UK Skywriting Consultation
 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/l...-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.”

Fascinating. I had no idea it was banned. When and why?

Skywriting and skytyping – where multiple planes are used in formation – were banned in 1960 due to safety concerns, but the Department for Transport has opened a public consultation on repealing the prohibition.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....462794133d.jpg

The living proof, if we needed any, that Grant Shapps is a 22 carat F***wit

Skytyping has never been banned in UK airspace as it has never been conducted here before. The activity is classed as basic formation aerobatics (not exceeding 30 degree angle of bank) and formation separation is anywhere between 40m - 80m dependent on altitude, so not exactly a risky undertaking for a fully qualified and experienced formation team. Skywriting meanwhile requires more abrupt manoeuvres to deliver, and so I am guessing that they are referring to an earlier ban of this activity due to safety concerns.

According to the 'Yakovlevs' website, they performed the first ever Skytyping sortie in UK Airspace on the 23rd May 2016.

That was a one-off trial to demonstrate the concept

Care to elaborate?

I suspect the lack of consistent blue sky is the main driver that its not a common form of advertising/marriage proposing in the UK.....:O

The problem was the Head of the CAA Legal Branch in the 1970’s and 1980’s was personally strongly opposed to any form of “aerial advertising”.
Nobody knew why he had this fixation.
it wasn’t until he retired that some things were able to be changed.
It seems we are still suffering the fallout.

As far as I am concerned, advertising is intrusive enough already.

Please don’t ask. It will be nothing more than a useless hate speech of vitriol. The quintessential “UN UI”

Shapps championed such, in my view, questionable and dangerous developments as Wingly.

Now he wants us to suffer sign written skies.

As Capt Pit Bull said. Advertising is already intrusive enough.

I really am struggling to avoid comparisons with the cleaning of balustrades on a certain White Star ocean liner.
We're heading to 'hell in a handbasket', but hey, there's skywriting legislation on the table...

Well, it's back! By special permission for VE Day 75.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...-39191327.html
Not sure why the Belfast Telegraph seems to have the best coverage, since it was happening in Somerset - but hey, good on them....

airsound

This was all presaged by a slightly odd news release from the DfT
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/w...typing-display

I remember in 2016 over Manhattan an add for Turkish airline.

I suppose the skytyping thing will use dot matrix printer technology. I wonder if there is a driver for windows?

On the other hand perhaps it is laser technology and 'writes' by leaving a trail of blazing aircraft in the appropriate locations as determined by the artist.