Originally Posted by
Appowner
It was unreasonable to have a 55mph speed limit especially for those long expanses of open and often straight highway in our larger states. (Montana and Texas come to mind but many others fit the bill as well.) But guess what? Washington did it! And all in the name of conservation.
Now in the name of whatever, could they restrict a small hobby for the sake of getting your crap to you faster? Learn from history.
And yes, the 55 was eventually turned back. But not until the majority of the public and law enforcement and the courts ignored it. And when the reason behind it, save gas, was proved to be the hoax it was. So ask yourself, will the "majority" of the public, law enforcement and the courts bother standing up for and defending some one million (less than point 3% of the population) playing with their toy airplanes? Put yourself in their shoes and ask, what's in for me?
I think it was perfectly reasonable for the 55 speed limit at the time. We had lots of idiots with 300+ HP muscle cars with inadequate brakes and suspensions killing themselves and others. Our Middle East oil supply wasn't as secure as we needed. The government had the data that supported the drop is speed limit would save lives and help keep us from needing to ration gas again. A great example of that is the 1976 Trans Am that I bought in 1988. The 400 cid engine had been choked down to 185 hp and had 2:70 rear end gears.
Now with the cutrent topic, there is no data that model airplanes are any safety issue to the general public when flown at club sites.Sure there have been some accidents but overall it is safer then a children's soccer league.