Mowing

[Colin Bernard]

Our club is in the fortunate position of having three flying fields but of course that means 3 lots of mowing is required.

What we are finding is that despite a membership of 36, at the moment the mowing is being done by the same 4 or 5 people all the time which is obviously unfair and we are looking for ways to 'encourage' other members to take their share of the work.

So far suggestions have been to raise subs, but then offer a discount to members who mow; change the constitution to say that members are expected to mow; have formal mowing rotas.

How do other clubs handle this?

[The Wright Stuff]

One man went to mow...

[The Wright Stuff]

I suppose these days, it should be "one person went to mow..."

[Colin Bernard]

<groan>

[Engine Doctor]

Put subs up and pay someone to mow it. Rotas and promises that work . It will be the ones who never do the mowing who complain .

[Chris Walby]

IMO Use a carrot not a stick as some members may not be in a position (physically, mentally or employment) to carry out mowing duties.

We have a wide range of ability, willingness and competency when it comes to members using mowing equipment....I still can't quite understand why (when I was already flying my 33cc Yak ) a member started mowing the runway...where was I expected to land if not the runway?

[philip pember]

i mow our field as and when required, in summer its every week but as weather / seasons change mowing does as well, as a thank you for doing mowing and looking after mower [ retired mechanic ] i do not pay subs, it still costs me fuel to get to strip etc but think overall its a fair way ??.

[John Tee]

We have 4 regular mowers who volunteer mainly because we are retirees and have the time on a regular basis. Just so happens we are all on the committee. We only have the one field and are fortunate to have enough mowers to go round us all. Takes approx. 30 - 40 minutes each Friday. Decided this year to close the field for the morning on Fridays as we have had members turn up to fly at the same time. Some -not all - did offer to help.

John

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Lol.

We have this debate regular, you will get help from a handful, that's it, nothing will change the others, they PAY clubs fees and go to field to relax and unwind, not to work.

Our new mower came today, not a single reply when i put post on about it, up to now the clubs had use of mine, not a soul offered to store it (Can't do that, folk will expect me to do stuff).

And here we're only talking cutting the pit areas, the council does the field, but tables we put in means we have some to cut.

New mower. **LINK**

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I used to help out with the mowing quite regularly but we have 2 members who are almost impossible to prise off of the tractor's seat!

[Richard Acland]

We have a club member who looks after our sit on mower he also cuts the strip regularly. He recently renewed the mower deck which was quite rusty. He also gives it its winter service. It is something he likes doing and despite offers to cut the strip he is quite possesive of the machine. We are quite happy to leave him to it and make sure he gets a vote of thanks at the club AGM

[Robin Colbourne]

If mechanical equipment is involved, you want the minimum number of users possible. Familiarity with the equipment reduces the number of accidents and rate of damage to it.

A retired member who lives near the field is the best bet, and give them free membership and/or an agreed amount per mow. Clearly some backup, on pre agreed terms, is required if the primary nominated person is away, ill or otherwise committed.

Depending on the nature of the flying field surface its worth budgeting for a new blade, or at the very least, a professional sharpening and blade balance. Whether you rely on a suitably experienced club member to service the mower, or get this done professionally depends on who you have available and club funds. Servicing is best done at the end of the year, as demand is lower at the professional maintainers plus the mower is then cleaned of corrosive grass cuttings and sits with fresh oil in it though the winter.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

After much thought, A gun, vicious Dogs might be worth a try, If that feels a tad extreme, charge em and recover your costs for doing it.

It's often said "A thank you costs nothing" yup, and some won't even part with that.

[stu knowles]

Our group had a man with his own 7ft mower who quite enjoyed cutting the field, but it meant that we were totally reliant on one person. If he went on holiday, took ill etc, there was no sensible back up plan to keep the club going.

To ensure that the club would carry on come what may we have contracted out the grass cutting to a commercial operator. Grass cutting costs went up from £400 a year to £1000 and individual subs from £25 to £50.

I'm pleased to say that most people have stuck with the club despite the increase. he grass gets cut regularly, No member is being put upon and the future of the club does not hinge on the health and welfare of one person.

I call that a good result for the long term future of the club.

[kevin b]

We don't have a problem with grass cutting. Only the mess on the strip when they have finished.

[Brian Cooper]

Some clubs are luckier than others but, generally speaking, most clubs throughout the land struggle to find volunteers who are prepared (or able) to help out with any of the physical duties required to keep a site maintained.... and it is left to a usual handful of willing stalwarts to get stuck in.

In my clubs, we have rewarded some of these chaps with free membership for a year.

If the day ever dawns when nobody is prepared to volunteer their time, we will have to employ professional people to do the maintenance. . . . . . and the club subs will go up.

B.C.

[Peter Miller]

In our club two of us did the mowing with the secretary doing some and all the servicing on the mower.

At coming up to 83 I finally had to give up when after 1 1/2 hours on the mower I could hardly get off it.

No new colunteers yet.