educational institutes it has stopped all model airplane flying in the indian air space carte blanche said umeshkumar more chairman wings india an club working to promote protect organize aero modelling no other civilised country has taken such an extreme step in the us for instance the aviation regulator has passed regulations that are applicable largely to drones but they have excluded model aircraft and aero modelling from it more said adding that the indian government has every right to curb misuse of any activity or regulate it for the safety and security of the public but to discontinue the activity as a whole is high handed and draconian move aero modelling as a sport hobby or for educational purposes cannot to be deemed as a threat to the society in any manner he added the move comes even as india has been gaining recognition globally in this arena and the government has been encouraging aero sports through semigovernment bodies like aero club of india the country recently hosted several international shows in aero modelling in an attempt to stop the government from putting debilitating norms in place aero modelling enthusiasts from across the country have planned to come together next week to form an umbrella body and take up the issue with the government among the points they plan to raise is that of putting model aircraft and drones in different categories the biggest differentiator is that model aircraft dont carry payloads while drones often carry one like a camera or a package to be delivered