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20 December 2009 Its Christmas.....! It is now less than a week to Christmas 2010 and I hope you have all got your orders in with Santa for that new N5 or Rave 90. I expect I will be getting my usual socks. On behalf of the committee I would like to wish you all a really festive Christmas and a happy new year. I have listed below the field opining times over the Christmas holiday:- Thursday 24 December - 10:00 - 17:00 Finally this is your last reminder to pay your £50 subs and £29 for BMFA, where applicable, for 2010 if they are still due. Renewals are to be made by 31st December. All members will have received a renewal form in the post. If you have not received the form or have lost it you can download one from the membership page. Any renewals received after 1st January will be subject to a payment of the club joining fee unless there have been exceptional circumstances which have prevented payment.. ===================================================================================== 14 November 2009 It's Renewal Time Again !!! The AGM was held as scheduled on Tuesday 10th November. The meeting started at 20:05 and concluded at 22:50 with a very short 'comfort' break around halfway through. There were 23 club members in attendance of which 9 were committee members. This is an increase of 1 over last year, still disappointing for a club with well over 100 members. For the majority of members I am sure the most important item discussed will be the cost of renewing membership. I am please to advise that the cost will remain fixed at the rates of the past two years, being £50 for ordinary membership, £25 for senior or junior membership. If you renew your BMFA membership through the club this will be going up £1 to £29 (£16 for junior members). For new members wishing to join the joining fee has also remained at last years level of £60. Renewal forms and details will be sent out shortly but you may Click here to download a membership renewal form if you wish. Please remember that current club membership runs out on 31st December 2008 and it is vital that you have renewed by that date. This year any late renewals, i.e. received after 1st January, will be subject to the £60 joining fee. Our new secretary, Ian Myler Fallar, will be sending out the renewal paperwork but if you have any questions then please contact him by e-mail (preferably) or telephone (07736 047794) to update their details. This year there was a further change to the committee with the deletion of the Events Officer post. There were two nominations for Chair and three for Ordinary Member, all other posts only received one nomination. The results of the voting is indicated. :-
If you fancy having a go at organising the newsletter then please contact either Ian or Ali and let you interest be known. I am very please to announce that the Les Davis cup has this year been awarded to Dave Davies. The cup is awarded annually to the member whom the committee consider contributed the most to helping the smooth running of the club over the year. Dave freely joined in at every possible opportunity to assist without having to be asked. For instance at the Scale Day Dave was seen directing the parking and later in the day helping with the food and drinks. Well done Dave. As last year there will only be one organised BBQ per month during the summer. These will be held on the first Tuesday of the month commencing in May (to be confirmed, watch this space). This BBQ will be free of charge to club members. There will still be a meeting at the field on the Third Tuesday of the month and members are more than welcome to take their own food and use the BBQ facilities if they wish. ===================================================================================== 20 October 2009 Important Club Information As noted in my last site update this years AGM has been arranged for Tuesday 10 November 2009. As normal the AGM is to be held at the Olympic Center, Swanley, Kent but this year we will be using the Hendry Room. The meeting is due to commence at 19:30 so please be prompt. This year we have decided to reduce the committee by one post that of the Events Officer. As required by our constitution the committee will be standing down at the meeting. The current committee have all expressed their willingness to stand again with the exception of Rowland. I have shown the committee posts below along with the names of those currently in post :-
If any member wishes to be considered for a post on the committee they must state their interest to the Club Secretary in good time prior to the meeting. This year a raffle will be held during the evening with tickets available at £1 each on the door. Amongst the prizes there will be a Phoenix flight simulator. If for no other reason it will be worth attending for the raffle. ===================================================================================== 9 September 2009 A day of ups and downs ... The 2009 Eynsford Model Heli Club scale fly-in was held on Sunday, 6th September. I am really pleased to say that the weather gods smiled down on us and provided a break from the recent strong winds and showers, providing a light breeze and sunshine. I am even more pleased to report that there were over 30 models in attendance ranging from 450 size electric to giant turbine machines. There was some great flying to be seen to compliment the diverse selection of well presented models. From what I was told everybody had a great day and enjoyed the relaxed, informal nature of the event. Everybody that is except Len Mount who lost his magnificent Westland Scout late in the day during a demonstration flight. It was tragic to witness the loss of such a detailed model, but that is the risk we take each time we fly. I will be posting photographs taken at the event on the Pictures pages just as soon as I find time to process the images. In the mean time here is a view of the pits early in the day, click on image for larger version.
I would like to thank all the companies and shops, listed below in no particular order, who made donations to our raffle which helped fund the day. Any surplus monies after everything has been paid will be donated to the Kent Air Ambulance Service:- Climb-Out Ltd Results of the scale day:- Finally I would like to thank the committee and the club members who put in so much effort in making this such a great day. Roll on next year. Club Information A committee meeting was held on 8th September. The date for this years AGM has been set as 10 November 2009 to be held in the Wentworth Room at the Olympic Center, Swanley, Kent as normal. The meeting is due to commence at 19:30. Please make a note in your diary. A raffle will be held during the evening. ===================================================================================== 12 August 2009 Perfection in Miniature ...! It is fast approaching the Eynsford Model Heli Club scale fly-in. As noted on the Events Page this years fly-in is to be held on Sunday September 6th at the club field. All scale models, and their pilots(!!!) are welcome to come along. There will be around seven classes judged during the course of the day in a very laid back and informal manner. Classes are to include best military, best civil, etc. In addition to the informal classes there will be a more formalised class to contest the Len Mount trophy. Len will be attending to assist in the judging of this class and to present the trophy. I am sure Len will also be bringing along one or two of his models to show the rest of us what can be achived....if you are a genius. If the day is half as good as it was last year we are in for a good time. Due to parking limitations we, unfortunately, cannot open this event up to the public as much as we would like. However if you would like to attend then please let me know. There will be toilet facilities on site for the day and you will be able to indulge in a hamburger or two with a hot or cold drink for small donations to the club. There is no entry fee for pilots or models. Flying will be 'off the peg' from four designated flight stations. You will simply need to queue at your desired station and wait your turn. A transmitter control will be operated for 35Mhz transmitters. All transmitters are to be presented to Tx control prior to the start of flying, but 2.4Ghz Tx's will be handed back to the pilots. Flying will commence at 10:00 and will finish at 16:00. There will be a pilot briefing held no later than 09:30 before flying commences. As in the past directions to the event will be sign posted from the junction of the A20/M20/M25. If you would like a map showing the club field please drop me a line and I will send one through to you. I would ask that for all those intending on coming along they drive with the utmost care along the lane leading to the field. For Eynsford club members only, there will be limited opportunities for flying from two stations out over the 'big field'. Club Information A committee meeting was held on 11th August. It was felt some clarity was needed on flying etiquette on the field. There are five flying stations marked by two cones and a paving slab buried in the ground. Pilots should only stand at one of these designated flight stations. When flying, pilots are to consider their fellow club members. Models on one flight station should not be over flown by one from an adjacent station. If you are flying over a wide area, say up and down the length of the field and another member comes out to fly you should reduce the area you are using. Likewise the pilot going out to fly should wait until he is sure the other pilot has noticed his presence before commencing flight. Finally, the first flying station (closets to the entrance road) is primarily for beginners or the less confident. Models using this location are not to be flown above tree height at any time. ===================================================================================== 8 June 2009 Fare thee well ...! Firstly let me apologise for not updating the site for ages. Entirely my fault due to work commitments, but I do have to pay for the helis somehow. There has been a major change in the last month in that Mark Turner our club secretary has had to stand down from his post. I would like to publicly thank Mark on behalf of the committee and the club membership for all the hard work he has put in over the last two years. As many will know the clubs administration was in a 'little disarray' when he took over the post, Mark has completely turned this around and set-up some great systems to ensure we are on top of everything. Once again, thank you Mark The secretarial reigns have been taken up by a long standing club member, Dave Goss [long standing = old]. I will be getting a photo of him to add to the Contacts and About pages soon, but most will know him for the large red "Huey" that he regularly fly's. I am sure Dave's experience will keep us all in check and on the right path. Please note the Secretary's e-mail address has changed, the link on the Contacts page has been updated. I am sorry to have to report that membership is now closed. The field is very active at weekends and some great flying is to be seen. If you are interested in joining us then you can still complete an application form which will be held on a waiting list until a space becomes available. Please remember that the first Tuesday of the month is the club barbeque evening. These are free for all club members. Last week was a great evening and only a handful of us turned up. Come down and have a burger, put the world to rights and have a fly. Now a personal message. I am desperate for some photographs to update the site. I see many cameras on the field so if you would like your photographic masterpieces immortalised on this site e-mail them to me. ====================================================================================== 15 February 2009 Come and join us...! I am pleased to report that the club is accepting applications to join from prospective new members. As is normal with most model flying clubs there is a turn over of members at renewal time. If you would like to join us we currently have a few spaces available. New memberships will be offered on a strictly first come first served basis. The clubs flying site is in north west Kent not far from Brands Hatch, just outside Eynsford. You will find us a friendly, welcoming bunch with a wide knowledge base and a great deal of experience. If you are just starting out what better way to get all that help. Its far better to have somebody actually show you how something should be done rather than read it in a forum where the solution could well have been posted by someone who may not even have flown a heli. Yes I have seen it done. The club has wide ranging interests from gentle sport flying through scale to out and out 3D. We have a buoyant beginners section, so if you are starting out you would not be on your own. The only limitation we have is that the field is not suitable for the wide and high turn-round style of flying used in F3C competitions. If you would like to submit an application go to the Membership page, download an application form and return it to our secretary. If you would first like to come and see the field and meet the rabble, err, I mean members contact our secretary who will give you directions to the field. ================================================================================== 23 November 2008 It's Renewal Time Again !!! The AGM was held as scheduled on Tuesday 11th November. The meeting started at 20:20 and concluded at 22:45 with a very short 'comfort' break about halfway through. There were 22 club members in attendance of which 9 were committee members. For most members I am sure one of the most important items will be the cost of renewing membership. I am please to advise that the cost will remain fixed at last years rates, being £50 for ordinary membership, £25 for senior or junior membership and an additional £28 if you renew your BMFA membership through the club. Please remember that current club membership runs out on 31st December 2008 and it is vital that you have renewed by that date. This year any late renewals, i.e. received after 1st January, will be subject to the £60 joining fee. Our secretary, Mark Turner, will be sending out the renewal paperwork but if you have any questions then please contact him by e-mail (preferably) or telephone (05602 342281) to update their details. There were a few changes made to the committee with the deletion of the Training Officer post and the introduction of a Groundsman post. The following members were voted in as indicated:-
The only other change of note concerned the barbeque evenings. This year there will only be one organised BBQ per month which will happen on the first Tuesday commencing in May (to be confirmed). This BBQ will be free of charge to club members. There will still be a meeting at the field on the Third Tuesday of the month and members are more than welcome to take their own food and use the BBQ facilities if they wish. =================================================================================== 30 October 2008 OK who turned the heating off ? The clocks have gone back, its getting dark before I leave the office at night and we (here in the south of England) are getting our first taste of winter. A couple of days ago when I left for work the thermometer in the car was showing sub-zero temperatures. All this and its still only October!! Well how about some indoor flying to keep your hand in and not freeze your ball links off. Follow the link at the top of this page above the pictures for details of this years indoor evenings at Swanly. Notice Unfortunately there has been little interest expressed for the barbeque and firework evening at the field on 4th November. Please note the event will not be taking place and the field will be closed. Annual General Meeting The date of the AGM has been fixed and it will be held on 11th November in the Wentworth Room at the Olympic Center, Swanley, Kent as normal. The meeting is due to commence at 19:30. Our secretary, Mark Turner, has requested that any member reading this who has moved during the past year contact him by e-mail (preferably) or telephone (05602 342281) to update their details. If we don't have the correct address and contact details then you will not get your renewal notice and may loose your place in the club. If any member knows that another member has moved then please tell them to contact Mark if they have e not already done so. The secretary will have the renewal forms available at the AGM for those members that rejoin and pay at the meeting. These will need to be printed about three days before the meeting so those members who need to update their details should do so before 8th November. ================================================================================== 5 October 2008 Was I asleep...did I miss summer? First of all I would like to apologise for not being able to update this site as regularly as normal recently. This has been due, in part, to work pressures. Well the summer has come(?) and gone and we are now heading into the short days of winter. For some of us that will give us the opportunity to move indoors for some fun with smaller electric models. As soon as I have any dates I will publish them on this site. The Eynsford Model Helicopter Club scale day was held on Sunday 17th August and was blessed with excellent weather. The day ran very smoothly and I was not aware of any major hiccups. Our own Karl Elston-Hooper is to be congratulated for arranging the event, being relatively new to the hobby and not having attended many similar meetings. Transmitter control was organised by Dave Saban and again ran very smoothly with five transmitters being allowed out on the scale line and two on the 3D line at any one time. Thank you to both of you and your supporting team of helpers. There is an excellent article by John Neasham in the current, November, issue (issue 31) of RotorWorld magazine covering the events of the day. For an in depth report this makes good reading. During the day the Len Mount trophy was contested alongside the clubs own classes. The results were as follows:- During clearing up after the event a rather nice charger was found. If you have lost a charger or know somebody that has then it is being held by Ali Newman in Avicraft. All you need to do is contact Ali, describe the device and it will be returned to you. I will be posting some pictures taken at the event in the very near future. Please be patent with me and come back and check the Picture pages. Remember, remember the 4th of November!!! At a recent committee meeting it was agreed that a Bonfire/Barbeque evening would be held on Tuesday 4th November. Normal Tuesday flying rules will apply if you wish to fly, however you will need night gear!! The Barbeque will attract the normal donation of £2. The club will not be supplying fireworks so please bring some along and make this an evening to remember. All fireworks will, I am afraid, have to be let off by one or two club delegated members for reasons of safety. Annual General Meeting The date of the AGM has been fixed and it will be held on 11th November in the Wentworth Room at the Olympic Center, Swanley, Kent as normal. The meeting is due to commence at 19:30. As many will have noted Dave Saban has unfortunate stood down from his post of training officer, therefore this committee post may be up for nomination. One or two other committee members have also stated that they may be standing down. If you would like to nominate yourself for one of the committee posts then please let our secretary, Mark Turner, have your nomination by Friday 31st October at the latest. ================================================================================= 3 August 2008 Ready for Scale? The Eynsford Model Helicopter Club scale day will soon be upon us. It is being held on Sunday 17th August at the club field. Flying will commence at 10:00 and run through, uninterrupted until 16:00. The normal pilots briefing will be held around 09:30. The competition is open to all helicopter pilots, not just Eynsfords members. All we ask is proof of current insurance is provided before you are allowed to fly. There will be many different classes held during the day including best model and best flight. I am told there are a number of desirable prizes to be had in addition to the normal trophies. Don't feel intimidated by the thought of flying with some of the top scale models around. If you have any scale heli come along and join in. I know you will thoroughly enjoy the day and will go away feeling encouraged and enthused to build your own master piece. Who knows, you may even take a trophy with you to boot. Food and drinks will be available at the field during the day and there will be toilet facilities provided. In addition to Eynsford's own competition classes Len Mount, fresh from his resounding success at the US nationals, will be staging his own 'Len Mount Trophy'. This will be awarded to the model that Len himself feels the most deserving. Our field is located quite close to Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in Kent. Directions to the event will be clearly signposted from the M25/M20 junction. Take note, the last section of the journey to the field is along a narrow winding country lane. Please take extreme care when driving on this lane, there are lots of passing places. All we need to hope for now is some good weather. Out recent 'Fun Day' was devastated by rain showers and high winds. Even so a number of hardy types, myself included, braved the weather and attended. Come on weather gods, we only want eight hours of good calm weather, how about it? =================================================================================== 25 May 2008 Smile, it's supposed to be fun ... If you are a member of the EMHC there is a new date for your diary. On 6th July the club is going to hold a "fun day" at the field. It was agreed at the last committee meeting that an informal fun-fly event day should be held which will be open to flyers of all capabilities. So if you fly with a training undercarriage on your heli, you can still take part. There are four events planned for the day.
A full explanation of the 'rules' will be given on the day so that it is clear to everybody. Please make the effort to come along and have a go. I am sure that there are going to be some good laughs to be had. At the last committee meeting, Karl tendered his resignation from the post of Newsletter editor as he has not been able to devote the time deserved due to personal commitments. In the interim your club secretary, Mark Turner, has agreed to take up the yolk. Mark has asked if any member has any written or would like to write an article to contact him. There have been two club barbeque evenings held so far this 'summer'. Yes I know that the weather hasn't been the best and on the last occasion every body was trying to get as close as possible to the barbeque to keep warm. But remember that they are held on the first and third Tuesday evenings of the month. The next are planned for 3rd and 17th June. Come along and have a chat, a burger and fly. Planning for the EMHC Scale fly-in on 17th August is still progressing well. Further details will be posted here as they become known to me, keep a check on the site for updates. Make it a firm date in your diary and get those scale projects finished in good time................now where did I put that nose leg retract unit for safe keeping??? =================================================================================== 22 April 2008 One swallow doesn't make a summer ... but at least the weather in this part of England took a turn for the better today. At the weekend we had rain, strong winds and heavy mist in all combinations. Today it was sunshine and no wind and light until well past eight o'clock. That brings me on to the point of this drivel. As of the first Tuesday in May, the 6th, the club will be starting its summer barbeque evenings. For those new members who do not know, on the first and third Tuesday of each month, until the evenings draw back in, a barbeque is held on the field from around 5 p.m. until dusk. All members are welcome to come along to enjoy a burger or two, a can of drink and a good laugh. There is a nominal charge of £2 or so. Flying is permitted with 450 class electrics flown to any height but all other models restricted to 3m maximum altitude. Further news on the EMHC scale day. The date is now confirmed as Sunday 17th August. You have plenty of warning to finish off those scale projects or add a few new details to an existing machine. Food will be available as will tea and coffee and will be provided at a very reasonable cost. The food will consist of anything that can be cremated, sorry I meant fried or grilled and served in a bap. There will be two portaloos on site one Gents and one Ladies so partners and guests can be invited to come along as it will be quite civilised. Details of classes have yet to be agreed but the Len Mount Scale Cup will be contested. There is to be a transmitter control set-up for all Tx's on the field for that day. There will be a nominal charge for all entrants which has yet to be agreed. All non EMHC members who fly at the event will need to show proof insurance, such as current BMFA membership, when signing in at transmitter control. The scale fly-in will use the whole of the normal flight line in front of the pits. However for members who wish to fly pod and boom models, there will be one flight station to the left of the flight line flying over the larger field. Finally, there is to be a committee meeting held early in May. If you would like anything considered or discussed at the meeting please seek out one of the committee members and ask for your issue to be raised. =================================================================================== 25 March 2008 It must be spring... just look at the weather. Well we had the spring equinox last Thursday 20th March and from then on the daylight hours are longer than the hours of darkness. So we had even longer to look out of the windows over Easter and lament the lack of flyable weather. I know that easter was early this year, but I do remember that in 2007 I had three good days of flying over the holiday period only loosing one to go shopping with the governor (and I moaned!!). Still on an upbeat note the rest of the summer last years was pretty lousy so maybe this year it will be the other was round and we are going to have the best summer ever [ yea and I will weigh 10 stone and be able to fly the masters 3D schedule...I think not] Joking aside easter is a time when many modllers begin to get the urge to go flying after a bit of a layoff in the winter months. Whilst the weather is poor, as it is a present, it is a good time to give your machines a good check-over. We all look at the common areas such as ensuring ball joints are slop free, all controls are free with no binding, radio fully working and range checked, flight batteries are cycled and holding full charge, all nuts and bolts tight, drive belts are correct tension and not worn, all fuel tubing replaced etc. There have been some good articles in the modeling press recently detaining what should be examined. But what about the obscure areas. This year I have seen a number of crashes caused by failures of items not normally checked nor mentioned in recommended lists:-
These few examples are not meant to worry you but to remind you that our modern RC helicopters are being exposed to some exceptional forces and these need to be considered when carrying out your maintained checks. I am pleased to advise club members and everybody who reads this drivel that the EMHC Scale Day is to be held again this. There has been a gap of two years since the last event but I am sure the wait will have been worth while. I have not added it to the events calendar yet as I am awaiting confirmation of the date. Currently it is due to be held on either Sunday 17th August or the following week, 24th August. Make a note in your diaries. As soon as the date is made firm and finally agreed I will give full details......Watch this space. ================================================================================== 23 January 2008 It's well into the new year ... And I bet most of you haven't kept one of you modeling resolutions. You all know the ones I mean, "When I'm flying I will plan my flight rather than just fly about " or "I will keep practicing the Kaos (or nose in or left side on hover or whatever) for half of each flight". We all make these sorts of promises to ourselves and the majority of us fail to keep with them. Does it matter? Not one bit if you are enjoying your flying. But I will say that setting yourself some realistic goals to aim for has, in my experience, enhanced my flying pleasure in the past. Just a quick note to say that I have been updating the Events Diary with relevant information, and it is filling up fast. There will be plenty for us to attend this year. I will try to keep this up to date through the year as new events are announced. Indeed we hope to host a couple ourselves including a 'scale day'. So keep an eye on the page and make a note in your diary of those of interest to you. I am writing this missive on 23 January having just returned from the first committee meeting of the year. This was a very informal affair and was mainly concerned with the current level of membership. I am happy to report that as of this date 86 of our existing members have rejoined and all of those should have received their membership packs which included their new membership cards (very flashy Mark) together with a copy of the club rules and club constitution. The code on the gate padlock has now been changed. All members who have rejoined will have been told of the new code in their membership packs. It was agreed that membership would be offered to all those who have applied and were placed on the waiting list. If you are on the club waiting list you will be receiving an invitation to join from the club secretary, Mark Turner, within the next week or so. Mark asked me to thank all members who have rejoined for completing the applications and getting their payments to him in good time, well done all. I would like to add to that on behalf of the club, our thanks to Mark for doing such a sterling job. From the problems faced by the club last year he has turned it around so that we were the first club to re-affiliate with the BMFA this year. There are a number of members who, like myself, for one reason or another arrange their own BMFA membership or have it done by another club. May I remind all of these that for thoroughness of our records the club needs to have evidence of BMFA membership on file. Would you please send a photocopy of your BMFA membership card to Mark at the club PO Box address. ================================================================================== 14 December 2007 'Tis the Season to be jolly... Unless you fly model helicopters that is, the weekend weather has been awful for the past couple of weeks. Still it does help gain a few brownie points with 'er in doors, "no of course I won't be going flying dearest, we have all that Christmas shopping and the preparations to get through". I'm sure that after all these years she doesn't believe it but I think she likes me saying it. All members should have, by now, received their renewal packs from our Secretary. You only have until the end of the month to get them completed and returned to the Secretary with the correct fee. If you don't get them in by 31st December you will be charged a rejoining fee. You have been warned. On the matter of completing the forms. For those who still have to send their forms in, please remember to complete the whole form front and BACK, including your date of birth. This latter information is required for the BMFA's records as well as our own. The revised club rules have been agreed and finalised as has the club constitution. The new rules are now posted on this site, see link to the left, and the constitution will be added soon. Each member will receive a printed copy of the rules and the constitution through the post in the new year when the BMFA documents are sent out to you. If there are any flyers who wish are interested in joining our club then I have some very good news. Currently it appears that there will be some membership places available for 2008. If you are interested in joining then follow the Membership link, download the application form and get it filled in and posted to the clubs PO Box as shown on the form. Our newsletter editor has produced his first newsletter and this can be found if you follow the Newsletters link to the left of this text. Well done Karl on your first edition, I look forward to reading more through the year. Finally, on behalf of the Eynsford Model Helicopter Club may I wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year. ================================================================================== 7 November 2007 Annual General Meeting The 2007 Annual General Meeting of the club was held on Tuesday 6 November in the Wentworth Room at the Olympic Centre, Swanley, Kent. The meting commenced a little later than scheduled at around 8:15 and concluded at 10:15 with a short comfort break half way through. Full minutes of the meeting will be available in due course and I only wish to cover a few salient points here. A draft Constitution was handed out to the meeting together with a copy of proposed changes to the club rules. It was explained that the incumbent committee felt that the club should posses a constitution and that it was also recommendation of the BMFA that one was in place. It was agreed by a vote that the new committee was to finalise the draft and amend the rules as felt necessary, but with reference to the membership. As noted in my last news page, the 2008 membership subscriptions are to remain fixed at the 2007 rates of £50 for normal adult membership and £25 for senior citizens (65+) or juniors (below 18yrs). The new member joining fees is also to remain unaltered at £60 for 2008. Following discussions with the BMFA, the secretary announced that their membership fees will most likely rise by £1 to £28 for 2008. This is the rate that the club will be charging for members who wish to pay their BMFA membership through the club. Membership renewals will shortly be sent to all current Members, who have until 31st December to renew their membership. All completed renewals, with the correct remittance, are to be either handed to the Secretary or posted to the clubs PO Box only. At the meeting both Alan Bunton and Ricky Courtnell stood down from their committee posts of Ordinary Member. I would like to thank them both, on behalf of the EMHC, for all the dedication and commitment they have shown to the club in the years that they have held these positions. They both deserve a break from service so as they can enjoy their own flying. Also not standing for re-election were Adam Turner (Events) and Andy Hall (Newsletter). Danny Lock (Safety) and Rowland Leonard (Acoustics) both wished for a change in position, offering to stand for election in each others post. Prior to the meeting Karl Elston-Hooper had declared a wish to be considered for the post of Events officer and both Ray Killgallon and Peter Grey put themselves forward for nomination in to the position of ordinary member. The following were voted on to the new committee for 2008:- ================================================================================== 15 October 2007 Official Business ........... Amended A committee meeting was held on 2nd October with seven of the elected committee members in attendance. There was a great deal of business discussed on your behalf, the meeting starting at 20:00 and finishing when we were finally 'evicted' at around 23:15. The new club secretary confirmed he would post out official notices of the forthcoming AGM to all known club members. Mark has confirmed to me that the notices were posted on 8th October. Every club member should receive their notification by 22nd October even allowing for the recent postal strikes. However if a member does not receive the letter it is incumbent upon them to contact the secretary. It may be that the address on file is out of date or there is an error in the club records. You can see an Adobe pdf copy of the notification that members will receive by clicking here. If you are in contact with a member who does not have computer access please pass this information on to them Membership renewal forms will be made available at the AGM. For members who cannot attend the forms will be posted out the day following the meeting. It was agreed by your committee that membership fees were to remain unchanged for 2008 at £50 for normal adult membership and £25 for senior citizens (65+) or juniors (below 18yrs). BMFA fees will rise by £1 to £28. Members will have until 31st December to renew their membership. In exceptional circumstances this may be increased until 15th January for individuals. There will be no exceptions to this. All completed renewals are to be either handed to the Secretary, with the correct remittance, at the AGM or posted to the clubs PO Box only. As noted in my August page, the AGM will be held on Tuesday November 6 at 8pm sharp in the Wentworth Room at the Olympic Centre, Swanley, Kent. The following committee members are willing to stand for re-election in 2008:- The following officers wish to stand down from their current posts:- The club secretary has requested that all nominations for committee posts are to be given to him in writing prior to the date of the AGM and at least prior to the commencement of the meeting. Only nominations received prior to the meeting will be considered. Nominations can be e-mailed to EMHC.Sectretary@btinternet.com or posted to E.M.H.C., PO Box 45399, London, SE14 6WG. Two further proposals were agreed by the committee at the meeting to be presented to the membership for ratification at the AGM. The first proposal is to set a cap on membership numbers at the beginning of the year to 100 members. The level of membership is then to be 'fluid' and at the discretion of the elected committee for the remainder of the year. The actual level of membership will be based on the level of activity on the flying field. The second proposal agreed by the committee to be presented to the membership for ratification at the AGM is that the flying hours are be extended. This is only for electrically powered models with rotor blade lengths up to a maximum of 340mm. This includes the popular T-Rex 450, Mini Titan, GL450, etc. It is proposed that these models will be allowed to fly up to 20:00 on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday. ================================================================================== 30 September 2007 A new slant on trimming?? Hot news. Our own Danny Lock and Adam Turner have competed in the 3D Championship at the Leamington Hobby Centre in Warwickshire over the weekend (29 and 30 September). Both of them were in the top class, Champions. I am pleased to report that Danny finished the comp. in a very creditable sixth place, one above Adam who was seventh. The Champions class was won by Duncan Osbourn. Danny was flying his OS 90 powered JR Vibe machines. Adam was flying his Mikado Logo 600 3D, flybarless setup until he took to a spot of topiary on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning when he tried to trim the hedge. I believe he finished the competition fly one of Danny's Vibes. Back at the field there have been two potentially disastrous mistakes made on consecutive weekends with the peg board. On both occasions a members name tag was removed from the peg board instead of the frequency tag. This led on both occasions to two flyers both thinking that they had the 'peg' and it was safe to switch on. Luckily on both occasions there was not an accident. Please ensure that before you switch on a transmitter on 35MHz you have the CORRECT frequency tag from the peg board CLIPPED TO YOUR TRANSMITTER. The only tag you should have CLIPPED TO YOUR TRANSMITTER is the 100mm x 40mm white frequency tag with the channel numbers written on it in black. If you cannot find the proper tag for your frequency report the fact to a committee member on site. Do not switch on until you have been told it is safe to do so. When you have taken the correct peg and tag from the peg board it is to be CLIPPED TO YOUR TRANSMITTER, nowhere else is acceptable. Please remember that if you do make a mistake and shoot somebody down who had the correct peg displayed on his transmitter, you are wholly liable for the cost of repairing or replacing all damage caused to the model and the radio equipment in it. ================================================================================== 28 August 2007 We Finally Had A Summer. The August bank holiday weekend has come and gone and that means that the BMFA Nationals are over for another year. I am very pleased to report that out own Danny Lock placed 3rd in the sportsman's F3C competition flying his OS 91 equipped Raptor 90. Nice one Danny. As the heading to this article suggests, summer finally came over the bank holiday. All three days producing excellent flying conditions. Many of our members managed to get some flying in whilst others achieved three solid days on the field. I just wish I had shares in heli fuel suppliers. Our new secretary is making good progress through the backlog of paperwork which he inherited. If you have any queries on membership matters please contact him by phone or e-mail [see contacts page for details]. On the subject of membership please make a note in your diary, on the calendar or even on the wall. The AGM for 2007 has been booked for November 6 at 8pm at the Wentworth Room at the Olympic Centre, Swanley, Kent. All members will receive notification of the meeting. I will be adding a Membership page to one of the menus shortly. This will give full details of costs, membership status and details of how to apply. Application forms will be attached to the page. There will also be a link to a renewal for for existing members so there will be no excuse for late renewals this year. From now on I will be copying the previous content of this page to the News page each time I carryout an update. It means you will be able to read my inane drivel for even longer! If you have a look on the Pictures page you will see that I have added a new menu for members photos. These will be added to as pictures are received, the latest pages always being highest on the menu listing. Finally, I have added an image of the spring 2007 newsletter on the 'Newsletters' page as I promised to on my last post. Sorry for the delay..
================================================================================ 22 July 2007 STOP PRESS........ Congratulations to our own Adam Turner for a very creditable 7th in the Experts class at the 3D Masters. Adam was flying his new sponsors (Mikado) Logo 600 which he has only had for a little over a week. A Time of Change A committee meeting was held as planned on the evening of Monday 16th July. The major item which all club members should be aware of was the change of two committee posts. Andy Hall has stepped down from the post of Secretary and will be taking over Steve Fletcher's post as Newsletter Editor. The post of Secretary has been filled by Mark Turner who volunteered his services and was duly accepted by the committee on behalf of the club. I would like to thank Andy Hall for all his work in the post of Secretary over the past 20 months or so. Andy has resigned for personal reasons and because he felt that he could not give the post the time and commitment it deserved. I personally am glad that we will not be loosing Andy entirely from the committee as he does lend a stabilizing influence (who said use him as ballast!!).
One of the first tasks Mark will undertake is an audit of the club membership lists. If any member has not yet received their membership token and paperwork for the year, or know of any other member who hasn't, then they should contact him directly. I have updated the 'Contact Us' page to show a phone number and an e-mail address on which he can be reached. In other matters it was agreed that the AGM for 2007 will be held in November rather than December. However it was also agreed that if membership was not renewed before mid January 2008 then the joining fee would become payable in addition to the subscription. I will be posting revised Membership Application and Renewal forms on the web site soon. On the matter of membership it was agreed that the current halt in accepting new members was to remain in place. There are already a number of applicants on the waiting list and these will be dealt with in strict order of application date. Again the situation will be reviewed at the next committee meeting. Finally, I have added an image of the spring 2007 newsletter on the 'Newsletters' page (strange that??). I realise that very few members actually received a paper copy. Hopefully the issue of regular newsletters will now recommence. Remember safe flying is no accident. Graham
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We welcome Mark Turner on board in his new post. Mark has been a member of the club for some four years or so and is very enthusiastic about maintaining or improving the high standards of the club. Mark's interest with heli's lies in the field of scale, in particular large Vario models. He is very keen to re-introduce the annual scale day and is already talking about a possible Vario fly-in. He realises the commitment necessary for the post of secretary, even before his formal acceptance to the committee he has been looking in to a nuisance complaint against the club.