Dear LMFC members
My apologies for the length of this communication, but please persevere and read it in full!
There has been a lot of activity which affects our hobby and our members in the last few months. Some of this has been external to the club and some of it from within.
Firstly, I would like to address the changes in the law which come into force on November 30th. As you hopefully are now all aware this has two main components:
a) passing an on-line test – either the CAA test or the BMFA RCC test which the CAA recognise (LMFC members who have achieved a BMFA BPC, A, B or C certificate are exempt from taking the test) and
b) Registering as an operator (again, BMFA members are exempt from doing this until the end of January and will be able to register through the BMFA when renewing their subscriptions either through our club or directly). The BMFA have communicated with all members with details over the past few weeks.
Flying models without passing these tests and registering as an operator is a criminal offence. Therefore, both you and the LMFC have to take this very seriously.
There were still some grey areas regarding potential new members wanting a ‘taster flight’ or novices being buddied by a fully compliant tutor and also for how those people without an internet connection could take the test. I have now had the further clarification we were awaiting from the BMFA/CAA.
People flying while being on a buddy box system with a fully compliant tutor are not required to have taken the CAA or BMFA test to continue flying after 30th November 2019. However, before taking their BPC or A certificate they must have completed one or the other of the tests. This takes the pressure off our novices who are currently being trained on a buddy box but does mean that any of our members who aren’t being buddied and don’t have a minimum of a BPC or A cert will have to take the test before flying at our field after 30th November.
For those without internet access, the off-line test will be available later this week which Club Secretaries/Chairmen and Examiners can assist club members to take. We will be glad to assist any members who don’t have internet access and wish to avail themselves of the off-line test.
The committee had a meeting on Tuesday (19/11/2019) and discussed the implications of these changes. We decided that after 30th November 2019 the club will require proof from all members who don’t have a BMFA achievement scheme certificate and are not being buddied, that they have passed either the CAA on–line test or the BMFA RCC if they wish to fly at our site.. We strongly recommend using the BMFA RCC test in preference to the CAA on line test. Those that have taken the BMFA test can upload a record of their success to their profile on the BMFA website using this link https://rcc.bmfa.uk/caa-registration/add-your-rcc-to-your-achievements. The club Admin will then be able to view the achievement through the portal. In any case, we ask that members send proof of their success to our Treasurer, Andy Harding (andy_harding@hotmail.com ). We have made this decision on the basis of two factors.
1. We must ensure that all members are insured when flying at our field. The BMFA issued the following statement on Insurance cover:
Insurance cover can only be fully assured for ‘lawful activities’ and an individual who does not comply (if required by law) will be operating unlawfully, and the insurance cover could be in question in the event of a claim. It is also important to note that any legal costs and/or punitive financial sanctions incurred by an individual member under criminal law as a result of non-compliance will be outside the scope of cover.
2. We are also in discussions with Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) on a number of matters (more about this later) and we wish to be able to stress that we are a responsible club, all members are fully insured and that we are fully compliant with the new laws. We also will point out that we have gained a CAA exemption that allows us to fly models over 7kg to a height of 1200’ over a 0.5km radius (our BMFA membership currently allows us to fly our models below 7kg above the 400’ ceiling otherwise imposed, as long as they remain in unaided line of sight).
As a club we have to comply with the law and we need to make sure that we do. Particularly over the next few months when some members may be flying little or not at all, please do not be offended if we ask who you are so that we can check that the appropriate qualifications/tests/registration are in place.
Secondly, as a result of some recent incidents we will be revising our site safety rules and making some significant changes. The appropriate changes will be communicated to all members as soon as they have been finalised and the website will also be updated to reflect the changes. Please visit the website regularly, as there are regular updates posted on a wide variety of matters.
Our Secretary, Ian Harvey, has made a very generous donation to our club to replace our dilapidated leaking container, for which we are very grateful. The committee discussed this and we have agreed that we should take the opportunity to upgrade our facilities generally and provide more of a ‘clubhouse’ for members. The club will use some of its funds to facilitate this enhancement. Some of the thoughts we currently have are to provide tea/coffee making facilities, on-site battery charging and minor repair facilities in a vandal proof insulated clubhouse. A working party has been established to develop our plans but any thoughts members may have for consideration would be welcomed. We won’t be able to carry out the actual replacement until next summer when the ground (hopefully) firms up again to allow delivery of a new container to be effected. We have already been in touch with MVDC about this and they have indicated that they would have no objections.
We are also hoping to improve flying opportunities for our members. Currently our MVDC license limits us to 10 hours for ‘model aircraft’ (ie powered) and a further 5 hours glider per week. This stems from the days when power models were IC and usually very noisy. Now that most powered flying is electric, we have approached MVDC with a view to increase these hours and we will be presenting our proposals to them in the near future. Early indications are that they will be receptive, especially as we have operated in a responsible manner on the site for a number of years, provide an activity for the benefit of the locale and have not been the cause of any complaints from the public with whom we share the flying field. Our continued lawful (see above) and responsible behaviour are therefore of great importance as we make this request to increase our permitted flying hours.
The subject of the club fees for 2020, due by 01 January 2020, was also discussed. It was agreed that, as income barely matched outgoings in what has been a ‘cheap’ year, there have been no increases in fees for a number of years and our intended improvements for members all supported a modest increase. The new fees will be published on our website in the near future – please visit to see the update, they will be shown under the Club Information tab https://leatherheadmfc.bmfa.club/.
Finally, a lot of work has been done in transferring our website to a new host (BMFA), updating and refreshing the content and hopefully making it a useful resource for members. We would welcome any suggestions for further content that can be added but are you aware that all members can post to the site and that there are also Forums that you can utilise? We are also hoping to establish a ‘For Sale’ section so, if members have anything they would like to advertise, then please get in touch. We are aware that a large number of excellent fully equipped models may become available shortly so keep your eyes open! The club are also investigating obtaining discounts for club members from some on-line retailers, so again keep watching the website for news.
Ian Newton
LMFC Chairman