Russia's general aviation industry is calling on the government to relinquish control of the light aviation sector.
Victor Zabolotsky, chairman of a national GA pilot pressure group known as the FLA, says that under the current air code, general aviation is largely obliged to comply with commercial aviation regulations, which seriously slows down its development.
The FLA, representing 3,500 pilots operating 700 aircraft, is seeking to be placed under a separate department, which under current proposals could be the ministry of transport.
The Russian GA community is also calling for a restructure of the military and civilian air traffic control system, which requires operators of piston aircraft to file flight plans 24h before departure. FLA is calling for free-flight zones below the lowest flight level and talks on establishing a zone between Moscow and St. Petersburg are in progress.
At Myachkovo Airport, near Moscow, where simplified rules have been applied, the number of flights have risen threefold since 1997, the pressure group says.
FLA hosted the first Russian aviators' fly-in earlier this month at Myachkovo. Over 3,000 light aircraft are on the Russian register.
Source: Flight International