CHRISTCHURCH AND DISTRICT MODEL FLYING CLUB
51 YEARS OF MODEL FLYING
BMFA  AFFILIATION NUMBER 2581

Christchurch & District Model Flying Club
Minutes of Annual General Meeting
at The Walkford Hotel on the 3^rd December 2015.

Present :- T Antell Chairman, M Bird Secretary, A Butterworth Treasurer & 40 members.

Apologies received: - Apologies from 6 members.

1. The published Minutes of the 2014 AGM, with no matters arising, were proposed as a true record by Ian Wettstien & Seconded by Mike Roach & voted unanimously in favour by members.

Brian Brockway was congratulated upon receiving an Award from the BMFA also from

 the Christchurch & District Sports Council 2015 Award for long standing services to the Sport.  Trevor Hewson’s Award from the Council was for “Devotion to the Sport.” 

Committee Reports.

2.  Secretary (MFB) reported that 5 Committee meetings had been held during the year at Alan Butterworth & Martin Burr’s houses & thanked them for their hospitality. All minutes recorded & up to date.  Contact between committee members was maintained on a regular basis via email, phone & face to face, decisions recorded at the next meeting.  No motions were received for changes to the Constitution this year.

2a. Strawberry Field (MFB) There are approximately 550 signatures in the ‘Flying Register’ of members using the Site, slightly more than last year despite the poor weather during the summer. The site atmosphere has been enjoyed due to the cooperation of all the members flying. No changes to Rules needed

Our Landlord, Mike Cooper has been supportive & very helpful throughout the year..  Alex Bush has ensured the grass has been cut on a regular basis virtually singlehanded  & maintained the Mower during the year.  The meeting thanked Alex for his efforts. Car Parking has not been a problem as members have parked within the designated area. All Members using Strawberry Field were thanked for creating a pleasurable & friendly atmosphere.

Mike Roach had organised two ‘Fly Ins’ but one had to be cancelled due to the bad weather The Google Group established & administered by Andrew Ford-Hutchinson for use of Strawberry Field, Longham & Slopes is still working better than ever enabling some organised training & help for members on site. This facility remains  available to all email enabled members on request to A F-H, free of charge for use on Club related business. cdmfc-sffe-and-ba@googlegroups.com 

There one was unfortunate dispute with the neighbour on the Southern Boundary.  A plane came down in the boundary trees & was confiscated by the Neighbour before it could be retrieved. The Member walked to his house & apologised & was forced to listen to a lot of abuse before the plane was returned.   All members using Strawberry Field are urged NOT to fly over the property which is a designated a No Fly Zone, to prevent further problems.

2b. Early evening Monthly Training & Tuesday PM Meetings (A F-H)   reported a continuing favourable response by members wishing to take advantage of the experience & expertise of the more skilled member. The sessions are ‘student led’ giving help where requested or needed. A series of talks, demonstrations, practical help on site has resulted giving an exchange of knowledge. The Flight Simulator & projector has been well used. Any ideas or suggestions for future subjects & demonstrations will be welcome. Andrew thanked members of the training team, Trevor Hewson, Alan Butterworth, Brian Brockway, Terry Antell & Malcolm Bird. It has bee necessary to reminded members the Google Group site is not a one to one chat line.

2c. Indoor Flying (MFB) Sessions have been running virtually every other Friday at Durlston Court School Sports Hall during spring & autumn.  There are three flying slots of  8 minute duration. Small helicopers i.e. below 10inch rotor diameter fast fly & very slow fly planes. Dependant on demand Shock Fliers are given a slot when requested. We are averaging 11flying members per session. Flying fees are to be reduced to £2.00 per head per session.

2d. Treasurers Report (AB)  The Club is on a firm substantial financial footing. Fees exceeded budget. Major items of expenditure were highlighted as shown on the attached Financial Statement.  Income £5223, Expenditure/expenses £4085,  Income/Expenditure  £1138. Cash in Bank £6671. Cash in hand £69.  Closing balance £6740. Alan has prepared  budget for the coming year. We were reminded the income includes full members BMFA fees, which are forwarded..   Approval & acceptance of the Treasurers report was proposed by Trevor Hewson, seconded Jon Goddard. Voted & approved unanimously

2e.  Membership Secretary Report. (BB) Membership now stands at 116 recorded members, down 6 on last year.  £555 renewal fees collected from Members at meeting.  The meeting was reminded BMFA & Membership Fees should be received by 24^th December, otherwise they will not be insured from the 1^st January 2016.

2f. Activities report. (TA)  Activities outlined were, well supported Talks, including Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance & RNLI at monthly Meetings. TA Visited all club sites on a regular basis. Proposed site changes to Stanpit Recreation Ground are completed. Competitions were held at Strawberry Field whilst work was in progress. Organised & un-organised activities have been well supported. Second Thursday in the month Slope Days have again proved popular. There has been as many as 14 members flying in the Norterly winds at Win GreenThe MOD has lifted restrictions on the Picnic Site.  Knowle Hill SE site has not been used as much as expected. Two Fun Days  organised, but one cancelled

2g. Competition Secretary Report (BB & TA) Club Competition over 18 weeks has proved successful again. The different categories introduced have proved successful. which are now  Pure Thermal. Large Electric Model Challenge, Joint winners Martin Burr & Ian Wettstein Small Electric Gliders Winner Jon Couldridge  & Burgee Launch  Winner Martin Burr.

Thermal Rose Bowl Competition was won this year by C&DMFC at WSA site in July. Brian reported the loss of the Bungee which broke & dragged away by the parachute

2i.  Web Master & Newsletter Report  (MR). The Web site continues to expand as a result the Web Fees have increased.  Feedback or suggestions for the improvement of the web site is always appreciated.

Newsletter, There have been no photographs or articles of Sloping Activities received, Mike urged Fliers to share their experiences with in ‘Sloping off’ readers. Any, ‘Sloping Off’ contributions are thankfully received. He will accept items by Email with attachments.

2j.  Longham Reservoir. (MR). All going well with no complaints. The change of Ownership from SemCorp to Bournemouth Water has not influenced our flying.  At our request a new platform has been built & the willows cut back, giving  greatly improved visibility,  even though it is situated further from the Car Park. Public interest is continued to being shown. We have had a successful season with 8 maiden flights, either new planes or first flights off the water this year. There have been 78 maiden flights we started flying at the reservoir. There is a Longham thread on RC Groups on the Web site, more contributions would be welcome. The Staff at Longham continue to be supportive.    A retrieval boat & secure location is still awaited. It was suggested the Club Membership Card maybe used as a means of identification to SemCorp of members entitlement to fly This has now been accepted The meeting thanked Mike & Trevor Hewson for their work & success of the site.

2k.  Chairman’s Review. (TA) We have enjoyed some excellent flying days this summer despite some bad weather.. The Google Group organised by Andrew Ford-Hutchinson has enabled members to take part in the many organised & impromptu activities at Strawberry Field, Longham & the slopes who would otherwise miss the flying or meetings. Mike Roach arranged a couple of light hearted competitions at Strawberry Field one of which had to be cancelled. Speakers at the Club monthly meetings have covered some interesting & informative subjects. A few members have successfully taken their A Certificates.

Indoor Flying meetings at Durlston Court are well attended with dates agreed until Spring, also dates finalised for the Monthly Club meetings & Tuesday afternoons.  Fawcett Field has not been used during the year as due to budget cuts the Council have not cut the grass which is too long for Take Offs & Landings, although still usable by the Helicopter enthusiasts. A gate has been installed which means there is no access for car to the Field. Flying at Barton Sea Front has been bad due to northerly wind conditions.

Terry gave his thanks to the Committee for all their support & knows Committee will welcome any support the members can give.            

3.  Membership Fees.

Considering the present Club Finances, your Committee proposes the 2016 Membership Fees remain unchanged which are :-

Adult Fee £15.00.& Juniors £5.00 for 16 years of age or younger OR full time education until 21 years of age. £15.00 Joining fee for new members, Juniors free.

BMFA  fees are £33.00 for Seniors & £17.00 for Juniors.

Club fees, incl. BMFA is £48.00. Cheques payable to C&DMFC.

4. Constitution Amendments & Motions.  No motions or amendments have been received.

5. Election of Officers.

Chairman Terry Antell, Vice Chairman, Martin Burr, Secretary Malcolm Bird, Treasurer Alan Butterworth, Membership Secretary Brian Brockway, Training Co-ordinator Andrew Ford-Hutchinson  & Ordinary Members  John Macklin  & Alex Bush were willing to continue in their present posts. All above Committee members were voted in en-bloc.Proposed Ian Harrison  Seconded Doug Bowman. All above voted unanimously in favour.

6. Appointment of Auditors for 2016,   

Roger Dornom & Clive Spencer,   Proposed Peter Jones,  Seconded Mike Roach. No objectors

7. No Motions received.

8. A O B. No matters raised

9. Date of next AGM Wednesday 7th December 2016.

 The Chairman thanked members for attending.  The meeting closed at 21.10.

---ooOoo---

After the Meeting members enjoyed Mince Pies & a Raffle.

Malcolm Bird. Sec.