Constitution and Rules amended January 2007
2. The Club will abide by and promote the policies and rules of The Governing Body of the sport by affiliation to The British Model Flying Association.
3. Members will be encouraged to pass A, B and C certificates.
4. The Headquarters of the Club shall be Holywell Primary School, Tolpits Lane, Watford, or other such place as Shall agreed upon from time to time.
5. The Officers of the Club shall consist of Chairman, Secretary and Treasure.
6. The Committee shall consist of four members of the Club, 2 Fixed Wing and 2 Helicopter, who together with the Officers shall be responsible for managing the affairs of the Club
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7. All Officers and Members of the Committee shall retire at the Annual General Meeting but shall be eligible for re-election.
8. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members of the Club to serve upon the Committee and may make such election at any Committee Meeting.
9. A Quorum at Committee Meeting shall be two Members personally present and three Officers, one of which will be the Chairman.
10. On matters before the Committee, in the event of voting being equal, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
11. Any decision made by the Committee is final and instructions given by the Committee relating to Club activities at the Flying Sites shall be followed.
12. The Club’s Financial Year shall be from 1st November to 31st October.
13. Yearly fees for Senior, Junior and Committee member will be agreed at the A.G.M. The age definition of junior members shall be identical to that currently used by the BMFA (SAME), i.e. under 18 years at 31st December.
14. Membership shall be renewed by 31st December, any member not renewing their membership by this date will be deemed to have left The Club and be charged the Joining Fee.
15. New members will be accepted throughout the year. For seniors a non-returnable Joining Fee of £50 will be levied.
16. New Members shall be on 3 months probation. .
17. Anybody joining after 31st July will be charged 50% of the Club Fees current in that year.
18. All Fees paid will be non-returnable.
19. All examiners and instructors notified to the BMFA are liable to be verified by the Criminal Records Bureau.
20. When any junior member is at a flying site or attending a club meeting, at least two adult members must be present.
21. If a junior member, who is over 14, is left unaccompanied, there must be written permission from the parent or guardian.
22. For a junior member as described in paragraph 21 above, the instructor must be given a contact telephone number of the parent/guardian who must be prepared to return to the location on request.
23. A junior member, 14 or under, must be accompanied by a parent/guardian when attending a flying site or club meeting.
24. Instructors may only have minimal physical contact with junior members.
25. Following the registration of a junior member, the parent/guardian will be required to complete a declaration form and return it to the secretary.
26. Any member with a special medical or physical condition that could affect their attendance at the flying field should inform the secretary, in writing, and those at the flying fields.
27. Members should observe reasonable behaviour, with due consideration for other members.
28. Any member has the right to make a complaint to the committee in respect of another member’s wilful neglect of the club rules or flight safety.
29. Should any member commit a breach of the Club rules or the bye-laws and be reported by another member to the Secretary, the Secretary shall take such a report in writing and bring the matter before the next committee meeting, at which the complaint shall be considered. The decision of the Committee shall be final and if against the Member, no reason need be given.
30. The member will have the right to put his case at such a hearing. The decision of the committee will be final.
31. Any penalty imposed shall be at the committee’s discretion and may include the following: -
A warning, extra site duty, extra contributions to club funds, short-term ban from flying at club sites, or expulsion from the club.
32. The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held no later than the last Thursday in November.
33. Any member desiring to amend the rules, or submit any Resolution to the Annual General Meeting, must submit his proposals in writing to the Secretary four weeks prior to the A.G.M. in that year. This must be accompanied by the name of a Member seconding the proposal, and they must both attend the A.G.M.
34. Each member shall carry his membership card at each of the Flying sites. All members shall make enquiries of strangers to ascertain their identity.
FLYING RULES
1. No children, 14 years or under, are allowed on the flying field site unless closely supervised at all times by their parent or guardian.
2. Members shall remove any litter, aircraft parts and rubbish from the site at the end of each flying session. All members are responsible for checking that the site is clear at the end of the day and that any field gates are closed and locked if applicable.
3. No member shall operate his or her radio transmitter before checking that the channel is clear on the pegboard.
4. When operating 27 MHz the appropriate colour flag shall be attached to the transmitter.
5. For 35 MHz equipment, an orange pennant with the channel number in white numerals shall be used on the transmitter aerial.
6. Members MUST use the pegboard by placing a disk with their number onto the appropriate channel hook.
7. All models flown by club members shall be silenced to comply with the D.o.E Code of Practice on Noise from Model Aircraft 1982. i.e. less than 82dB at 7 meters.
8. Dangerous or irresponsible flying so judged by two members will result in the pilot being grounded.
9. Persistent inconsiderate flying may result in the pilot being banned from any club-flying site.
10. Flights by all aircraft must commence and finish from the take off area and not from the pits.
11. Any damage to aircraft on the flying area caused by articles left by members shall be made good by those who left the objects in the area. In disputed cases the committee will adjudicate.
12. While flying, all pilots will stand together in a designated box without obstruction the landing area, which should be kept clear except when taking off or retrieving models.
13. Transmitters are to be left in the pit area when pilots retrieve models.
14. Novices are NOT to fly models or operate radio equipment without experienced pilot in attendance.
15. IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO FLY OVER OR BEHIND THE PITS AREA.
16. The transmitter and receiver must be ranged checked before every flying session.
17. Models MUST NOT BE FLOWN, if the control system is not working perfectly on the ground.
18. Full and free movement must be checked of each control in the expected direction before each flight.
19. Check again with the engine running just before take off.
20. Visitors and spectators are allowed on the site by prior approval of a committee member.
21. Guests are NOT allowed to fly except by prior approval of a CLUB OFFICER. To fly solo, and not under instruction, proof of insurance is mandatory.
22. Cars must be parked in the designated parking area. Under no circumstances may vehicles be driven on any other area of land.
23. It is suggested that every member shall carry a FIRST AID KIT in his or her cars when attending the flying field.
24. No free fight models can be flown on the sites.
FLYING SITE RULES (BOVINGDON – Fixed Wing).
FLYING TIMES Monday to Saturday – 8am to 8pm
Sunday – 10am to 3pm
1. Member’s identifying card should be on displayed in their car windscreen on entry to the farmyard.
2. No dogs are allowed on the site.
3. A new model must have its noise emission checked before flying and if any change is made to prop size or silencer.
4. No more than 3 i/c powered aircraft are to be flown at any one time.
5. Ducted fan models will be provisionally allowed subject to assessment providing they comply with the 82Dba noise regulations.
6. Helicopter models are not permitted to be flown on this site unless at the time of an organised event.
7. Models powered by i/c engines must not be flown near to the Farm Buildings.
8. Members entering upon the farmland do so at their own risk. No liability will be accepted by the owner of the land or by the committee of Watford Wayfarers Model Aircraft Club.
9. FOR SAFETY REASONS NO PERSON IS TO FLY ON THEIR OWN.
10. All models are to be independently restrained when started.
FLYING TIMES Monday to Saturday – 8am to 7pm
Sundays and Bank Holidays – 10an to 6pm
1. The site access gates must be kept locked shut at all times.
2. No more than 4 helicopters can be flown at any one time. In addition 2 further models may be flown, providing that they are only hovering.
3. FOR SAFETY REASONS NO PERSON IS TO FLY ON THEIR OWN.