Container Robbed.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Very true cutting grass ain't rocket science, the professional does it for a living, that often times means his/her tools are likely to do a better job, they maintain/ store and the cuts superb, It's also likely a weighty lump so It's pretty much a given It's rolling as it cuts.

There's no expensive strage unit, no cameras, alarms needed, no, who's gonna do it if your club mate has problems, no insurance claims going in, no members linked to CCTV pondering "Do I go confront them, or wait for plod".

Negatives ? Well to cut our very large area, the whole field, not just a runway, we each pay in the region of £2 a cut, to me that's a no brainer.

[GrumpyGnome]

I can just imagine the comments we'd get if we proposed a £40p.a. increase in subs..... 🙂

 

Like I say, contract cutting works for some, but not all.  So far from a no-brainer in my opinion.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Yep, each to their own way.

We would love a clubhouse onsite, store tools,catering equipment, not a Cat in hells chance of that happening.

[Ron Gray]

9 hours ago, GrumpyGnome said:

 

In some areas, the scallies would sneak up behind it, steal the camera and panels and flig for £20 in their local

 

Cameras are mounted either end of the ridge of the hangar (yes we have 2)

[FlyinFlynn]

15 hours ago, Ron Gray said:

Cameras are mounted either end of the ridge of the hangar (yes we have 2)

Getting a clear, unambiguous, date and time stamped picture is one thing, getting plod to do anything with it is another and having the courts punish the perpetrators in an appropriate way is yet another and even if you manage all three of those it still doesn't get you your mower back.  No cameras are necessary to get a crime incident number for your insurance company, which is all 99.9% of the police will be interested in. 

 

[Ron Gray]

IMO the more information the better, hence why the police ask for video door camera footage if something happens close to your property.

[Engine Doctor]

I have no faith in the police ability or intension of tackling thefts of any sort. Some years ago I had a BMW 635 CSI . One night the front and rear screens were stolen. Yes they were etched with number . Yes it had an alarm but the theives kept triggering it until at around 2am I turned it off thinking there was a fault. Anyway police were informed and then a specialst unit  who dealt with high end car crime contacted me saying they would investigate. In the meantime a mate of mine noticed a similar car in the next village having work done on a driveway. He looked and the screen had my registration etched on it. The local police were informed and did absolutely nothing ! When I qustioned why they said they had passed it onto the specialist unit who inturn did nothing. Bloody useless. So look after yourselves and be lucky.

[Cuban8]

On 14/09/2024 at 18:06, GrumpyGnome said:

I can just imagine the comments we'd get if we proposed a £40p.a. increase in subs..... 🙂

 

Like I say, contract cutting works for some, but not all.  So far from a no-brainer in my opinion.

So less than a quid a week.....members transport costs to the field are likely to be more than that per trip.

 

[GrumpyGnome]

It's a 40% increase in subs.

 

An additional £40, as they'd still have to travel to the field. And the vast majority are pensioners.

 

That proposal just wouldn't fly.

 

Trust me, I know my club mates  better than you do 🙂

 

In fact, I could afford it, but I'd not vote for it.

 

Incidentally, we did previously use a contractor but moved away from it.

 

[Engine Doctor]

Our field cost £180 a cut for the outfield and was going to increase . We now let the outfield grow and have a friendly contractor who has livestock so he havests the hay for feed . Cost us zero , and he gets the hay . Only issue is the great British weather staying dry enough for long enough to get it harvested.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Using the £2 a cut I said, is likely a false figure for others, your field may be smaller, your contractor cheaper, our cuts mostly come to 16 = £32. And that gets the whole field cut, not a strip the whole field and you could play bowls on it, Why the whole field ? Simple, it's much better on misjudged landings and the contractor charges for a hour, so we get our moneys worth. Club fees £65.

[payneib]

11 minutes ago, john stones 1 - Moderator said:

 And that gets the whole field cut, not a strip the whole field and you could play bowls on it, Why the whole field ? Simple, it's much better on misjudged landings and the contractor charges for a hour, so we get our moneys worth. Club fees £65.

This is a discussion our club is currently having. I think we've got about 4 acres, we can only use two thin strips of it, and a circle. 

 

Lots of us have stopped taking our more precious models because it's not worth the loss to minor mistakes. 

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

19 minutes ago, payneib said:

This is a discussion our club is currently having. I think we've got about 4 acres, we can only use two thin strips of it, and a circle. 

 

Lots of us have stopped taking our more precious models because it's not worth the loss to minor mistakes. 

Ours was a short bit and what was termed a "Run off area" any overshoot, deadstick got stopped by this, and in most cases model damaged, back end or u/c, members love the change and never begrude the cost.

[Phil Green]

Nearly all of my models are hand-launch...  😁

[GrumpyGnome]

17 hours ago, payneib said:

Lots of us have stopped taking our more precious models because it's not worth the loss to minor mistakes. 

 

Presumably, the committee are aware, and have discussed the suggestions made by these members, allowing them to fly any and all of their models?

 

I'm being disengenuous. We had one suggestion of a very mimor tweak. As a committee, we thought a review of the entire layout was more appropriate. This is what was includes in the AGM agenda, and electronic voting.

 

A small group of volunteers is looking at this - you are welcome to be involved, and represent the members who feel they are restricted in what they can fly.

[Cuban8]

22 hours ago, GrumpyGnome said:

It's a 40% increase in subs.

 

An additional £40, as they'd still have to travel to the field. And the vast majority are pensioners.

 

That proposal just wouldn't fly.

 

Trust me, I know my club mates  better than you do 🙂

 

In fact, I could afford it, but I'd not vote for it.

 

Incidentally, we did previously use a contractor but moved away from it.

 

Oh trust me I know exactly how parsimonious some in the modelling world can be........I recall thirty years ago when I was on the committee of a now defunct club, the evening when we sat around a table to discuss the cost of an improved padlock for the field's gate - whether to spend a fiver or a tenner on a decent lock. Can't remember the outcome, but it was like having teeth drawn to listen to the others moaning about such a small amount being spent.

|My no means everone, but some club members do think that their club and its facilities are paid for out of thin air. Probably a 10% rise in our club subs this year so another twelve quid or so and I'd guess another fiver on top of that for a BMFA increase as well. Dig deep lads.........

I'm so envious of the clubs, particularly in the USA, that have  clearly spent a lot of money to give the very best for their members.

Edited September 19 by Cuban8

[Cuban8]

19 hours ago, john stones 1 - Moderator said:

Ours was a short bit and what was termed a "Run off area" any overshoot, deadstick got stopped by this, and in most cases model damaged, back end or u/c, members love the change and never begrude the cost.

Wow, four acres is tiny, both of my clubs are 20-25 Acres and even that seems a bit tight with some fast/heavy models. Obviously, the mown patch area is very much less.

[Cuban8]

On 15/09/2024 at 10:54, FlyinFlynn said:

Getting a clear, unambiguous, date and time stamped picture is one thing, getting plod to do anything with it is another and having the courts punish the perpetrators in an appropriate way is yet another and even if you manage all three of those it still doesn't get you your mower back.  No cameras are necessary to get a crime incident number for your insurance company, which is all 99.9% of the police will be interested in. 

 

Read today that a chap had the very expensive front and rear windscreens stolen from his equally expensive newish BMW. The glass was etched with his cars reg number. A family member spotted a similar model having it's glass replaced nearby and a while later and serruptitiously, went to have a look. Bingo..... same glass, same registration number etched......police informed and didn't want to know, apparently. Not at all encouraging.

Edited September 19 by Cuban8

[GrumpyGnome]

We're surrounded by fields on all sides. Landing from the East requires a careful descent over some small trees about 30 metres from the threshold..... and a mound of farm detritus.  From the West, you can start an approach from kilometers away 🙂

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

I am glad that I wasn't in your last club cuban8, we got thrown out or lost 4 model fields for different raisins, the last by an Ultralight club buying our field under our feet

We had a special club meeting where a motion was put forwards to charge the club members the usual 100€ plus another one off of 200€ as a non-refundable

down payment on a new field, only 2 members left to the 'other' club, and they did have the nerve to come back without paying the 200€, they were of course refused.

 

When we finally finished paying for the field we voted an option to repay the members, who decided not to recuperate the money and leave it in the kitty, see, not all the french are bad !😇

[payneib]

3 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

Wow, four acres is tiny, both of my clubs are 20-25 Acres and even that seems a bit tight with some fast/heavy models. Obviously, the mown patch area is very much less.

Flying at Buckminster on holiday, I popped out early morning before the control line guys got up for Nats. The "tiny little bit of runway" they didn't have circles coned out on was bigger than our whole field. 

 

We've got space to fly, over farmland, but the patch itself is small. If the scummy underbelly of society would let us, we could keep the mower up the field and just mow the whole thing, everyone doing a bit when they're up there. But as it stands, there's one member (the chairman) with space to store it, it needs towing up the field every time (here's a thought - younger members, under 40, depending on when they did their driving test, aren't necessarily legal to tow a ride on mower - like me - there's a consideration going forward for the sport), and is generally a bit of a logistical nightmare. 

 

Currently a bit of a conundrum. 

[Learner]

11 minutes ago, payneib said:

Flying at Buckminster on holiday, I popped out early morning before the control line guys got up for Nats. The "tiny little bit of runway" they didn't have circles coned out on was bigger than our whole field. 

 

We've got space to fly, over farmland, but the patch itself is small. If the scummy underbelly of society would let us, we could keep the mower up the field and just mow the whole thing, everyone doing a bit when they're up there. But as it stands, there's one member (the chairman) with space to store it, it needs towing up the field every time (here's a thought - younger members, under 40, depending on when they did their driving test, aren't necessarily legal to tow a ride on mower - like me - there's a consideration going forward for the sport), and is generally a bit of a logistical nightmare. 

 

Currently a bit of a conundrum. 

Dont know your circumstances  but the rules changed about towing a trailer and there not as restrictive as they were.

 

 

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

15 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

Wow, four acres is tiny,

Ours is 4.9 acres, the biggest in 25 years, and for us, it's massive.

[GrumpyGnome]

Size doesn't matter.................. so I've been told.

[J D 8 - Moderator]

      The need for trailer tests was done away with in 2021, reasoning for I do not know. However anyone can tow a non braked trailer with total loaded weight of up to 750kg.