propwash

The News Letter Of
The Bury Metro Model Flying Club

Edited by Warren Sherman Photos by: Rob Tomlin & Eb Swarbrick

August/September 2009

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Members Please Note: Printed copies of Propwash are No Longer Being Posted Out.
Printed copies will now be available in the Club House for any members who whish to have one

Where did August (and most of September) go?

Since the last issue when I was elevated to the position of Acting Chairman I have of necessity had to hit the ground running.
The last four months of the year are without doubt the busiest of the year with the Fun Day Fly-in, the Autumn Auction and the AGM all to be organised, as contrary to my previous belief, they do not organise themselves!

The Fun Day illustrates how simple ideas can grow like Topsy and engulf all those daft enough to say “Oh great, how can I help?” The amount of decisions that need to be made, the numbers of emails, telephone calls and meetings that ensue makes you feel that you are organising the ruddy 2012 Olympics.

The Autumn Auction is a slightly different animal. Thanks to the work of Chris Harrison, Sid Matthews and Peter Futers, the complicated calculations necessary to operate the mechanics of the auction are made relatively easy.

However, the intensive and feverish activity required by the front of house operators who log the lots and feed them to our overworked auctioneer Alan Cantwell, makes working for a living seem quite easy by comparison.

The Annual General Meeting in December is another task that requires the combined efforts of the executive officers mainly in lobbying members to nominate and stand for election to the committee for the next twelve months. This year as you will see we will be required to vote for a new Chairman and Honorary Secretary in addition to the five or six committee members.

All the above are to be organised in addition to the mundane tasks that are require to keep the field in the pristine order that our members require. The mowing of the strip, the provision of the new clubhouse/container, the maintenance of the pit area etc. all requires the time and efforts of the committee and members.

By now you may have anticipated my direction here and basically it is as follows. The next time someone innocently asks me “What exactly does the committee do?” they can expect a very swift Bunch of Fives up their Hooter!!!! You have been warned!

Form an orderly queue

Yes, I don’t want to see any pushing or shoving whilst waiting to purchase your brand new
Bury Metro Model Flying Club “Limited Edition” 2010 Club Calendar.

These are now available for purchase at the ridiculously low price of just FIVE of your English Pounds!

We only have a limited supply so don’t let the grass grow under you feet and get one bought sharpish!

You can order either by email to admin@bmmmfc.com
or call 07775 622828 and leave your name and address on the system when prompted to leave a message, or ask a committee member.

The Fun Day Fly-in

For the past few months we have been banging on about our very first Fun Day Fly-in held on Saturday 19th September at the Simister field.

From early Friday morning, preparations were being made, the pits and

surrounding areas were strimmed, mowed and generally groomed. Areas were marked out for start-up boxes, walk-ways and taxi-ways and protective fencing was erected around the pilots flying position.
Delivery was taken of a Porta-loo and space prepared for the trade stands and most importantly the catering facility.

Saturday morning early doors saw the signage, posters and banners being put up all around Simister and on the lanes leading to the field.

The sheep were moved out of the Heli field and the gate opened in readiness to accept the visitor’s vehicles.

Gazebos were erected and the Clubhouse was set up as the transmitter pound and general headquarters. The sound system was installed and the generators fired up, Marshals were appointed and briefed and finally all was ready and waiting.

The committee had sore knees from praying that the weather would turn in our favour and that our pre-event publicity would be effective. Doubts on both counts were dispelled as the trickle of cars driving down the lane turned into a veritable torrent and by 10.00am over fifty cars could be counted in the car park!

The pits area was almost overwhelmed by the sheer number of models that appeared and the doubts over attendance were beginning to turn to worries of how to make room for any more!
But by scooching up here and there all comers were accommodated and the transmitter pound opened for business.

The ratio of fixed wing to rotary wing was almost 50:50 and in both cases included sports, aerobatic and scale examples and all were finished to a very high degree. The same can be said of the standard of piloting and many thrilling display were seen throughout the day.

Thanks to the efficiency of the marshalling and the thorough pilot briefing the day ran from start to finish without a single hitch. As a Public Relations exercise I believe it was a great success as not only did we attract at least five new members but visitors from all around the region were enthusiastic in their praise of a well-run, relaxed and enjoyable day out and many were looking forward to this becoming an annual event.

With my hat as Chairman I would like to take a moment to thank Rob Tomlin as the prime mover and inspiration for this event, Dave Wilson, Peter Futers, Jock Lindsey for their fantastic efforts in preparing the field for the event and to Austin Ogden for his valuable safety advice.

Thanks also go to the sponsors of the event: Aurorra Models, Just Engines, Revolution Models, Blackburn Models, Leeds Models and Channel M for TV coverage.

In due course we will produce a Fun Fly Special Photo Edition of Propwash as a souvenir of the event so watch this space.

See all issues of Propwash in full colour on our website www.bmmfc.com

Hotel Babylon its not!

Ok so it’s not the most luxurious accommodation in the world but its better than nowt!
To update you fully, our Clubhouse (note it is no longer to be referred to as the container, shed or tin!) is now replete with all the necessary accoutrements to provide not only a steaming hot mug of tea, providing of course you bring the mug, teabags, milk and sugar; but also it contains our new and very posh Bar-B-Que for those all important fry ups on a cold and frosty mornings in December.

Please take care of all the amenities and report any problems immediately to the committee.

On a more serious note it also houses a First Aid kit and Fire Extinguishers along with a selection of field maintenance equipment and our battered old club trainer.

Eventually it will have a workbench with a sturdy bench vice and hopefully a selection of tools for members use. If you do have any tools, or bits and bobs that are surplus to your own requirements but you think may be useful please let a committee member know.

Any items that are offered on semipermanent loan should be marked with the owner’s name.
Alternatively, if you are donating as a permanent gift please mark with BMMFC.

Our thanks must go to Peter Futers, Dave Wilson, Dave’s dad, Declan Collins and his dad and of course Rob Tomlin without whom we would not have the container in the first place.

New Members

Despite being late in the year we are delighted to welcome to our membership the following demented souls, sorry, fellow modellers. Alan Davies, James Rix, Nitin Patel, Andrew O'Keefe, Stephen Dhurkin, David Atherton, Seth Adams, Ryan Schofield.

We hope that you will be happy with our facilities and please don’t be backward in coming forward with anything that you feel you would like to contribute to the running of the club.

Naturally all donations to the Poor Children’s Father’s Beer Fund will be gratefully received particularly if enclosed in a plain brown manila envelope addressed to the Editor!

Another Certifiable Member

Congrats to Keith Jepson who achieved his BMFA “A” Certificate of Achievement. Despite his many protests he succumbed to pressure and took the test and now no longer needs to strong- arm members into standing by him to supervise his flights. Well done!

Further to his credit, is that Keith only flies models he has built himself, either own designs or modified from existing plans.

Although he only uses Depron he has perfected a building and finishing method which renders his models indestructible.

I have seen them hit the deck from fifty feet and he simply picks them up and carries on as if nothing happened.

He says it’s because he learnt to fly by himself and if they weren’t built like brick sh**houses he would be buying new ones every week!

AGM 7th December 2009

Dear Member,

I give notice that the Annual General Meeting of the Bury Metro Model Flying Club will be held

at St. Bernadette’s Social Club on Monday, 7th December 2009 at 8-00pm

Agenda

Minutes of the last AGM.

Matters arising from the minutes.

Chairman’s report.

Secretary’s report.

Treasurer’s report with audited accounts for year ending 31st October 2009

Election of officers.

Appointment of Auditor.

Subscriptions and fees for 2010

Proposals presented to the secretary for inclusion at the AGM.

In accordance with the constitution, all propositions for consideration at the AGM must be submitted, by full members, to the secretary in writing, at least 14 days prior to the AGM along with the signatures of the proposer, and secondary No other propositions will be considered unless it be the unanimous decision of the members present to do so.

Nomination of Officers (to be received 14 days before AGM)

Sid Matthews retired from the position of Chairman for personal reasons in July. Acting Chairman Warren Sherman has agreed to be nominated for Chairman but further nominations are welcomed (particularly by Warren!).

Ian Watts is happy to continue as Treasurer. I, Dave Cooper, am also stepping down as Secretary in order to follow new commercial interests and so the committee asks for nominations for the position of Secretary.

The remaining committee members retire each year and are eligible for re-election. Retiring committee members are deemed to be fully paid up members of the club.

Dave Cooper Honorary Secretary

Trophies!

Each year (at the AGM) we award trophies to club members. The listing below is self explanatory, please record your nomination/s on the slip below and return it to the club secretary or hand it to a committee member, not less than a week before the AGM or email to rotordave47@yahoo.co.uk

A Nomination Form has been set up online which can be found here:

www.bmmfc.com/nomination.htm

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Nomination Slip

Your Name ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Most improved Flyer of the year.F/W…………………………………………………………………….

Most improved Flyer of the year. Heli’s…………………………………………………………………

Instructor of the year F/W………………………………………………………………………………

Instructor of the year Heli’s………………………………………………………………………………

Clubman of the year Award……………………………………………………………………………..

Visit our website at www.bmmfc.com

For lots more photos visit the website gallery.