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Posted by Michael Adams 3 on 07/11/2019 14:16:16:

Can some one please clarify something for me, if we have the two CAA numbers

the OP & FLY. When we renew with the BMFA do we have to have an A or B

test pass, or can we still renew as we are with just the insurance.

If you have both numbers no BMFA certificates are required to meet CAA requirements. Just renew your BMFA membership as nornal to be insured and receive all the other benefits.

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Hi Michael if you have a read of the last couple of news items on the BMFA website it should all become clear. The BMFA also sent an email to all members who have given them an email address. Also if you visit the CAA drones page of their website it explains all including the various exemptions.

Edited By Chris Berry on 07/11/2019 15:26:21

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We had our committee meeting last night which raised a couple of questions for clarification.

I have been volunteered to collect £9.00 from members.

1. I have yet to establish who cheques are made out to for £9.00?

2. We are going to make it a club rule that all flying members either take the on line test if required and pay £9.00.

3 I am led to believe that the BMFA insurance and the £9.00 are not linked in any way?

4. We have already started collecting subs, so the £9.00 per head will be a seperate issue.

We are not going to rush into this, but hopefully a smooth transition into our club being fully integrated into the system!.

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Posted by Steve J on 08/11/2019 08:42:19:
Posted by SIMON CRAGG on 08/11/2019 07:15:45:

I have been volunteered to collect £9.00 from members.

So, instead of your club simply telling your members to go the the CAA website and register, the following is going to happen:

  • your members will each give you a cheque;
  • you will keep records as to who has given you a cheque;
  • you will pay the cheques into the bank;
  • you will tick a box in the BMFA membership system for each member who has given you a cheque;
  • you will send the money that you have collected to the BMFA;
  • the BMFA will then check that everything is correct, extract the data from the membership system and send it and the money to the CAA;
  • the CAA will send each of the people who gave you a cheque an email with their OP number.

Steve

Edited By Steve J on 08/11/2019 08:45:42

Seems a very concise reply as usual winkSteve,

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Posted by SIMON CRAGG on 08/11/2019 07:15:45:

We had our committee meeting last night which raised a couple of questions for clarification.

I have been volunteered to collect £9.00 from members.

1. I have yet to establish who cheques are made out to for £9.00?

2. We are going to make it a club rule that all flying members either take the on line test if required and pay £9.00.

3 I am led to believe that the BMFA insurance and the £9.00 are not linked in any way?

4. We have already started collecting subs, so the £9.00 per head will be a seperate issue.

We are not going to rush into this, but hopefully a smooth transition into our club being fully integrated into the system!.

I would think the £9 would be to the BMFA, they'll pass it on electronically maybe. Good to see someone moving on positively. yes

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I have to wonder why BMFA (or similar) members and affiliated clubs are rushing to register - the situation is still fluid and (so far, and hopefully ongoing - touch balsa) each recent negotiation has resulted in realistic concessions for association members.

If clubs have early AGMs and have missed the boat, this year should be a "one off" and the extra effort if they decide to collect and process registration payments separately won't need to be repeated once the system is up and running properly.

Simon, I assume the rationale is that by collecting the money from members this gives you confidence that they will all have registered? Otherwise, it would be far simpler for this year to simply send out guidance to your members on how to apply and maybe ask them to provide their operator's numbers if you want to record them.

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The one possible advantage for registering via the BMFA rather than direct with the CAA is that there may be scope for negotiating some form of group discount in the future maybe? Other than that, it would appear far easier and quicker to register directly with the CAA.

Our AGM is mid November (as usual) and I would assume that similar arrangements to Simon's above will be briefed and discussed. I also assume that the BMFA will have announced their renewal fee (as usual) and clarified the insurance situation by then. Very little point collecting the £9 before the renewal fee is announced as it only makes sense paying via the BMFA if the two fees and operator registration opt in / opt out data are processed together. The other issue about clubs collecting fees is that some members may prefer to pay their fees directly to BMFA/CAA rather than via the club.

Edited By Gary Manuel on 08/11/2019 11:44:18

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As Webmaster for my club, I have started to consider what textual changes I need to make for the benefit of prospective new members visiting our website. I have experimented with numerous forms of words (not yet posted on the website) to make the legal requirement to register and take a test seem as innoccuous and painless as possible. However my personal conclusion is that however it is worded, this legislation is going to prove to be a disastrous disincentive for newcomers to get involved in our wonderrful hobby. It's not just the annual £9.00, it's also a pair of legal hoops to jump through and a hassle during which the possibility of legal penalties is raised. If I were a potential newbie considering model flying as a hobby, it would undoubtedly put me off.

That said, I think all clubs need to make it crystal clear that obedience to the law is a personal and individual obligation, and that in no way can the club be implicated in or liable for non-compliance by any member or visitor to the Club. Whether a club wishes to police the regulations is a matter for them, but in doing so they need to be careful not to be, or appear to be, in any way complicit or negligent in any situation involving a member or visitor who has bypassed or otherwise dodged the club's vetting processes and failed to comply.

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Posted by Romeo Whisky on 08/11/2019 11:49:39:

As Webmaster for my club, I have started to consider what textual changes I need to make for the benefit of prospective new members visiting our website. I have experimented with numerous forms of words (not yet posted on the website) to make the legal requirement to register and take a test seem as innoccuous and painless as possible. However my personal conclusion is that however it is worded, this legislation is going to prove to be a disastrous disincentive for newcomers to get involved in our wonderrful hobby. It's not just the annual £9.00, it's also a pair of legal hoops to jump through and a hassle during which the possibility of legal penalties is raised. If I were a potential newbie considering model flying as a hobby, it would undoubtedly put me off.

That said, I think all clubs need to make it crystal clear that obedience to the law is a personal and individual obligation, and that in no way can the club be implicated in or liable for non-compliance by any member or visitor to the Club. Whether a club wishes to police the regulations is a matter for them, but in doing so they need to be careful not to be, or appear to be, in any way complicit or negligent in any situation involving a member or visitor who has bypassed or otherwise dodged the club's vetting processes and failed to comply.

You also need to abide by the terms of your lease/landlord, so careful thought before decisions get made.

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I will be collecting the nine quid as part of the club's & BMFA renewal payments in early December. I think it's highly likely that a tick box will be on the renewal portal that will CAA register the member....no exams for 'A' certs, easy to sort the non-'A' holders by the sound of it - a few minutes on a smart phone over the field or club night .....job done. The extra nine quids collected will just go with the rest of the payments as usual - BMFA will sort the rest......easy. Just another column needed on my own spreadsheet. I can already check members' BMFA status of those that join via another club, so I'd think their CAA registration will show as well.

We're not messing about - rules changed to require all members to CAA register. Majority via our club or through their lead club. No country members on the books which simplifies things even more.

No CAA/BMFA, No membership, No fly.

Suck it up lads.........worried about nine quid? you 'aint seen nothing yet if all this doesn't die a death.

Edited By Cuban8 on 08/11/2019 12:12:22

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"That said, I think all clubs need to make it crystal clear that obedience to the law is a personal and individual obligation, and that in no way can the club be implicated in or liable for non-compliance by any member or visitor to the Club."

Insurance / personal liability are another consideration.

BMFA still to clear that one up I understand.

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Posted by Nigel R on 08/11/2019 12:00:14:

"That said, I think all clubs need to make it crystal clear that obedience to the law is a personal and individual obligation, and that in no way can the club be implicated in or liable for non-compliance by any member or visitor to the Club."

Insurance / personal liability are another consideration.

BMFA still to clear that one up I understand.

Depends what you mean by that, as a club all members must be insured, as a club all must follow conditions of our lease and fly legally, so as club guardians/committee, you have a responsibility to protect the club.

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Who will police the system?. If I am NOT a member of a club and fly only gliders at various "unregistered" sites in my locality what then?. Will Mr Policeman make the 2 mile hike to where I am flying "just in case" ?. Will a retailer who sells a drone / model to a punter be required to take his/her name and address so that a check can be made or will he/she have to show a certificate to prove compliance before they are allowed to purchase a drone/model/fuel/lipo/speed controller or any other item that could be used in flying an un-maned aircraft?. What about balsa and covering materials??.

Do I take it that when entering the UK a Drone or other un-manned aircraft will now be on a proscribed list and subject to confiscation until the necessary paperwork can be produced?. As a shooter I well remember all the restriction introduced in the wake of shootings but they still have not stopped. I assume all these restrictions are to prevent incidents like Gatwick etc. While I applaud any such measures it seems that, once again, it will be the law abiding citizens who will be penalised, do the authorities really think that if I was going to buzz an airport I would register and display an identification number before I did so. I don't think so. surprise

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Posted by john stones 1 on 08/11/2019 12:19:26:
Posted by Nigel R on 08/11/2019 12:00:14:

"That said, I think all clubs need to make it crystal clear that obedience to the law is a personal and individual obligation, and that in no way can the club be implicated in or liable for non-compliance by any member or visitor to the Club."

Insurance / personal liability are another consideration.

BMFA still to clear that one up I understand.

 

Depends what you mean by that, as a club all members must be insured, as a club all must follow conditions of our lease and fly legally, so as club guardians/committee, you have a responsibility to protect the club.

This is what BMFA have to say about that in their bulletin dated 23rd October:

11.Compliance with the Registration/Competency requirements is largely a matter for individual members and as such we would not expect Clubs to automatically assume responsibility for policing it, though of course some may choose to do so (perhaps to assist those members wishing to comply who do not have access to the internet or in order to comply with local operating requirements such as FRZ permissions for example).

I doubt very much whether the land lease says anything about registration, but you are quite right that it needs to be studied to read the fine print. With regard to the insurance, the BMFA are still in discussion with the insurers.

Edited By Gary Manuel on 08/11/2019 13:02:06

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Posted by SIMON CRAGG on 08/11/2019 11:27:46:

We want to be proactive and ahead of the game with this. For the good and benefit of our club, and our members, we are going to instigate the procedure as adopted by Steve above. Keeps it simple, and neat and tidy. We have an excellent procedure for this sort of thing, so no big deal really.

I'm struggling to understand why it wouldn't be simpler and easier to collect the £9 payment in conjunction with your club subscription/BMFA payments. No separate cheques involved and no extra workload...

The next meeting with the CAA is scheduled before the BMFA AGM so things should be much clearer in just after a week's time along with confirmation of next year's BMFA fees.

Edited By Martin Harris on 08/11/2019 12:56:47

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Posted by Martin Harris on 08/11/2019 12:53:50:
Posted by SIMON CRAGG on 08/11/2019 11:27:46:

We want to be proactive and ahead of the game with this. For the good and benefit of our club, and our members, we are going to instigate the procedure as adopted by Steve above. Keeps it simple, and neat and tidy. We have an excellent procedure for this sort of thing, so no big deal really.

I'm struggling to understand why it wouldn't be simpler and easier to collect the £9 payment in conjunction with your club subscription/BMFA payments. No separate cheques involved and no extra workload...

I doubt whether the BMFA would be able or willing to process the registration prior to receiving next years fees.

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