Cuban8

Just too cold for me at the moment - medication causes my hands and feet to become very uncomfortable with cold. Don't like wearing thick gloves and dressing like an arctic explorer so still a little more time needed until things warm up a bit more.

That's great - long may it continue. My club used to rent a field some years ago where the farmer was a real Jekyll and Hyde character. He'd sometimes go mental if the patch was not not cut to his satisfaction, he'd swear blind that we were cheating him and making the flying area bigger without his say so (we weren't and were paranoid about getting the measurements right). I think he chucked us off a couple of times and then reconsidered after we went back to him cap in hand. Cars not parked in a particular way (perfectly happy with them the previous week), he'd drive over the patch in his landrover when we were flying and scowl at us, then next week, park to one side and have a cheery chat. Witnessed him myself go absolutely mental at a bloke who wandered over to us flying, just to have a chat and see what was going on. He'd never accept a rise in the rent we paid either, about a grand or so - many, many stories I could recount. Really used to put us on edge when we knew he was around - we put up with each other for over thirty years though. I laughed at Larry the Farmer in the brilliant Detectorists series, very similar, ("don't go digging in the bottom field, I don't want you there") athough our chap was way more intense and just plain unpleasant at times. If you've got a good landlord - cherish him!

We're nearly all walking on eggshells now when it comes to our flying sites. Some awkward land owners, the maximum fuss made over the least bit of noise, or even the very sight of models being flown is enough to get some people up on their high horses and the complaint letters and emails going in. We just can't take any chances these days and I'm afraid that most clubs need to remain as invisible as possible and care taken when publicising their activities, as we are often encouraged to do, to boost membership etc.

My daughter, when she was probably no older than seven or eight, won one of DPR's 'Concordes' at their 'Hit the kit' competition at Alexandra Palace years ago. DPR did so much to encourage kids to get involved whenever they appeared at various shows etc at the time, and it was sad when they sold the business some years ago and no longer had their kid's comps and demos. I believe that DPR were bought out by somebody and I noticed one of their 'Chuckie' kits in a toy shop when I was wandering around with my little grandson, although I think they are no longer made in the UK - one can lead a horse to water, but unlike his mum all those years ago, models and model flying are of little or no interest to him............oh well!

Thankfully, in the many years that I've been a member of various clubs, and during the past few decades where I've been privileged to help run clubs in various capacities, I've only known ONE case of a member being stripped of membership and removed from the club because of a very serious breach of club discipline. A number folks who disagreed with how things were being run, or that they didn't get their way in a democratic vote on an issue and they walked away, but only ONE individual who was actually sacked. Thankfully, most people are reasonable, and although it might ruffle a few feathers when decisions go against a minority view of something or the other, usually it's a storm in a teacup and things settle back down and are forgotten. Interestingly, some years ago, a proposal to change a certain way in which our club operated was put forward at our AGM,, and was on the face of it, agreed by all those present. One member disagreed and put up a very compelling case why the proposed change was not actually in the best interests of the club - it got us all thinking and the proposal was dropped.

This is so clear cut, I'm surprised that anyone would consider disregarding an obvious safety issue and one that could have the club thrown off the site if ignored. By your own description, models are at risk of overflying the Kart racers so that's that, no arguments, no grey area, no discussion............no flying on days that the Kart track is in use.....simples. My club sends an annual email calender to all members stating no-fly days when the field is CLOSED and another reminder to members a few days before the field is to be used by others and that the field will be CLOSED. Sometimes we get extra days because events are cancelled! System works well for us.

That is 100% correct, Brian. However, that responsibilty ensures that an individual flight within the confines of the 'safe environment' of a club site can be carried out without undue risk of an incident - I'm thinking in terms of equipment failure, personal fitness to fly, unairworthy airframe or inappropriate weather conditions etc. If that 'safe club environment' doesn't exist in the first place then all bets are off before we start. Lone flyers operating from a bit of openly accessible rough ground or parkland have to consider risks to uninvolved third parties every time they fly along with everything else. Common sense plays a big part along with the rule book of course.

Excellent. We obviously don't know your individual club's layout at the airfield, but the chances are you'll be able to carry on without a problem, maybe with some tweaking to how you operate such as extra no fly-zones when the carts are there. If you have to lose a day's flying now and then, it's not ideal but not the end of the world. My club loses a dozen or so weekends throughout the year because 'our' field is used by vehicle clubs, rough shooters etc with the permission of the land owner of course. We also had a model car club operating over the very far side of the field but we simply have their area as a no fly zone. It's never been a problem. Good luck and do keep us all informed of how you get on.

The basic regs for separation distances between model flying and uninvolved persons is a good starting point and can be found in section 8 of the BMFA guide to article 16. I guess that individual circumstances will dictate whether following separation distances will be enough to ensure as safe an operation as possibe, and further risk assessments may be needed. Again, BMFA are expert in this sort of stuff and will tailor their response to individual situations.

The existing rules and regs regarding model flying and public gatherings, sporting events etc are readily available so the need for lawyers etc shouldn't be needed. Likewise, dealing with club members who don't follow the directions of their committee can be dealt with under that club's existing rules. Equally, if a committee is felt by members to be exceeding its authority, then club democracy can be called upon to put the matter right.

I guess you can get into all sorts of legal knots about many issues regarding how a club can and cannot operate. As GG says your best point of call is the BMFA. For what it's worth, if your club committee has imposed a no fly day or days rule (my club does something similar because we share the field with other users from time to time) then your members are dutybound to follow those instructions, I'd have thought. Clearly a safety related issue that needs to be looked into fully, maybe after further consideration there is no safety problem and things can carry on as is. For the time being, members who defy the club's directive are IMHO in serious breach of club discipline.

Screw fixings for canopies wherever possible is my MO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evPZ-0UhL1E 😁

That is so true......the old "couple of rich tankfuls and it'll be fine" just doesn't work for some engines 😉 - even between different engines of the same make and type, I've discovered in the past. I recall an ASP 61 2st that really only came on song properly after an awful lot of running - probably a gallon or so of fuel through it.

Don't want to rain on your parade Toto, but Petrol Sparkies need just as much care in terms of installation, tuning and maintenance as any other model engine. As for being "more manageable all round" I'm afraid that I've seen the needle twiddlers and dead stick brigade just as busy with their petrol two strokes in my clubs. The carbs can be troublesome if not looked after, especially if left for extended periods without running - either gumming up or the diaphragms drying out. Might be worth using Aspen fuel rather than 'motor spirit' - more expensive, certainly, but no horrible odour and doesn't cause the issues that normal petrol does within model carbs. Good luck.