Gloucester Model Flying Club

 

Chairman’s report  2006.

 

2006 Has been a very turbulent year for the GMFC. Although I only took over the chairman’s role six weeks ago I will report on the whole year.

The unannounced arrival of car boot sales one Sunday morning in midsummer was to have ramifications that few could have for seen at the time. Although the boot sales only lasted a few weeks until stopped by Stroud council, it opened large fissures within the club that came very close to a large group of members breaking away.

With the loss of Sunday mornings immediate action was taken to find a new site.  An EGM was called to decide the future. At this AGM the then Chairman David Palmer tendered his resignation and following a vote Andy Dunan was elected Chairman.

A new site was looked at and was found not suitable for a number of very sound reasons. By now Stroud council had stepped in and Sunday flying resumed and the search for a new field was abandoned. The period that followed I will leave undocumented in the interest of brevity and to help the healing process.

In mid November Andy Dunan resigned as chairman and a second EGM was held. I was elected chairman.

The weekend following my election saw the biggest turnout at the field I had seen all year, I counted 15 flyers at one time on Sunday afternoon, I was able to get the photograph that heads the website home page and to me sums up the club.

In my few weeks in the Chair I have got a web site up and running and started fortnightly indoor flying sessions. I have not yet met with Mike Potter but will rectify this as soon as possible after the agm.

The club now has a web site glos-mfc.co.uk; I have had some good fed back on this including a very nice e.mail from Bob Pearce quote “Well done. I like the look of the site particularly the clean organised layout and the usability.”  From someone in the multimedia industry to a computing novice that’s a real complement. Looking at other club sites I know what he means some are lots of gimmicks and little content.

I do appreciate that not all members have computers and will be looking at ways to get info to them but would like to use e.mail/web site as the main means of communication within the club as it’s cheap instant and I can theoretically do it from anywhere in the world.

The first Indoor-flying event was held on the 2nd of December, 7 members had ago at flying with many more spectators, everybody enjoyed it thoroughly despite their mishaps. With the appalling weather of the last few weeks at least indoors one is guaranteed to “fly”.

Further dates of 19th and 30th December are already arranged; my plan is to make this a fortnightly event through the winter months.

My aim and wish for next year is to simply keep the club together. This will be harder than it seems.

In 2007 the future of model flying is great, never has there been so many facets to the hobby with such a huge array of relatively inexpensive models available at the click of a mouse or swipe of the credit card. But the future of the “genuine model-flying club” where all types of models are tolerated and fly together is very bleak.

The proliferation in the last few years of specialist clubs/groups, of clubs where this and that type of model are banned with no reason but usually simply due to ignorance and superstition is a symptom of the intolerant society we are becoming.

I can remember back to the Pineholt Club (later to become GMFC) where gliders were banned because an idiot crashed a glider tug into a car! When in the mid 90’s I did my first stint as chairman this rule was scraped and since then no type of model has been banned from flying within the GMFC nor will they be while I am Chairman.

Whatever type of model you fly now you are minority within the club, the club seems to be dominated by electric models I don’t think this is true if every member turned one day with a model no one type would have a majority, but what does it matter electricity is only another power source. Electric models have taken over the domain of the small IC model, when did you last see a model powered by a .15 to .25 (2.5 – 3.5 cc) size motor. IC models have got bigger a Wot Four with a .46 up front is now a small model. 20cc + is now more the normal size of IC model.

However one has to accept we have a relatively small flying site, not just the size of the strip but the actual area we fly in. If you want to fly a Weston Magnum type model, jet or quarter scale Lancaster then I think it is quite acceptable for the club to ask you to demonstrate to more experienced members of the club your ability to do so and be able operate within the confines of the flying area.

All flying sites are a compromise; our current site has negative points it also has plus points. During the summer of 2006 it became very clear that the majority of “active” members where happy with the site despite the limitations, therefore we should not loose it as a site, but look for an additional site/s where there is more room for larger faster models, with ideally a 360-degree flying area for gliders. This is something we need to address in 2007.

May I thank all of those who have worked hard to keep things going in 2006, to all outgoing committee members a vote of thanks for your services.

To all members a happy Xmas & New Year, with lots of safe flying in 2007.

Best Regards

Chris Bishop

Chairman GMFC.