Russia has not seen a jump in the number of authorization applications for permission to fly light aircraft, despite the introduction of more permissive flights rules for general aviation in lower airspace, the Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia said on Tuesday.
"Just as we expected, there has not been a rise in the number of applications. On the first day there were nine and on the second 20. Yet I think that the number will be increasing as people need time to understand the new rules," agency head Alexander Neradko said.
Under new federal rules, Russian air space is divided into three zones according to permitted altitudes for various classes of aviation.
Small private planes are permitted to perform flights within so-called class G airspace at an altitude of 300 to 4,500 meters, where pilots no longer have to ask for flight permission from air traffic controllers.
Now, they only have to notify the aviation authorities of their flight data in order to receive information and emergency messages.
Aviation enthusiasts in Russia have welcomed the new rules as a step in the right direction, but say they have not made their life any easier in practice.
The chief problem is registration. Prior to November 1, when the new rules took effect, the authorities turned a blind eye to unregistered planes and unregistered flights - "within reasonable limits."
Similar "reasonable" infringements of the rules in Europe or America can land a pilot in jail for years, along with a stiff fine.
Now, however, all aircraft need an airworthiness certificate, which is difficult to attain in Russia: the nation's perennial red tape and bureaucracy mean that it can take years to obtain.
"Not even bribes can help," private airplane owners complain.
With hundreds of small private planes in the country, most of them imported from abroad at prices ranging from $15,000 to $1.5 million, Russia needs a special flight safety agency, very much like the road traffic police.
Light aviation enthusiasts say existing structures are not really interested in the problem and have no financial incentives to take on an extra burden.
Rosaviatsia says it has established 33 pilot training centers to train pilots to perform flights under the new rules.
MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti, Alexander Stelliferovsky)
