Not too far from where I live, there is a series of bluffs above the beach and bicycle path that are often used by remote control glider pilots. I’ve had a couple of close calls with them, but given the nature of the beast – fragile balsa and mylar or foam gliders weighing very little, I thought little of it.
But apparently a glider pilot hit the wrong person this week.
In today’s Daily Breeze:
A few residents, including a city planning commissioner, have asked the Redondo Beach City Council to ban the activity because the planes sometimes go out of control and hit homes, cars and pedestrians in the heavily trafficked area.
Lenore Bloss, a planning commissioner, asked the council earlier this month to consider an ordinance outlawing the craft in the city after she was hit in the back of the head by a low-flying plane. Though she wasn’t hurt, Bloss was outraged. Not only was there a possibility of real injury, but the pilot didn’t apologize.
Her story got the council’s attention. Councilman Gerard Bisignano said the matter will be taken up within six weeks.
…
“People do get hit and I don’t deny that,” Freschi said. “But to my knowledge no one has been seriously hurt. It stings and it smarts. But no blood, no broken bones.”
He makes an analogy that dogs bite and bicycles run into people. But these beach activities aren’t banned; laws are passed to make the activities safer.
First, I need to disclose that I do not and have never flown remote controlled airplanes. My sons have not flown remote controlled airplanes. I do often use the Esplanade and bike path near there, so I ought to be on the side of the angels and support banning the damn things. And hell, I’m a liberal, so regulation must be good, no?
In this case, no.
Boy, I have so many problems with this.
First of all, it fits nicely in with my view of the SkyBox nature of our process. A planning commissioner gets hit – and her feelings, not her scalp are wounded. So A Law Must Be Passed So That They Learn A Lesson. Bull.
Second, I’ve got to ask, where’s the real risk? Kids play frisbee on the beach all the time, and the wind catches them…I’ve been hit by those. I’ve been clocked by an errant volleyball. Should we ban those? Of course not.
Third, the notion that the city would ban the activity – rather than make any effort to reasonably figure out how to make it workable, when it’s been done there for 40 years or more – sticks in my throat. The City Attorney says:
“City Attorney Jerry Goddard said enforcing such restrictions could be costly and difficult. Banning the gliders would be the easiest, cheapest alternative.
“I have to say, reluctantly, that the level of use of The Esplanade and beach area has reached the congestion point where regulation is necessary,” Goddard said.
“I’m saddened by that. Mainly because I’m disappointed at the ever growing level of government regulations over citizens’ lives. And I’m also disappointed in the irresponsibility of people to do anything from walking their dog on a leash to flying a model airplane in a responsible fashion.”
Goddard said that in his 11 years as city attorney an adult or child, car or house has been hit by a glider about every two years.
Sorry, Jerry, but one reported accident every two years isn’t evidence of irresponsibility, and while I think you’re on the right track about intrusive regulation, saying you’re against it while proposing it seems kind of disingenuous.
Personally, I think there are probably some simple and easily enforceable rules – like don’t fly on summer weekends or holidays after 9 or 10:00 am – which would lessen the chances of conflict and keep the pilots flying.
Personally, I think Redondo is a small enough town that those affected by the flying could walk up the hill and personally interact with the glider pilots and work something out informally.
But that might be too simple.
Mayor Greg Hill, Councilmember Gerard Bistango, and City Manager Lou Garcia are the ones who ought to think about this. One might hope that they’d come to the conclusion that this is silly and embarrassing, and that the City has more pressing business.
Hmmm.. tricky one.
I first encountered the planes when I started walking a neighbour’s dog last summer. I moved to the Esplanade in December and since then encounter them and people going to the beach on a daily basis. To say that they, the pilots, are a major PITA is an understatement.
The planes itself are graceful and often great to watch. But the pilots are not equally skilled, and I have seen many near misses. While a volleyball and frisbee are also flying objects, neither have sharp objects that could potentially injure somebody.
A person on a bicycle, or motorcyclist, who gets hit could crash with much more potential for injury than a pedestrian.
While I agree that one reported accident every 2 years is nothing alarming in itself, I do think the pilots cause more harm, by an annoyance factor, and potential harm than they should.
Secondly, while Redondo is indeed a town small enoigh that people should be able to deal with it themselves, as the Daily Breeze pointed out, the pilot didn’t even apologize. An apology could go a long way. And the pilot didn’t do that. Having observed the pilots on several times, they do not come across as particulary intelligent, or, for that matter, from the area itself. I do not think the people living on the Esplanade (including myself) will miss them. The planes are not the problem, but pilots we can definitely do without.
As for more pressing business, I really wish they could paint parking spaces on the avenues perpendicular to the Esplande. It seems people never think about the fact that other people would like to park as well. Painting spaces would solve that problem. Maybe one of these nights I’ll go out and do it myself (with compact spaces so that big SUVs will have to go elsewhere)…
As for the legislation, it should be a final step, but it is up to the pilots to take the initiative and make sure that they place nice with the people that live there. Apologizing after an accident would be a good start.
God, I glad I don’t live in California!
“Third, the notion that the city would ban the activity – rather than make any effort to reasonably figure out how to make it workable, when it’s been done there for 40 years or more – sticks in my throat. The City Attorney says:”
That’s pretty good evidence that it already is workable.
The whole story is kind of disturbing. City planning commissioners nakedly asserting the status of mideval noblemen, upon whom the common people must be very careful to refrain from the slightest insult or indignity, lest those common people be made to regret it, is not a good sign. A penchant for taking petty revenge is not something you want to find in a person that can grant or deny permission to build places to live and work. Of course, I’d rather that power be removed completely, and planning commissioners be released to find something useful to do, but that’s another story.
My dad builds and flies remote-controlled model gliders himself. He only flies thermal sailplanes, which are slower gliders with very long wingspans, designed to stay up as long as possible using the lift from cells of heated, rising air. Thus they spend most of their time at fairly high altitudes (several hundred feet above ground, typically), and pose little risk of hitting anyone except when landing. But you still keep your eyes on the plane when it’s close to the ground.
From the article, it sounds like the planes in question are “slope soarers”. I’m no expert on slope soaring, but from what I do know, these planes stay aloft by using the lift from wind passing over a steep slope like a cliff or bluff. They often fly close to the pilots at the top of their trajectory. By trading height for speed, they can fly surprisingly fast in the hands of a skilled pilot, despite the fact they have no engines. Some can exceed 100 mph. (That’s the real speed, not a “scale speed”.)
Now, if these planes only consisted of foam and balsa, that might not mean so much, but the radio control apparatus (especially the batteries and servomotors) adds quite a bit of weight. I think the whole aircraft can weigh a few pounds. Being hit by a several-pound object traveling over 100 mph is not something to be taken lightly. Not only that, but the weight is concentrated at the front, and the nose is quite tapered to reduce drag, so the impact is quite well concentrated if you’re hit dead-on. I’m not saying slope soaring is an inherently unsafe sport, but there is a real safety issue to be kept in mind. Responsible pilots are supposed to be aware of that.
This doesn’t mean that the Redondo Beach city council is justified in banning the sport, of course. But if the area is next to a crowded walkway, and some of the pilots are behaving with little regard for the people around them, there is definitely a problem.
I’d appreciate any comments or corrections from actual slope soaring enthusiasts.
It’s another case of the few inconsiderate people ruining the fun for everyone.
I’ve been flying slope planes for years and I don’t like what I see at Redondo. For one thing, people use the site to learn how to fly, and just throw their planes out with little instruction (crash waiting to happen). Others like to combat, a game in which you try to knock the other planes out of the air. Others fly fiberglass planes on the “big wind” day, which in winter is okay, but scary when a lot of people are around since those planes weigh 50 to 100oz and fly at 35 to 70mph.
Having said that, I’ve found that a majority of the regulars are considerate and the last thing they’d want to do is hit someone. It’s just that advances in the hobby have made the planes cheaper and easier to assemble (a couple of evenings), which makes the hobby accessible to everyone who can use glue and tape. In the old days people spent weeks, maybe months assembling balsa frames, covering them and getting all the expensive gear to work before they hit the slopes.
I hate to see the site close, but don’t see how it could continue without rules. Places I normally fly require a radio board (to check out radio channel), an AMA membership (basically 1 million dollars insurance), and a club membership.
I hope Redondo can find a workable solution that will allow the hobby to continue and keep it fun and safe for everyone.