MODEL
AVIATORS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY 2006
Welcome
to the latest edition of the newsletter
As
this is the first newsletter of the year may we wish everyone a Very Happy New
Year.
SUE
DENNIS
It
is our sad task to inform you that Sue passed away just after Christmas
following a long illness. Everyone in the Association will sadly miss her on the
slopes and power field on the holidays that she and John so steadfastly
supported. Our condolences and thoughts are with John.
A
bit of advance notice for you. All memberships and insurances are due for
renewal on 1st June 2006.We have had notification from the insurance
Company that for this year at least there will be no increase in premiums. This
may be subject to change dependant on the outcome of two ongoing claims against
the Association. A renewal form will be attached to the back of the next
newsletter.
The
membership subscription will however be increased from the renewal date as
passed at the Annual General Meeting. Membership with insurance will be £23.00
with all other categories pro rata. A membership renewal form is attached to
this newsletter
Whilst
on the subject, it is imperative and a requirement of the insurance company that
the MAA be notified by any member who intends to fly at a public display either
as an individual or part of a club or engage in any type of ‘display’ flying
of the date, time and venue of such activity and also the details of the
organisation responsible for putting on the event. This information should be IN
WRITING and well before the event. Please also specify if the event/organisers
are also covered by any other insurance
PLEASE
BE SPECIFIC AND ACCURATE ON THIS
This
was held on Sunday 11th September 2005 at 8.30pm in the Three Rocks
Pub, Ladram Bay during the Devon holiday.
The
committee being willing to serve for a further period (mad fools!) was elected
en masse. There were no proposals notified to the meeting.
Following
the formal business of the meeting an informal discussion was held among the
members present.
Bookings
are now being taken for the 2006 holiday, which will run from 9thth
to 16th September. It will again be held at Ladram Bay after the very
favourable response both from members and the camp managers to our visits in
2004 and 2005. Deposits should be paid by 1st June 2006 and balances
by 1st July 2006.This includes Tourers and the deadline date will
have to be strictly adhered to as we will be invoiced by the site owners at that
point. Forms are available from Caroline Scoles at the address at the end of
this newsletter. The venue is Ladram Bay near Budleigh Salterton and is not a
Haven site. The units are of the same type but at half the price as Haven.
Prices for 5Star units are from £230. The camp has passed on responsibility for
administering the bookings to us so there is no provision for booking direct.
Again
booking forms and information sheets are available from Caroline at the usual
address
This
year we welcomed a new instructor, Brian Cooper taking over from Simon Askew who
is having a bit of a rest. Again we were the guests of the East Devon Club at
their site at Woodbury Common a familiar patch to us all, and still on first
name terms with the gorse!
Again
there were a number of new faces that is always encouraging. For the Association
to be healthy we need new blood all the time to reinforce the old guard and to
give it the challenge of one of its most important tasks, that of instructing
beginners.
The
only downside of the excellent Ladram Bay site was the lack of a dedicated
meeting area for members, although we hope that this will be rectified for
2006(we did a pretty good job of taking over the bar though! -ed)
We
were greeted on the Sunday morning by the stalwarts of the East Devon club, most
noticeably Jeff and Roy, the keepers of the common flying site, and as usual the
grass had been nicely cut. We managed to fly virtually every day and whilst it
certainly was no heat wave the wet stuff usually managed to stay away.
Generally
speaking the flying was to a good standard, and there were no serious mishaps.
Indeed even the local junior school on a morning ramble stopped by and the kids
enjoyed themselves pretending to fly-see the photos on Boddos page in Model
Flyer!
On
the plus side too was the excellent camaraderie among the members and the
welcome given to the newcomers.
As
always our sincere thanks to the East Devon club for acting as our hosts.
What
a shock! It was windy and in the right direction for the second year running.
For more years than I care to remember the wind in Devon has never been to kind
to the glider lads but last year and this year –what a change.
There is a lovely hill just a couple of mile from Ladram Bay that we were
able to use all week without having to venture for the full day out at Chagford,
a 30 minute drive away on the outskirts of Dartmoor with a fantastic view.
All
the usual suspects were in attendance and it was nice to see some new faces too.
The training gliders saw some action and as usual there was a glut of EPP on the
slopes. As I was still not in the best of health I was not able to get out as
often as I wished but Michael stepped in and held it together.
DAVE
SCOLES-GLIDING CFI
The
attendance of the pilots’ morning briefing was good.
In
the absence of a clubroom it was held outside the organisers caravan.
MAA
Chairman, Max Bradley, welcomed everybody, PRO, Caroline Scoles, explained what
was in store for the week's events and each CFI gave a briefing on their
discipline.
The
lack of a clubroom curtailed organised evening activities but most members were
found in the bar anyway. On the Sunday evening we held the AGM and on the
Thursday we held the supper and prize giving. We also had a fun auction- a
‘blind auction’ where you did not know what you were bidding for and was
only given a cryptic description. This was held outside on the restaurant
balcony and was hilarious. It will be repeated! This year the supper took the
form of a 2-course carvery and Bruce the chef did a stunning job and produced a
truly excellent meal. He promises a repeat performance for this year
Caroline
Scoles/Max Bradley-Organisers
It
must be remembered that the holidays are not to be used as a vehicle for
obtaining A and B certificates. Our instructors, some of which are BMFA
examiners, value their qualifications and abuse of the conditions relating to
the issue of A and B awards could cause the BMFA to withdraw the qualification
from the examiner. Please do not therefore put either the MAA or the individual
examiner in an embarrassing position. There are very strict rules imposed by the
BMFA in relation to taking the tests outside of your own club which have
recently be reiterated to all Chief Examiners. If you are not sure what these
rules are please speak to Dave Scoles, our gliding CFI who is a BMFA Chief
Examiner. His decision on whether there is an eligibility to take the test will
be final .In any case you will need to bring a letter signed by your club
secretary with you confirming that the club has no objection to us carrying out
the test.
Snail
Mail
For
general matters, membership and holidays
Public
Relations: -
Caroline Scoles
Chairman:
-
Max Bradley
MAA
C/O
Grimsby Model Centre
22
Lord Street
Grimsby
DN31
2LU
Tel
01472 322874/ 07771 751959
E.Mail:
-
mail@modelaviatorsassociation.fsnet.co.uk
OR
mail@grimsbymodelcentre.fsnet.co.uk
OR
carolinescoles@hotmail.co.uk
WEB.
www.modelaviatorsassociation.fsnet.co.uk