CLUB RULES ISSUE 6 - JANUARY 2005

(including latest amendments as of 29th Nov 2006)

1 The Club shall be called DERBYSHIRE RADIO CONTROL FLYERS
2 The club shall operate from Ashbourne Airfield or any other designated site.
3 The object of the Club shall be to encourage and promote the interest of building and flying radio controlled model aircraft.
4 The Club shall consist of Senior and junior members. Junior members must be under 18 years of age. Junior annual subscription fees shall be one half of senior fees.
5 New members on election shall pay a joining fee of £35 and a key deposit of £2. The joining fee will be halved for junior members, but the balance shall be payable on transfer to senior membership.
6 The election of members shall be by a majority decision of the Committee.
7 The annual subscription shall be paid by 1 January. The annual subscription fees shall be decided at each Annual General Meeting (AGM). Members elected in August, September, October, November and December shall pay respectively 5/6, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, 1/6 of the annual subscription.
8 The Club shall be affiliated to the BMFA All Club members must be members of the BMFA.
9 The Officers of the Club shall be Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. Should any officer, for whatever reason, wish to stand down, the committee may appoint a deputy who will enjoy the full powers of the office, with the exception of cheque signing, until the next AGM.
10 Management of the Club shall be vested in the Committee, composed of the Officers and six elected members.
11 Four members of the Committee, two of whom shall be Officers, shall form a quorum.
12 The AGM shall be held in November or December. Business of the meeting shall be:-
a) Apologies for absence
b) Approval of Minutes of previous year's AGM
c) Matters arising
d) Approval and adoption of Annual Reports from the Committee
e) Adoption of Accounts
f) Election of Officers and Committee
g) Any member's proposals received under Rule 13
h) Any other business
13 If two members, at least one month before the AGM, make a written request to the Secretary before the 24th October stating a motion to be proposed, the Secretary shall give notice of the motion in the notice convening the AGM.
14 An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called by the Committee at any time as deemed necessary. An EGM shall be called if a written request is received by the Secretary which states the motion(s) proposed and is signed by five or more members.
15 At least 21 days before the AGM and at least 14 days before an EGM, the Secretary shall send to every member a notice stating the date, time, location and agenda of the meeting. No business other than that specified in the notice shall be transacted at the meeting.
16 The quorum of an AGM or EGM shall be ten members. If a quorum is not present, the meeting shall be adjourned for two weeks. The Secretary shall notify all members of the adjournment. The adjourned meeting may proceed without a quorum.
17 The Chair at all General Meetings shall be taken by the Chairman. If he is not present after 5 minutes of the appointed start time of the meeting, the Chair shall be taken by Club member elected by the meeting.
18 Every member shall have one vote. the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
19 In the event of dissolution of the Club, any assets remaining after the clubs liabilities have been discharged shall be donated to any other organization with objectives similar to those of the Club.
20 Membership of the Club may be terminated at the discretion of the Committee for blatant disregard of the Club Rules.
21 Any member whose subscription has not been paid by 1 January must not fly at any Club designated site, as the British Model Flying Association (BMFA) insurance applicable to both the member and the Club will not be valid. Flying may be resumed once the full subscription (including BMFA subscription) has been received by a Club Officer.
22 The Club shall have a bank account; the signatories shall be the serving Officers of the Club.
23 All frequencies in the 27, 35 and 459 MHz bands may be used for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
24 Airfield Discipline
a) Flying times at Ashbourne Airfield shall be between 10:00 a.m. and 8.00p.m. on Monday to Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, or at the discretion of the Committee. This restriction does not apply to gliders and electric powered models.
b) All engines shall be fitted with an effective silencer which complies with current noise limits. Any member not complying with this rule may be instructed to cease flying by any Committee member present.
c) Frequency flags shall be displayed on transmitter aerials.
d) All members must lock the gate on entry to or exit from the Airfield.
e) Vehicles must be parked as directed by the Committee.
f) All accidents must be reported to the Committee and an Accident Report Form completed and sent to the BMFA.
g) Care must be taken of all land and crops.
h) All children and pets must be kept clear of the takeoff and landing areas and must be kept under proper control at all times.
i) Transmitter aerials must be collapsed when not being used for flying.
j) Transmitters must not be switched on unless the operator has the appropriate colour frequency flag or their disc bearing their name on the peg board.
k) Members are responsible for their own and their friends litter.
l) Flying over the pits area is NOT permitted.
m) Spinner, propeller safety nuts and all projections forward of the propeller shall be rounded - no needle noses.
n) When flying, all pilots must stand near to the peg board, which should be sited at least 5 metres away from the pits, in both the crosswind and upwind directions.
o) The prevalence of larger models results in larger quantities of flammable fuels being in the pits. To reduce the risk of fires, smokers are requested to move away from the pits to a safe area. Whenever petrol-engined models are being operated, a fire extinguisher suitable for use on petrol fires must be to hand and ready for immediate use.
p) On completion of each flight, pilots must remove their disc from the peg board immediately to allow any waiting pilot access to that frequency. The disc should be placed on a transmitter stick as a reminder not to switch on without checking the board.
q) Bona fide guests who are BMFA members may fly at Ashbourne Airfield subject to approval by a member of the Committee.
r) Full-size aircraft use Ashbourne Airfield and have absolute priority. Aircraft taking off to the west will turn right to avoid overflying Ashbourne town. This will bring them over our strip. Any pilot seeing a full-size aircraft preparing to depart should land his model immediately or fly in the area to the east of our strip if landing would compromise separation.
s) Because of the known risk of mobile phone transmissions corrupting the memories of computer type transmitters, mobile phones must not be taken onto the tarmac, pits and flying areas.
25 The Committee may amend the Rules as necessary, but no resolution to wind up the Club may be passed except by a 2/3 majority at a General Meeting.
26 No member shall fly unsupervised until he/she has passed at least the appropriate BMFA "A" proficiency test for the class of aircraft being flown unless flying alone or with the agreement of all other members present. The members proficiency rating will be shown on their membership card which will be re-issued annually. This card must be displayed on the member’s flight box or stand.
27 Flying Limits
a) The main flying area is between the north / south runway and the airfield perimeter in the direction of Ashbourne over Bradley Wood.
b) The east/west runway marks the limit of flying to the south.
c) The first hedgerow visible to the east of the main flying area marks the limit to the east.
28 When flying at the main site, helicopter pilots must stand with other pilots near the peg board.
29 Flying of gas turbine powered aircraft
a) Operation is subject to the prior approval of the Committee.
b) The BMFA Code of Practice for operation of gas turbine powered aircraft must be followed.
c) The pilot must hold at least a BMFA "B" proficiency rating.
30 No more than six aircraft may be airborne at the same time. Helicopters flying from the main site count as one of the six.
31 Aircraft weighing 7Kg or more, must be fitted with a fail safe mechanism. Fail safe systems on any model should be set to close the throttle to the idle position (stop in the case of electric) upon loss of signal.
32 Access to Ashbourne Airfield must be gained only as directed by the Committee. Current access is via the first gate on the left off Ladyhole Lane or via the gate at the end of Blenheim Road through the Industrial Estate. Under no circumstances shall members use any other access.
33 Junior Membership
a The club will not accept applications for membership from people under the age of 14 years, unless they are the children of Senior Members who hold at least an 'A' achievement rating when the minimum age limit will be 12 years.
b Juniors will always be accompanied on site by a parent or guardian, or by a responsible adult nominated in writing by them.
c The parent, guardian or responsible adult will have primary responsibility for the welfare and behaviour of the junior member whilst on site.
d Whilst accepting a 'duty of care' for the Junior Member, in that they should take appropriate action if they perceive that there is a problem, the trainers primary responsibility is to train the Junior to operate and fly radio controlled model aircraft in accordance with the Cub Rules and the BMFA safety guidelines.
e Except in some hazardous situation which requires emergency action, the training should be carried out on a no contact basis.
f Club members should not accept responsibility for supervising juniors in the event that their parent, guardian or authorised adult wishes to temporarily leave the flying site unless special arrangements have been agreed with the club officers beforehand. In the same context, club members should not provide unaccompanied transport to and from the site.
g If the parent, guardian or responsible adult has any concerns relative to a perceived abuse situation occurring in the club, it should be brought to the attention of a club officer who will institute immediate investigative action. BMFA and other external bodies may be involved.
h Our general duty of care also requires us to institute investigative action if we suspect that abuse is occurring external to the club. Such suspicions should be brought to the attention of a club officer.
i The club will not publish photographs of junior members together with their names in the club newsletter or on the Web Site without their parents permission. Contact details will never be disclosed.
j A specific application form for Junior members has been created which will require the parent, or responsible adult to sign to confirm that they have received and read the club rule book and the code of practice.
34 This issue of the Club Rules supersedes all previous issues. Repeated failure of a member to conform to the rules, when requested by a committee member, will result in a written warning to the member. Further failure could lead to membership being withdrawn. A record of a members verbal and written warnings will be kept for 12 months