Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
 

the waterplanes issue

Perfect conditions at Longham a couple of weeks ago

About four years ago, when Trevor and I flew our Sealand and Catalina off Christchurch Harbour, I started looking for a fresh water flying site. The penalties involved with salt water are simply too great to put up with for long! There are some very attractive gravel pits on the right and left hand side of the Salisbury road and we had a look around, using the OS map and Google Earth as our guides. Unfortunately all the water we found was either leased by fishermen or used as nature reserves.

As part of my dinghy sailing activity, I was I touch with Mike Rhodes, the recreation manager of Bournemouth and West Hants Water and I explained the predicament we were in. He immediately said he would look around to see if there was anywhere in his patch where we could fly. I suppose I must have pestered him for 6 months, when he announced that they were flooding one of their gravel pits at Longham to act as a water storage site, and that it would be opened up to quiet leisure pursuits “and no fishing”. I took Wendy up there for a walk around and while we could see the fishing lake, the rest was just a large hole in the ground. Trevor also had a look at the site one windy, wet and cold winter’s day and we quickly identified the corner we wanted, then hurried off to get warm. While there are benefits to clear open spaces, there are penalties too!

What it was like a couple of years ago. The POV of the picture above is from the small headland about 200 metres past the yellow digger.

At about this time we sent the owners our initial pitch to fly, establishing straight away that it was a quiet and relatively harmless activity pursued by a small number of individuals who operated within a strong framework of rules and insurance cover. Then we heard no more for a year or so (during which time Mike Rhodes retired and was replaced by Jon Morley and the company was taken over by Sembcorp and became Sembcorp Bournemouth Water Ltd) until suddenly I was asked to produce a formal proposal for flying. Along with three or four other groups, these proposals were considered by the management board and at the end of 2010 Jon rang me and said we did not get approval but he wanted to talk. He explained that the least risky activities (kayaking and RC model yachts) had been approved and would take place during 2011 and that the company would reconsider our bid in a year’s time. Disappointing, but not a shut door.

All this time I had been in touch with the BMFA and got every assistance from their staff, including the offer of a meeting with Sembcorp. We did look at starting a new Club specifically for water flying, but thank goodness your committee approved our suggestion of being an integral part of the Club. This move was instrumental in getting support from Jon Morley because of the framework of responsibility and insurance that the Club carries.

Then in the middle of last year we were asked for our rules for flying and a safety assessment, which pinged back and forth by email between Terry, Trevor, Jon and me. We eventually settled on what is a complex and lengthy set of rules which so far have been easy to operate within, but they do look somewhat daunting at first sight…Trevor and I were invited to show Jon and Ian (the full-time Warden) what our planes were like but unfortunately the day we chose was wet and slightly too breezy for safe flying. We did run up the motors to show how quiet they were and as always with modest electric power, this made a very good impression. But the breakthrough came in September when our Canadian friends were over for the BIMBO meeting. I suggested to Jon that we could put on a demo event. This was very successful and brought the Sembcorp staff on our side, thanks to the expert flying skills of Trevor and our visitors: probably the first time that a BMFA project has been cemented by the combined efforts of British, Norwegian and Canadian fliers (and all flying models designed by a Canadian).

Ian, Trevor and Jon at our first demo day

Ivan Pettigrew, Hal Norrish, Nick Chudleigh and Scott Wallis, Demo 2. The models are Mike’s Islander, Trevor’s Sealand and Scott’s girlfriend...oh, and his Twin Otter.

Adrian, Mike, Bob and John with Roger Harrington, MD of SBW and his reservoir. And Trebor’s Lazy Bee on it’s fourth pass.

After a couple more meetings the final format was agreed and the contract signed for flying to begin on 1 Jan 2012. So far we have flown there 10 times (not bad for the first 5 weeks of the year!) in conditions ranging from warm and breezy to glassy calm and cold. More to come!

January 2012—Initially we flew from the pontoon, but this proved to be tricky to launch from and wobbled rather disconcertingly under your feet. It was also too close the corner of the Reservoir for relaxed flying. We now fly from FL3, which is on the bank, about 150 m further on. FL1 is about 5 minutes walk along the path between the reservoirs, on the east bank and FL2 is opposite the island (but the water is really too full of reeds and old tree-tops to be safe. It will be improved during the year.

Longham Reservoir is the finest—indeed the only—water flying site in the south and will be in the top three sites in the country once a few infrastructure improvements have been made. Jon has agreed to add some wooden platforms at the water’s edge at the three flying locations and thinks he has found a rescue boat for us.

Jon and Ian have been exceptionally helpful and without their support, and that of Linda and the other staff at SBW we would not be flying there. Many thanks to you all!

Mike

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