CMFC Constitution

 

OBJECTIVES

 

  • To facilitate the sport of model aircraft construction and flying.
  • To assist members to improve their standards of building and flying model aircraft.
  • To promote model flying as a safe and enjoyable sport.
  • To encourage Club social activities.
   

1 GENERAL

    1.1 The Club shall be known as “Chester Model Flying Club” (hereafter referred to as the “Club”)

    1.2 The management of the Club shall be vested in a Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), consisting a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Safety Officer and up to five other Committee Members.

    1.3 All Committee Members shall have the role of Assistant Safety officers.

    1.4 The AGM shall elect one or two Auditors who shall not be Committee Members.

    1.5 The AGM shall be held no later than the end of February each year.

    1.6 The Treasurer shall submit to each Member a detailed account statement prior to the AGM.

    1.7 An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be convened at any time on written application, signed by at least five Members, giving at least 21 days notice, to the Chairman.

    1.8 Only paid-up Members shall vote at an AGM or EGM.

    1.9 Club Membership may be limited at the discretion of the Committee.

    1.10 The Committee may co-opt Members to deal with special items or to fill vacancies occurring between election periods.

    1.11 The Committee may buy equipment, pay fees, make donations, give gratuities and approve expenditure in the interest of the Club as it judges appropriate.

    1.12 The Comm ittee may change the Club’s Constitution but significant changes shall be approved by Members at an EGM or the AGM. The Committee shall communicate any such changes to the Members in writing.

    1.13 The Committee shall not be responsible for the actions of any Member and may expel any Member whose conduct is considered to be prejudicial to the Club.

    1.14 Complaints shall be put in writing and forwarded to the Secretary for consideration by the Committee.

    1.15 Members shall not use Club facilities whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

    1.16 The Club shall be affiliated to the British Model Flying Association (BMFA).

  

2 MEMBERSHIP

    2.1 Classes of Membership are: Senior, Junior, Non-Flying and Honorary Non-Flying.

    2.2 Members under the age of 16 on the 1st of January of the year of Membership are Junior Members.

    2.3 Application for Membership shall be made using the Membership Application Form.

    2.4 All Members shall be fully paid-up Members of the BMFA, either through the Club, as BMFA Members of another club, or as Country Members.

    2.5 The outgoing Committee shall determine subscriptions for the ensuing year.

    2.6 Renewal fees should be paid not later than 1 st January each year. There shall be no reduction in fees for a Member renewing after 1 st January. Reduced fees for a new Member’s initial Membership shall, after July 1 st be determined as one twelfth of the annual rate for the remaining months in the year. All cheques should be made payable to CMFC.

    2.7 The Committee may refuse Club facilities to any Member in arrears with subscriptions.

    2.8 Any Member expelled or wishing to resign shall forfeit all fees paid.

    2.9 A copy of the Club’s Constitution and the Club’s Safety Policy and Rules shall be made available to each Member.

    2.10 Unless a Member objects, membership details may be kept on a computer database for administrative purposes. Details will not be passed on to any person or organisation outside of the Club.

     

3 INSURANCE

    3.1 Members’ Insurance is provided by the BMFA. Members are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with the type and level of cover provided, the conditions that apply and the incident reporting procedure as detailed in the BMFA Handbook.

    3.2 The use of all Club facilities, including flying fields, is at the Member’s risk other than those risks covered by the BMFA insurance .

 

4 FLYING FIELD CONDUCT - GENERAL

    4.1 All Members shall comply with the Club’s Safety Policy and Rules.

    4.2 All new 35MHz transmitters and/or transmitter crystals shall be tested before being used on the Club’s flying fields.

    4.3 Model aircraft shall not weigh more than 7 kg (15.4 lb) without fuel but otherwise ready to fly. This includes all batteries required for the flight.

    4.4 Models shall conform to the Department of the Environment Code of Practice for noise, i.e. not to exceed a maximum of 82 dB, measured at 4 points (front, rear and both sides) at 7m from the model and at 1m above the ground (both model and sound measuring device) and with the engine/ electric motor adjusted for maximum power.

    4.5 Dangerous flying or misconduct may lead to suspension and possible expulsion of the Member concerned.

    4.6 There shall be no fires or burning of models.

    4.7 The specified routes only shall be used for entry to and exit from the flying fields.

    4.8 No modifications or alterations shall be made to the flying fields or their usage without the prior approval of the Committee.

    4.9 Cars shall be left in the designated parking areas.

    4.10 All gates shall be left in the same position as they were found, i.e. left open if they were open and closed if they were found closed.

 

 5 CLUB GUESTS and TEMPORARY MEMBERS

    5.1 Accompanied Guests who are BMFA Members may use the flying fields. Guests shall comply with the Club’s Safety Policy and Rules. The Inviting Member shall be responsible for the conduct of his/her Guests(s). Members shall not invite more than 2 Guests onto the field at any time or on more than 4 occasions.

    5.2 Temporary Members, e.g. modellers on holiday, who are BMFA Members, may use the Club facilities for up to 2 weeks without charge, on verbal or written application to the Secretary who shall have the discretion to approve, deny or refer to the Committee.

  

6 NEW MEMBERS

    6.1 New Members, before flying solo on the Club’s flying fields, shall demonstrate to the Committee or any person appointed by the Committee that they are capable of flying a model aircraft safely, unsupervised.

7 INDOOR FLYING

7.1 All Members shall comply with the Club’s Safety Policy and Rules

 

  

 

APPENDIX A – FLYING SITES

 

A1 SILENT FLIGHT FIELD

A1.1 Times are not restricted for gliders and ‘silent’ electric models but ‘noisy’ electric models are restricted to 10 am to 6 pm.

A1.2 Free flight, radio control thermal soaring and electric power models only shall be flown.

A1.3 No internal combustion engines of any type shall be used.

A1.4 Any number of models may be airborne at any one time provided it is safe to do so.

 

A2 POWER FIELD

A2.1 Radio control only shall be flown, no control line or free flight. No i/c helicopters. No jets . Towlines, winches and bungees are not permitted

A2.3 No more than 3 i/c models shall be airborne at any one time.

A2.4 The Club only has planning consent from the City Council to use this site on 28 days per year. The permitted days are at weekends only, Saturdays and Sundays from May to September. Members will be informed of the exact dates permitted. In addition, this is a noise sensitive site which could be terminated at short notice by the Environmental Health Department should a noise complaint to them be upheld.

A2.5 Hours of use are 10 am to 6 pm for i/c models and ‘noisy’ electric models ; unrestricted hours for ‘silent’ electric models.

A2.6 Flying over the lane, except for landing approaches is not permitted.

A2.7 Flying continuously on full power is not permitted.

 

 

  

 

 

 

This document cancels and supersedes the previous ‘General Constitution of the Rules’ dated

12 th May 2003.

 

This document is dated 23 February 2010