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avtur

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  1. Posted by andyh on 14/09/2018 09:00:52: Posted by Steve J on 14/09/2018 07:10:35: The two biggest items in the budget after insurance and staff costs are c. £160k for the BMFA News ... I really think it's long past time for BMFA News to be distributed electronically by default, with maybe a separate subscription for the hard-copy version. For ~15% of the annual expenses to be going on something that I suspect goes into most members' recycling bins - or worse, general waste bins - unread where an essentially free method of distribution exists seems wasteful & anachronistic. A lot depends on the mindset of the readership, there's no doubt at all about how the financial numbers stack up and in some peoples minds it is a 'no brainer' as the saying goes. I'm an active member in two other special interest clubs, both motoring related, both have had the discussion about distributing their respective mags electronically. The idea was swiftly thrown out by both clubs. (one club 200 members the other over 10,000). A lot of people like their paper mags and for all that a magazine 'can' be published electronically in many peoples minds there is a lot to lose with electronic distribution It's a difficult one, would be interesting to hear the thoughts of the of the forum owners as they have a foot in both camps, I think it may have something to do with the demographic of the membership, it is quite obviously the case in the motoring examples I'm thinking of. Edited By avtur on 14/09/2018 09:46:51
  2. In total agreement with @BEB above. If the BMFA are openly planning for reduced numbers then that shows there is problem, perhaps they should be commended for at least being honest and recognising the situation, the 'drone dividend' boat sailed some time ago, it won't return so the BMFA is left with the problem of declining numbers to deal with. Subs can only ever increase and as the member base declines then increased subs are the only way they can continue to fund their range of activities, either that or reduce the range.
  3. Posted by Martin Harris on 11/09/2018 14:57:58: .... e.g. £39.99 appearing substantially less than £40 to many people at a glance. .... "Substantially less" ... hmmm, I'm not sure, I think most people these days would look at £39.99 and see £40 I agree that everyone will have an affordability threshold in their own minds but I think we're all much more savvy consumers these days than to be influenced by the old '99p' trick.
  4. This may sound daft but could it be because there is a suspicion that it may contain fuel? We know full well that it doesn't but perhaps there is a (completely unwarranted) concern that it does; which may differentiate it from a new engine in some peoples eyes. As part of may day job I used to have to send samples of aviation fuel around the UK and to the UK from places around the world, as soon as there is the mention of fuel there are (understandably) all manner of rules and regs that kick in. Just a thought (newly formed clutching at straws dept - mid Sussex branch) Edited By avtur on 10/09/2018 14:50:02
  5. Anyone seen this YouTube channel from a guy called John Woodfield.
  6. Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 08/09/2018 14:15:47: Oh dear. Northern lad gone down South. You'll be wearing a vest soon and commenting on how cold it is you mark my words! Then you'll suddenly find your self having urges for rocket on your butties, er sandwiches. Its a slippery slope. BEB Ha, ha, with 62 years in Stockport under my belt I won't be changing my ways any time soon, anyway there's nothing wrong with my string vest which compliments my Whippet, Woodbine and flat cap very nicely, thank you!
  7. Thanks for the all the replies, very much appreciated, plenty to follow up on. The last few months have been busy doing a complex house move, selling two houses ooop in the frozen north to buy one 'down south'; anyway we're done now and slowly settling in to our new life. Hopefully now there will be time for some leisure activity and it looks as though there should be many opportunities to indulge. Shame I've had to watch the glorious summer months go by, but fingers crossed for next year. Thanks again everyone.     Edited By avtur on 08/09/2018 11:21:02
  8. Posted by Rocker on 03/09/2018 21:50:10: There is Felbridge Flyers at East Grinstead and there is also Mid Sussex Flyers but not sure where they fly from but it must be close to you at Haywards Heath Thanks, I think I'll follow up Mid Sussex Flyers, I know I pay council tax to mid sussex so it can't be far away
  9. Posted by supertigrefan on 03/09/2018 21:40:07: There's Sussex mfc near Worthing with something like 100 members and some others depending how far you want to travel, pop into Sussex Model Centre in Broadwater, Worthing and have a chat with them. Now there's an idea ... I've spent the last ??? years looking at the SMC adverts thinking that's no use they're way down south. It's taking a while to come to terms with the fact that I now live "way down south", even simple stuff like watching the weather forecast on the TV and remembering to look to the south east not the north west The joys of moving house late in life.
  10. Hi, Not been here for a while due to some fairly demanding domestic 'stuff'. Part of dealing with said 'stuff' is that having been born and bred in Stockport and lived there for 62 years I've recently moved and now find myself in the rather pleasant environs of a place called Scaynes Hill near Haywards Heath in West Sussex.(just a little 260 mile hop down the road!) Just wondering if anyone could point me towards clubs in this area please, the personal knowledge of forumites being the best source of information? Thanks Edited By avtur on 03/09/2018 21:00:38
  11. Posted by Ray Dunn on 29/08/2018 23:17:13: Another completion. .... I can't help wondering if the primary aim of the questionnaire length was to minimise replies! .... Ray I must admit to having the same thought initially but then I reviewed my thoughts, and it applies to all who complete the survey. Don't forget this is a public consultation which is seeking views from ALL parties. We might take it for granted that we are completing this from the point of view of NOT wanting drone restrictions applying to model aircraft. There will also be those completing this specifically because they DO want restrictions and are perhaps unaware of the difference between a drone flown irresponsibly and a model aircraft flown responsibly Collectively WE need to be certain that they recognise the interests of genuine aeromodellers and that we are seen to be a responsible bunch quite willing to accept the rule of reasonable laws. The reason that there is such focus on the legal side of operation is that drones are already in widespread use to help with many illegal activities, to me it is quite understandable that the legal side of enforcement has to be robust and if that means using drone specific laws then so be it. In my mind it is a question of when, rather than if, there is a collision between a commercial aircraft and a drone; and sadly that will result in knee jerk reactions the like of which we don't want to even think about. If future legislation helps to put that day further away then I'm all for it. I hope our views get a fair hearing and I hope that the distinction between drones and model aircraft is understood by those who will read the responses and formulate any new regulation
  12. I am involved with two hobbies that are both in decline. Model flying and Classic cars. For either of these interests to continue the most important factor is gaining new (younger) membership. The typical turn out at my local flying field and car club makes me (at 61) feel young. To secure the future of the model flying hobby we need to find out what the younger generations are interested in, classic building is an indulgence for older modellers but sadly I'm not sure it has then same draw for younger people. I have fond memories of build my first KK Ajax when I was 12 years old, I wonder how many 12 year olds would want to build an Ajax today.
  13. This conversation is fascinating and clearly demonstrates an enthusiasm to deal with irresponsible use of drones, which is great. However, has anyone tried to step back and look at this from the point of view of someone outside our hobby, with perhaps no interest in it but simply wants to buy and operate a drone. Perhaps such a person might just be tempted use Google to find out about operating a drone safely “how to fly a drone safely”. Having just done such a search there was no mention of the BMFA in the first six pages of results. If for some reason this would-be drone flyer happens to pick up on the existence of the BMFA and if they go the BMFA website and enter drone into the search box they will see pages of results which are very difficult to make any sense of, none of which points to the right information. If, however you enter ‘multi rotor’ you will eventually find a page a very detailed information, so that’s great, the information is in there somewhere but it requires a very intense search to find it. And when you do find it the presentation of the information is not good, paragraph after paragraph of wordy text, hardly inviting. By contrast the first two hits on the Google page are the CAA and Drone Aware, both lead quickly to good graphic displays of all the basic requirements, very well presented, engaging to read and easy to understand. This is exactly the information my would-be drone flyer needs. Now someone has clearly put an lot of thought and resources into creating this web presence and that being the case I think the best course of action would be to point people towards these good resources that already exist. I’m not knocking the BMFA, far from it, and I want them to carry on working for the benefit of model flyers. But they are not set up to deal with the problems presented by the rapid expansion we have seen in the availability of, and demand for, drones. Others organisations are way ahead in their approach to the problem, I believe we should encourage people to take up that offering of help and advice.
  14. I'm really not sure why there is such a focus on the BMFA, surely the majority of drones are being sold by businesses/suppliers who have nothing to do with the model hobby and the majority of users have nothing to do with the model hobby. 
  15. Posted by bouncebounce crunch on 01/04/2017 10:11:06: I have gone through all of this thread and you would be hard pressed to pick a winner. Absolutely enjoyable. I agree, there are many, many craking picture which is great to see, though I am particualrly drawn to the recent picture of the Vulcan against a sunset, I'm a sucker for sunset pictures
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