David Campbell 5 Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 Cheers for the replies guys. Im from Wishaw , North Lanarkshire. I had a quick search yesterday and came across 3 basically , hamilton , shotts and uddingston also had a check to see if any had facebook pages etc to get an idea of which looked best but couldnt see anything. I do like the idea of joining a club , just wish there was one slightly closer to home due to no longer having my own transport and not being able to take public transport for various reasons. I do have a good few large open areas nearby such as fields , ash football pitches and a good few grass parks too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Do you have permission to fly from those "large open areas?" What would happen if your model hit someone else's property, a car for example, while you were flying from one of these places? Or worse still, what would happen if your model hit a person? I don't want to put you off but flying a model aeroplane is not as easy as it looks and many of us, including me, have only achieved what competence we have after years of flying at a club's site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Campbell 5 Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Dont need permission , the fields are abandoned land which use to get used for motorbikes etc , the ash parks are also never used and have a length totalling roughly 3/4 mile long by about a 1/4 mile wide ,the grass parks are regularly empty as well ... i feel i have plenty of room for a sports cub id imagine. Also no cars are visible and houses are a fair distance away. Im sorry but not everyone needs to join a club to be able to find an area to fly in. I have sent both hamilton and clyde view (shotts) clubs emails but im not holding my breath as shotts is a heli club and the members seem to be the older generation , preferably if i was to join a club it would have members around my age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Posted by David Campbell 5 on 23/07/2017 11:26:36: Dont need permission , the fields are abandoned land which use to get used for motorbikes etc , the ash parks are also never used and have a length totalling roughly 3/4 mile long by about a 1/4 mile wide ,the grass parks are regularly empty as well ... i feel i have plenty of room for a sports cub id imagine. Also no cars are visible and houses are a fair distance away. Im sorry but not everyone needs to join a club to be able to find an area to fly in. I have sent both hamilton and clyde view (shotts) clubs emails but im not holding my breath as shotts is a heli club and the members seem to be the older generation , preferably if i was to join a club it would have members around my age. a) There is no such thing as "abandoned land" someone owns it.... b) If its surrounded by trees be aware that wind conditions/directions can be very different above and below the treeline - can catch you out when you are taking off and climbing out with litter energy spare c) Be aware of the legal requirements that are mandated under CAP658 **LINK** d) Whilst its not a legal requirement (yet) think carefully about the consequences of flying without 3rd party insurance (its cheap enough £29) via someone like the Scottish Aeromodellers Association as either a club member or as a independent country member **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Campbell 5 Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Cheers for the reply dave , you are correct the land is owned by a housing development company (taylor whimpy) but has lay abandoned for years due to it being unsuitable for being built on and also due to asbestos etc being dumped there. I used to go up on my mx bike regularly , its literally always empty except when the local farmer decides to cut the grass for his own uses. I live in wishaw which is essentially surrounded by open land , fields , old golfcourses. Finding a suitable area honestly will not be a problem. I had not thought about wind being different below and above tree lines thats an excellent point. Im normally a slow and calculated person (not slow as in dumb , i know you were thinking it ! Lol) so obviously will be taking baby steps.if i hear back from the flight club great if not ... meh. I also got mixed up with the club in uddingston its not its in cumbernauld which is totally out of the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 You do not need permission to over fly someone's land (contary to what many members of the general public think). You do however need the landowner's permission to take off and/or land on their property - that is a legal requirement - not just politness! You would be very well advised to seek assistance with your flying. As others have pointed out, it looks easy, it isn't! Finally, in my opinion, it would be extremely foolish to fly without insurance - even in circumstances where the perceived likelihood of accidents involving people/property is small - it is never zero. Consider the fact that one accident could be truely "life changing" for you. There have been insurance payouts in connection with accidents arising out of model flying of upto £4M - imagine if that liability were just yours to bear - with no insurance. Do you have £4M worth of assets? If so you won't after that! And assuming you don't - how are you planning to address this possibility? For the ridiculously low cost insurance is a "no-brainer". BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Campbell 5 Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Cheers Biggles the land owners would have no issues with me using the land , hell theyve been allowing people to tear it up with mx bikes , quads , buggies etc for years with no issue so id imagine the plane wont be a problem. Like i say ive emailed the 2 clubs nearby , they dont have facebook pages or any other form of contact so its just a case of waiting to see as the shotts club looks to be of the older generation which is fine but i'd much rather a club with members of my age group. If i join a club i'll get insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted hughes Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Does the BMFA insurance cover you if you fly from parks or other areas not designated as flying clubs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 It covers you for liability arising from any legitimate modelling activity. It will not cover you for anything arising from an illegal act. I believe this means that should you deliberately try to harm somebody by flying a model into them as a weapon you're on your own but informed legal opinion would be needed if an insurer declined a claim because you were operating from land without permission, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Campbell 5 Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 This may sound daft but do you not need to go anywhere to prove you can fly in a safe manner etc ? ( brother had to do this for drifting insurance) i thought this wouldve been the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 No - the insurance is freely avilable, no test needed. All you have to do is go to the BMFA website, pay your £32 and you're insured. The insurance covers you for any legal model flying anywhere in the UK. You can also (I believe) get an extension to the cover to fly abroad - in some counries at least - but you need to apply for that I think. BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Campbell 5 Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Okay good to know then , cheers ill look into it a bit more shortly. The plane should arrive this week as should all my other bits and bobs so i cant wait. Its a shame that there is literally no model/hobby shops nearby as that wouldve been a good way to get to know more people in the area who do it too but the nearest one is in glasgow or edinburgh (im basically right in between the 2) so that sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
og Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 there are clubs in motherwell, hamilton and lanark - **LINK** there is a model shop in uddingston Edited By og on 23/07/2017 15:03:56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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