ORAC
17th Mar 2020, 07:00
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/love-is-in-the-air-skywriting-to-take-off-again-after-60-year-ban-3r0p8j668
Skywriting to take off again after 60-year ban
.........Proposals were published yesterday to amend aviation regulations to permit skywriting for advertising purposes, state events, airshows, birthday celebrations and marriage proposals. It will bring the UK into line with most other countries, including the US and Australia, that have a long tradition of skywriting and “skytyping”, which uses multiple planes flying in formation.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, who is a pilot, lobbied as a backbench MP for an end to the UK’s “antiquated” ban on skywriting. It is hoped that the move will give a much needed boost to the UK’s private aerodromes and enhance pilots’ skills.
The DfT has published proposals to amend the Civil Aviation (Aerial Advertising) Regulations 1995. It launched a public consultation on the proposals yesterday, saying that skywriting and typing were “likely to take place at mass outdoor events such as music festivals and sporting fixtures”. It said that skywriting could be used for “personal messages, such as marriage proposals or birthday celebrations”, and “for marking royal birthdays, military commemorations or national memorial days”.
The DfT insisted that the reforms would have a “negligible impact” on emissions. Aircraft use a refined white mineral oil to create the smoke, which is non-toxic and biodegradable. In the report, carbon dioxide emissions from skywriting and skytyping were estimated to be about 3 tonnes a year, a fraction of the 35 million tonnes the UK aviation industry creates.
The consultation, which runs until the end of the month, said that the activity would raise about £4 million in tax revenue. It said that the UK already had some of the best skytyping pilots in the world, who work mainly in the EU and China. The DfT said: “Skywriting will encourage innovation, provide jobs and create businesses.”
Skywriting to take off again after 60-year ban
.........Proposals were published yesterday to amend aviation regulations to permit skywriting for advertising purposes, state events, airshows, birthday celebrations and marriage proposals. It will bring the UK into line with most other countries, including the US and Australia, that have a long tradition of skywriting and “skytyping”, which uses multiple planes flying in formation.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, who is a pilot, lobbied as a backbench MP for an end to the UK’s “antiquated” ban on skywriting. It is hoped that the move will give a much needed boost to the UK’s private aerodromes and enhance pilots’ skills.
The DfT has published proposals to amend the Civil Aviation (Aerial Advertising) Regulations 1995. It launched a public consultation on the proposals yesterday, saying that skywriting and typing were “likely to take place at mass outdoor events such as music festivals and sporting fixtures”. It said that skywriting could be used for “personal messages, such as marriage proposals or birthday celebrations”, and “for marking royal birthdays, military commemorations or national memorial days”.
The DfT insisted that the reforms would have a “negligible impact” on emissions. Aircraft use a refined white mineral oil to create the smoke, which is non-toxic and biodegradable. In the report, carbon dioxide emissions from skywriting and skytyping were estimated to be about 3 tonnes a year, a fraction of the 35 million tonnes the UK aviation industry creates.
The consultation, which runs until the end of the month, said that the activity would raise about £4 million in tax revenue. It said that the UK already had some of the best skytyping pilots in the world, who work mainly in the EU and China. The DfT said: “Skywriting will encourage innovation, provide jobs and create businesses.”