My brother's club in Edmonton already enacted this into their bylaws. I'm going to call someone at MAAC and get some more info, but I agree that '3d-type aerobatics' is a little ambiguous. If someone creams my plane at 200 feet, 30 seconds after I do a waterfall or elevator, is it my fault because I was doing '3d-type' flying?

3D flying is becoming more popular, simply because it's a whole lot more fun than flying in rectangles. Spectators like it too. I CAN see the problem with hovering though - helis AND planes. If you're in a club with reasonable people who act like adults, most pilots will time their flights accordingly, and/or ask their mates if it's ok to hog the runway for a few minutes. The problem inevitably arises when someone doesn't know when to quit or scares others by their lack of control. I'd way rather see clubs work out the conflicts internally by consensus, so that everyone can have fun.

I am curious to see if MAAC has any (good) reason for this rule. Like others, I suspect that it is reaction to a perceived threat, rather than a real one. It also gives less progressive members of clubs unwarranted (IMHO) ammunition to hamper the legitimate flying of other pilots.

KD