The Gov't, CAA, BMFA & UAV legislation thread

[cymaz]

Posted by SIMON CRAGG on 17/11/2019 04:01:44:

As club sec. my job has been to collect the £9.00 per head from our 40 or so members. So far, not one member has whinged about it, and I have collected virtually all of it ready to send off. The competence test has turned out to be a non event, with several trainees having already gained their pass certificate. Non-event really.

Exactly

[cymaz]

We could have been charged for the flying test as well 

Edited By cymaz on 17/11/2019 05:58:39

[leccyflyer]

Posted by SIMON CRAGG on 17/11/2019 04:01:44:

As club sec. my job has been to collect the £9.00 per head from our 40 or so members. So far, not one member has whinged about it, and I have collected virtually all of it ready to send off. The competence test has turned out to be a non event, with several trainees having already gained their pass certificate. Non-event really.

I'm struggling to understand why you would have collected the £9 registration fee from your members before the BMFA AGM and BMFA subscriptions for 2020 have been set? What is the rush? The BMFA advice has been to wait until this is settled and to follow their recommended procedure in renewing alongside your membership renewal.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[SIMON CRAGG]

Posted by leccyflyer on 17/11/2019 08:28:02:

Posted by SIMON CRAGG on 17/11/2019 04:01:44:

As club sec. my job has been to collect the £9.00 per head from our 40 or so members. So far, not one member has whinged about it, and I have collected virtually all of it ready to send off. The competence test has turned out to be a non event, with several trainees having already gained their pass certificate. Non-event really.

I'm struggling to understand why you would have collected the £9 registration fee from your members before the BMFA AGM and BMFA subscriptions for 2020 have been set? What is the rush? The BMFA advice has been to wait until this is settled and to follow their recommended procedure in renewing alongside your membership renewal.

Dont struggle with it fella. Its a no brainer!. Our subs were due earlier than most at our AGM in October, so collected prior to the confirmed £9.00 registration and the suggested £4.00 BMFA hike which we are absorbing. Simples. Relevant members getting on with the CAA test, without any issues.

[Simon Chaddock]

Is there not a danger that the things will get administratively rather complex if the BMFA negotiate an arrangement with the CAA for January 2020 yet some club members have proceeded to register on their own?

[Keith Berriman]

May be a little of topics but saw a TV shopping channel last night selling Drones at £99 but what was interesting and I missed the full link was referring to the Drone Agency for guidance

[Glyn44]

I only fly electric fixed wing and I’m wondering if it would be acceptable for me to display my CAA registration number on my battery’s. Either using a permanent marker pen or a self adhesive label on a visible side of the lipo. So if I made sure that each and every battery had my correct ID surely that would that suffice as the id number is constant and does not change with the aircraft. I can’t get airborne without battery power. ( my gliders are all powered as well)

What do you think? Or does it have to be displayed externally?

[Bob Cotsford]

Posted by Glyn44 on 17/11/2019 10:16:35:

I only fly electric fixed wing and I’m wondering if it would be acceptable for me to display my CAA registration number on my battery’s.

there speaks a man who has never lost a battery in flight ! Inside the battery compartment should be ok, but it does say 'on the main body' etc.

[cymaz]

It does say on the aircraft. Write the number on the batteries with a sharpie. If you lipo goes up in smoke,so does the number...can’t trace that.

[PeterF]

Posted by leccyflyer on 17/11/2019 08:28:02:

I'm struggling to understand why you would have collected the £9 registration fee from your members before the BMFA AGM and BMFA subscriptions for 2020 have been set?

Has anyone any info yet on what the BMFA fee was set at yesterday. The proposed budget had them set at the same as this year.

[Andy Symons - BMFA]

Posted by PeterF on 17/11/2019 11:31:08:

Posted by leccyflyer on 17/11/2019 08:28:02:

I'm struggling to understand why you would have collected the £9 registration fee from your members before the BMFA AGM and BMFA subscriptions for 2020 have been set?

Has anyone any info yet on what the BMFA fee was set at yesterday. The proposed budget had them set at the same as this year.

Same as last year. There is an option of a plastic credit card sized membership card that comes with various discount and savings options at quite a lot of retailers too. More details on that very soon

[cymaz]

Posted by Andy Symons - BMFA on 17/11/2019 11:34:44:

Posted by PeterF on 17/11/2019 11:31:08:

Posted by leccyflyer on 17/11/2019 08:28:02:

I'm struggling to understand why you would have collected the £9 registration fee from your members before the BMFA AGM and BMFA subscriptions for 2020 have been set?

Has anyone any info yet on what the BMFA fee was set at yesterday. The proposed budget had them set at the same as this year.

Same as last year. There is an option of a plastic credit card sized membership card that comes with various discount and savings options at quite a lot of retailers too. More details on that very soon

I like that idea

[will -0]

Another Cotswold outdoor discount?

[CARPERFECT]

Is anyone on here on their committee of their club ? If yes and the club own any planes, have you decided who`s registration number you are to put on ? Or if the club will be applying for it`s own number, someone has to be the responsible person, Who is that going to be?

[PeterF]

We are currently thinking about this, the choice is either me as club secretary, who will never use them or one of the club instructors, because they are the ones who look after and use them. Secondly, if you register as the club, then the person who completes the registration becomes the de facto responsible person, so someone personally who does not have anything to do with the models may become responsible.

See CAA link

[MattyB]

Just come up with a solution that allows the Op number of the current pilot to be added - a laminated card that can be written on with a dry wipe and placed inside, or maybe all instructors have a printed card each that can be affixed to the outside in some way. I’m sure there are other good options too.

[PeterF]

Posted by MattyB on 17/11/2019 19:42:25:

Just come up with a solution that allows the Op number of the current pilot to be added - a laminated card that can be written on with a dry wipe and placed inside, or maybe all instructors have a printed card each that can be affixed to the outside in some way. I’m sure there are other good options too.

Laminate card with number on and velcro strip on the fuselage and back of the card. It's a trainer so we do not need to be too worried about affecting the scale outline. Personally, I would prefer the trainer on the day to have their ID on it.

[John Privett]

I have already emailed this question to Andy, but appreciate he's probably snowed-under with questions at the moment... I am sure the answer to this will be useful for other clubs;

I’ve just had a call from our club chairman on his way back from a BMFA Area meeting, and he raised a question from what was discussed at that meeting.

If our club members wish to renew their BMFA membership through our club, and be registered as an ‘operator’, then we were expecting to be able to do both the renewal and the operator registration on the club GoMembership portal for them – having, of course, got their consent for you to pass their data on to the CAA.

Our chairman has come away from the meeting with the impression that in order to register as an operator, the individual member has to logon to the GoMembership portal and tick a box giving consent for their details to be passed to the CAA. That would of course prevent me from doing so on their behalf.

Are you able to clarify this?

So, can Andy - or anyone else please clarify?

[Andy Symons - BMFA]

Will be catching up with emails in the morning. Had a day away from the PC today.

[Chris Berry]

Is there likely to be the possibility of an exemption issued to association members in the future re. labelling, as I understand the position is now that no tools should be used to gain access to a number, obviously aimed at fly-away drones.

Will the BMFA et.al be pushing for an exemption in this regard? An external label on an oily wot4 that is wiped down, gets wet etc is not likely to last very long. Whilst its a relatively minor issue, it is something that many IC modellers will find an issue over the course of a few months flying, as decals often peel and erode.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Especially the case on a well flown and lubricated existing model being labelled retrospectively - and of course, the CAA advice is not to make the marking too permanent due to the unknown forthcoming EASA legislation!

Edited By Martin Harris on 18/11/2019 00:00:14

[Chris Berry]

Indeed Martin. Don't memorise your number, as you'll probably have a new one in 6 months time and/or in 12 months time. I think the rush by the government to implement a scheme only 6 months prior to EASA was a rather critical and costly error.

This numbering and labelling situation is going to get messy i fear. And as you say, an old oily model with no hatches is going to need a whole wad of stickers that will need replacing after every flight. Lets hope an exemption is forthcoming that allows association members to put a label on the inside, or an amendment to the requirements to allow a flat blade or cross head screwdriver access.

[leccyflyer]

I think people are rather over-thinking the labelling thing. Practically everyone posting here has access to a computer, or at least to a biro and sticky label. For many years I printed a label with my email address and telephone number which was placed inside the model and on one occasion resulted in the return of a battery hatch from miles away. Quite a few of them still have that printed label inside. Anyone capable of getting a model aeroplane into the air ought not be defeated by being required to put a small label inside their model, in a manner accessible to anyone with a screwdriver.

If your model has a removable wing, then it has a place to attach a label inside - similarly if it has any sort of battery hatch or access to a fuel tank. You must be able to get at the radio and servos for maintenance, surely? The only models that I can think of in my own fleet that weight more than 250g and don't have space inside for a label are a couple of flying wings and an EPP Eurofighter.

For those a piece of white plastic 6mm high by however long it needs to fit the number would allow that to be written in with a felt tip pen, A wipe with isopropanol and new number added whenever necessary would seem to fit the bill.

[cymaz]

If the CAA could define what a special tool is or isn’t , that might clear up some confusion