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Very little to do with a small minority flying wrongly/illegally, or any airport issues in my personal opinion, changes were coming before any of that just so a busier airspace can continue to be shared safely. If anything is to blame it is simply the march of technology. The task for the BMFA is to continue to fight to keep the affect on our activities to a minimum. Something that we have had some success with so far.

80 miles to Buckminster from here and I go as often as I can, it's a superb venue and a tribute to those who put in all the effort. Yes it might be a trek, but the camp site is great, I usually stay 2 or 3 days - roll out of bed & fly... Ask your golfing pals what they think of a £47 membership fee 🙂 We're all having to make economies, surely there's something other than your hobby where you can save your £12? Cheese Pies

Indeed that is the case. However, there was no stopping it, the advance in technology which is already leading to a busier airspace was always going to mean there would be some impact on us. Thankfully it has been quite minimal thanks to a lot of hard work over many years.

Not true, anyone who is a member can go if they wish, and going by the fact that most weekends during the good flying months are booked out months in advance would also seem that a lot of members are making use of the facility. Strange that you seem to be willing to travel all over the country to attend the LMA shows but can't make it to Buckminster to take part in anything!

I started flying model aircraft when an injury stopped me from being able to race sailing dinghies back in 1990. Sailing club subscription for my wife and me was £120 IIRC but we got a lot out of it. Our dinghy cost around £1200 plus new sails every 2 years plus general maintenance (it was a wooden boat) plus suitable clothing etc. Aeromodelling is cheap by comparison (though, of course, it depends on what type of models you buy/build etc). Don't even ask how much playing golf can cost. Compared with other ancillary costs (models, electronics, transport, fuel/batteries) the club/BMFA subs are a very small proportion of the expense and one I accept gladly. No-one's getting rich at our expense.

An opportunity that we had for 98 years before somebody decided to charge us for it… Brian.

Almost a whole 10p a week. Oh dear!!!

I forgot to share a picture of the “Flat Gnat” after it was painted. I went for a cartoonish version of an RAF training scheme on the full size gnats. Given the simplicity of the model it worked out well and it’s now much easier to see in flight, which is useful as it’s surprisingly quick!

Worse things happen when you pass the 80 mark 😟

How exactly does any of the current and proposed legislation, and us paying for that privilege, prevent the “wally brains” from doing exactly what they want to? Brian.

£47 a year, peanuts, less than a pound a week. The BMFA fights our corner doing it's best too keep the CAA and others off our backs who are trying to regulate our sport. Shamefully I've not yet been to Buckminster even though I only live about an hour away but I hope to get there next year. I don't care if some of my subs pay for the place as it's a huge asset as pointed out in Andy Symonds post. If you want to be a member of a BMFA affiliated club which I believe most are then you have to be a BMFA member. I could save a whole £12 a year to join the LMA but are they going to fight our corner and keep the menace of things like RID at bay?

Before Buckminster became available the BMFA quite often had to hire venues for a number of events. Many of those events, a prime example being the Schools and Universities Payload challenge, are now held at Buckminster meaning there is a substantial expenditure that is no longer needed in venue hire which doesn't show in the accounts. Having a National Centre has also meant there has been opportunities to showcase our sport that were otherwise unavailable too. Income at Buckminster was quire badly affected by some atrocious weather this year with a number events cancelled. Having a National Centre also adds massively to the credibility of model aircraft flying as a sport, which h too.as great value

After having more time on this kit I must complement Hangar 9 on the quality. It’s the first time I have actually used the supplied metal clevises and the fit of the model is very good . I swapped out the cyano hinges for flat hinges on all the control surfaces (apart from flaps which are supplied with round hinges) as I prefer the flat hinges. The manufacturer also supplies spare covering which is of the self adhesive type … I did save the film I removed from the wheel bays by sticking it to grease proof paper. This week I have also been working on the retracts. I have bought a set of JPerkins electric 60-120 size electric retracts from Steve Webb Models , rather than the far more expensive(and mostly unavailable) E flight ones. These are similar in spec and fit into the same slots as the e-flight retracts but are 90deg rather than 85deg so will require some washers to get the angle right due to the wing dihedral . The JPerkins retracts came with 5mm wire legs which i have cut to form the new strut pins. The J Perkins retract wire legs are fairly “mild steel” and I might replace the pins with some stock piano wire pins if they bend too easily. The model is supplied with fixed U/C plates and some fairly decent struts which I have chosen to use. The suppled struts are too long for the retracts. I guess if you buy the expensive £200+ e-flight retracts you would also need to buy special retract struts to match unless like me you shorten the kit supplied ones? The struts needed about 1cm lopped off the top as the supplied fixed U/C plate mounting point would be nearer the wing tip. Lopping the end off also required me to make a new internal bushing to act as a spring stop and hold the retract pins. I used some spare steel builders studding. This required careful drilling and then I epoxied the studding into the end of each strut and drilled and tapped them and put 3 grub screws in the end of each leg to retain the pin. I also needed to shorten the strut springs as the supplied ones were far too long and also had a far too high spring rate.

It’s a shame you haven’t been there as it really is a splendid venue.

Evening all! Sorry for being a bit late today... It's the last race of the season, and we're in Abu Dhabi. P1 saw a lot of unfamiliar names, as many teams were providing their reserve drivers with the mandatory session in a GP weekend. Russell set fastest time in P1 from Drugovish (Aston Martin) with Ricciardo, Bottas and Stroll setting the next best times. Hamilton and Verstappen (amongst others) sat-out P1, with reserve drivers taking their places. P2 saw a bit of a return to 'normality', though the session was shortened to 20 mins due to repair work being needed after a crash by Sainz. Leclerc set fastest time from Norris and Verstappen. Bottas, Perez and Russell were next fastest, with Hamilton 8th. P3 is on Saturday morning at 10:30 with qualifying at 14:00 (UK-time) Which leads me to remind you all - for the last time this year; Don't forget your predictions! Sunday's race is at 13:00. Good luck, everyone!

its just me being daft John - for ages I signed posts "Cheers Phil" ...and one day I thought, I wonder if anyone reads that bit? So occasionally I put: "Cheese Pies" instead - you're the first to notice 🙂

Indeed. It's interesting to note that the OP's previous posts have mostly revolved around issues with mail order, including not being able to easily order expensive models costing several hundred pounds - the sort of high end foamie ARTFS that were discussed in the Big Question thread. It sort of puts the complaints about less than a quid a week BMFA subscription into perspective.

How true. I'm knackered after half a day's flying in the cold today 🙂

No money from the main BMFA income, (subs), is used to fund Buckminster those that use the centre and people travel from all across the country to do so, pay to use it.

If i really wanted to save a few quid I'd cut the wifes card up....... just as I'm sure she would smash my models up to do the same with me......

Counter to that Gary is "Who is gonna police it" ? I'm with others, it ain't about a group of wrong doers, it's about taking control of airspace for reasons which are obvious.

To find mine as a complete untouched 42 year old kit 6 years ago in its original box was an unexpected find i must be honest,, All that was wrong with it was the veneer was starting to lift in a couple of places on the wings, other than that it was in perfect condition for its age.... I had the airframe built by a friend and its sat on the shelf in the cupboard for 6 years till I finally got it flying earlier this year, The Plane is now 48 years old ( only 2 less than me ) and it flies that well it's certainly over powered on the Ripmax Quantum 40 motor 60amp esc & 4S 2800mah lipos also no amount of money that would get me to part with this one

We do love a bit of tech, makes things better,easier, more fun, less work, ooh and it's cheap now. It came with consequences, always does. What surprises me is that it surprised some.

I am glad to see that the new laws and paying the government to fly is going to stop illegal flying,,,😂

Fully agree with you here... Flippin HELL... I spend £80 a week on Tobacco/Ciggys,,,, and the way the price for that has just jumped in the last few days the price of BMFA Cover Is diddly squat in money terms £47 is a bargain price and total value for money for BMFA Cover in anyones finances

The opportunity to fly lawfully.

suppose in the current times we are living in here and worldwide....that the £5 increase in reality is nothing(a packet of cereal, big bar of chocolate ect) and the BMFA is a business that has to pay its way as well. Its pointless bashing the BMFA and the people who run it...for like it or not they do a good job looking after our interests.in comparison to everything else that is going up(car insurance!!!!) the rise is nothing really. The national centre is another subject...but not worth bashing when talking about fee's...if it is stand alone and not costing me anything, I cant complain.......the main worry i suppose is the falling numbers...there must come a point when a minimum number is reached.... and then we will have a problem...or two/three. ken anderson...ne...1...fee's dept.

The Mass Build actually involves a "Dogfight Double " which comprises of the Fw190a and the Tempest V . The Fw190 build is well documented on the "Big Question " thread in the Warbirds section of this Forum . The second model (The Tempest V) will be built on this thread in order not to confuse everyone . The Tempest design is being finalised and once in the bag , I will start an on line build with the prototype . So that Tempest fans do not feel left out , I have attached a picture of my original glo powered version from the year 2000 . The new version will be slightly more scale , but more importantly it will be laser cut with jig tabs and supplied with a nice set of foam veneered wings . I will also be showing you all how to paint and weather the model using the most basic equipment but still achieving a finish like that shown here . We have around 25 orders so far which considering people have very little to go on is promising .

Another thing you can do Masher is place a wanted add on here,, Thats how i found mine

Also depending where you live,, I was up Modelworld in Sittingbourne Kent last week and they had 4 channel Superfly hanging up for sale for £75

Anything wrong with the replacement version suggested in the link in your post ?

suppose less members,higher overheads......which have to be paid by the members...so more dosh to be a member........it will end in tears somewhere along the line...more so if people say enough is enough and move on mass.... ken anderson...ne...1....more dosh dept.

My very first r/c aircraft was something called a Gemini designed by Jim Baguley, who is largely famous for designing gliders, and produced by St Leonard's Models. Powered by an Irvine 20 it was too fast for me so I pulled the radio and motor from the model, built a Junior 60 and learned to fly on that. I kept the plan and years later I built another Gemini, electric powered this time, just to prove to myself that I could fly it. By now I was quite an experienced pilot and it held no terrors for me. In the end I gave it away to a clubmate. I can certainly see why Masher wants to go back in time too!

Hornet photo below, made from B&Q insulation foam, strengthened leading edge with balsa and carbon spar in wing, flys superb. Plans from outer zone.

It's interesting to see the amount of effort you put in to get a 'true' flying plane.

B&Q do a red and yellow that, once ‘dirtied’ as per Richard’s advice, will look close enough.

Just bought one of these today. I'm returning to heli flying after a break of a few years.To be honest it was on a whim £49 Mikes Models in Brum.. Partly because I the 1st he'll I bought was a Twister Medivac from that shop What's the worst reversible happen. I'll tell you what happened..... I had a ball! I used to fly a 450 on a spectrum DX7 I was never that good but could fly figure 8's hover nose in ect. I think it's been a decade since I've flown ( 2 kids ago anyway) . Last heli had was a a little blade 230s. I think!! The little Twister felt strange and there seems to be a lot of dead zone on the sticks in more 1 ( beginner) but 3 batteries in and I'm doing figure of eights in my 15 ft X 20 ft ( minus wardrobe/tv space) bedroom. What a ball !!! The bug has come back.and bitten me.

The figures you extracted from Actual and Budget forecast include depreciation, which as I wrote earlier is an 'accounting paper loss' (not actual money) to take into account the reducing resale value of the lease (amongst other items) and as the treasurer at the meeting pointed out are 'worst case' scenarios. -22/23 the depreciation is £33,103 -23/24 the depreciation estimated is £28,900 -24/25-the depreciation estimated is £28,900 But if you look at the other AGM documents - specifically - SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Page 7, The total show before depreciation and tax show a small loss of £853 and even with the tax payable being added on of £1,125 amounts again to a small total loss of £1978. And as the BMFA office services will now operate out Buckminster that is quite a small cost. When looking at these figures you have to look at all of them, especially the supplementary information.

He said "getting my insurance somewhere else" not "self insure".

Deffo 1 Million % a Waterhouse & Eley Superfly.... I say that with absolute certainty as I've about somewhere in the region of 15-20 of them over my entire RC Flying life and currently have one now and it flies absolutley fantastic... and of all the superflys I've had in my life they have all flown perfectly I never had a single bad one.. I also learnt to fly on a Superfly 36 years ago,, & I still say even now the Superfly was the best Trainer of it's time & is also still today my all time favourite plane to fly

So is that a 12% increase in next year's subs Begining to wonder about Buckminster now .It seems since the BMFA brought Buckminster our subs have just gone up and up !!!!!

Masher, I think its perfectly normal to look back at the time you were learning to fly and want to revisit the models from the time of which you have the fondest memories. I can also see that if you didn't find success with the Super Fly then, to have another one and fly it successfully would be 'closure', for want of a better word.

Full decal set of either 13 or 23 for me please Richard, if there's any left!

+1:

Where I have twin aileron servos in a wing, I now use the Ashlock connectors, now called Maxlock and available from 4 Max with a twin plug. Impossible to get the connection wrong as the plugs only fit one way and have an inbuilt locking mechanism making colour coding redundant. Very quick way to connect up twin ailerons. They also do a 4 way connector so you can have twin ailerons and twin flap connectors connected and locked with one action. I think they are great but you do need to be able to crimp reliably as the plugs are longer than standard.

Also the Waterhouse and Eley Super Fly. Brian.

A sandwich went into the bar and asked for a pint... The barman replied" sorry we don't serve food here" Ken Anderson .... ne...1 ....food and drink dept.

Forgot to post this last week which was when it had its maiden flight. The asymmetric thrust is interesting!