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

Christchurch & District Model Flying Club

Minutes of Annual General Meeting

The Walkford Hotel on the 6^th December 2017.

Present :- T Antell Chairman, M Bird Secretary, A Butterworth Treasurer & 48 members.

Apologies received: - Apologies from 3 members.

1. The published Minutes of the 2016 AGM, with no matters arising, were proposed as a true record Proposed Alan Butterworth     Seconded Ian Wettstein.

Voted unanimously in favour.

Jon Couldridge & Alex Bush were congratulated for receiving their Christchurch & District Sports Council 2017 Awards.

Committee Reports.

2.  Secretary (MFB) reported that 5 Committee meetings had been held during the year at Martin Burr’s house & thanked him for his hospitality. All minutes recorded & up to date.  Contact between committee members was maintained on a regular Ad Hoc basis, decisions recorded at the next meeting.  Regular contact with BMFA. No Legal Licencing or Agreement problems. The benefits of belonging to the Google Group. cdmfc-sffe-and-ba@googlegroups.com  was explained to new members. Applicants to Andrew Ford-Hutchinson.

2a.  Strawberry Field  (MFB) There are approximately 640 plus signatures to date  in the ‘Flying Register’ of members using the Site, more than last year. The site atmosphere at SF has been enjoyed due to the cooperation of all members. Flying standards have improved due to the on-site training by Trevor Hewson & Peter Chaldecott. A few planes have landed in the trees & recovered later. Pilot line discipline has been good with no incidents & no problems with neighbours as flying has been avoided over the No Fly Zones. Thanks to Jon Couldridge & Alex Bush the grass has been cut short & Mower maintained.  Mike Cooper, our landlord, has been very supportive throughout the year. Flying fees remain the same at £2.00 per day or part day.

Hurst View  This has proved to be a very enjoyable site with no restrictions other than a ‘No Fly Zone’ over the Caravans.  Due to the Sales of Christmas trees at SF & wet car parking area we are using the Hurst View Caravan Park, Pennington until the end of January 2018. when the situation will be reviewed with the possibility flying into February.  Free of charge, but, purchases from their Café/shop would be appreciated.

2b. Early evening Monthly Training & Tuesday PM Meetings (TA)   There was a continuing favourable response by members wishing to take advantage of the experience & expertise of the more skilled members for the first half of the year which then showed signs of a decline later in the year. Due to change of venue the winter Tuesday afternoon  meetings &  training will be discontinued.

2c. Indoor Flying (MFB) Attendance at sessions have been run virtually every two weeks during the winter months with an average of 11/12 members at each session out of the 21 regular fliers totalling 152 flying visits. We now run the usual four Groups at 6 minute periods & introduced in September, at the suggestion of Trevor Hewson, “Round the Pole” flying for the last hour of each session. The club has purchased a basic kit. Ten models have been bought by members plus another 5 or more motors for home assembly. The meetings so far have been entertaining and instructive, our first forays into combat flying, glider towing and rotary winged flight - with varying degrees of success! The supplier’s advice is that models equipped with the Sparrow motor should not be flown solo at the higher power setting. Apart from this setback though, the club equipment is holding up well.

Our programme at Durlston Court School is awaiting confirmation until 31^st March 2018.

Flying Fees remain at £2.00 per session.

2d. Treasurers Report (AB) Annual Surplus for the year was £1231.27, partially overcoming our losses of £2570.28 last year which was due to the purchase of a new Mower & 50^th Jubilee Celebrations. The Club is on a firm substantial financial footing. Opening Balance £4169.99, Income £6865.46, Expenditure £5634.19 Annual Income/ Expenditure £1231.27, Closing Balance £5401.26. As this is the last meeting at the Walkford Hotel, for which we have never paid any fees, we will incur room hire charges for our new venue in 2018, which we can afford at our present level of income, which is the advantage of a comfortable bank balance. It is recommended there should be no increase of Club Subscriptions for 2018. Copy of Financial Statement attached.

Accounts were Audited by Roger Dornom & Clive Spencer.

Approval & acceptance of the Treasurer’s report

 Proposed  Trevor Hewson        Seconded Peter Chaldecott.

Voted & approved unanimously

2e.  Membership Secretary Report. (BB) Membership at end of year stands at 118, 6 down on last year. Membership tends to vary by about 15 to 20.  Renewal fees were 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 2018.

2f. Activities report. (TA)  Activities outlined were, well supported Monthly Talks given by a variety of speakers & subjects. TA Visited all club sites on a regular basis. Competitions/ Challenges held at Stanpit on Friday evenings & were well supported. Organised & un-organised activities, including ‘On site’ training has taken place & well attended. Third Thursdays in the month Slope Days have again proved popular, when weather has been unsuitable the day or venue has been adjusted by way of the Google Group System. The most well attended sites have been Win Green & the Picnic Site in the Purbecks.  A Fun Day, BBQ & Competition BBQ was run by Jon Couldridge & many other helpers, which proved very popular with, in the region of 50 people attending, including wives & partners. We have invited other local Clubs to join us on a number of occasions. A number of members visited North Wales for a Sloping holiday in September. The Agreement with Christchurch Council to fly at Stanpit was renewed.

2g. Competition Secretary Report (BB & TA) Club Competitions held at Stanpit Recreation Ground over 18 weeks has proved successful again, Thermal Comp, Open Electric bungee launch &. Novice Challenge were held.

2h.  Longham Reservoir. (TH)  Flying at Longham has taken place throughout the year without problem. We participated at the first Longham Open Day organised by South West Lakes Trust who are now the organisation managing the reservoir. This was well supported by members and, while we did manage to do some flying, there’s no doubt that the simulator was the main attraction. Thanks to all who helped on the day.   Ian Hayward, the warden, has been very helpful throughout and in particular has helped us keep flying through the recent weed infestation, which is at last beginning to die down.    We reach the end of our second three year contract this month and dialogue has started with SWT with a view to renewing it again. Because of the latest change in management organisation, the agreement will have to be extensively re-drafted once again, but no material changes are envisaged.  We have also raised once again the issue of a retrieval boat. 

2i. Construction & Finish Competition. (TH) This was successfully run by Mike Roach this year & won by Trevor Hewson. The objective of the competition is to encourage and support model building in the club, it’s really important that models under construction are displayed at meetings throughout the year. This not only enables the construction element to be assessed by other members & Judge, but also to stimulate discussion on the hows and whys of the methods adopted by the builder.

2j. Bransgore Village Hall (TA) As we are no longer welcome at the Walkford Hotel under our present free arrangement. The new Room Hire fees are too expensive together with added restrictions, bar & food etc. This AGM is the last Meeting to be held at Walkford. An Agreement has been negotiated at the Village Hall, Bransgore, which, is the roughly the same distance from the centre of Christchurch as The Walkford. Rooms have been booked for all of 2018 meetings. The hire period is from 7.00 to 10.00pm the first Wednesday in every month. Access keys have been cut to allow Officers access. Meetings in future will start at 7.30 instead of 8.00, Commencing 3rd January 2018. Members will be advised via Web Site & Emails.

2k. Web Master’s & Newsletter Reports.   In Mike’s absence. Mike gives his thanks to all those who contributed to our Mixed media Club during the year. The Web site is well established & informative. If anyone has suggestions or ideas please let him know. Our Facebook Page is under-utilised; it is a good place to post our photos & reaches over 50 people. Casual visitors have to log in, which is tedious, but, free.  We also have a CDMFC thread on RC Groups, but, is not used. Sloping Off will no longer be available in printed format.  Contributions have been up this year which are welcomed by email & attachments.

2l.  Chairman’s Review. (TA) 2017 has been an improved year for modelling generally, building, training & flying. The Friday evenings at Stanpit have been well supported in Competitions & social flying, All are welcome to take part & ask for help & advice. The big change this year is leaving the Walkford Hotel for our meetings after 11 years. Under their new management organisation, fees are too prohibitive hence our move to Bransgore in the New Year. All are invited to the first meeting on the 43rd January 2018 at our new home.  We have enjoyed many Speakers giving interesting & informative presentations & are constantly looking for more.  Any suggestions welcome.  The FPV Quad flying arranged at Harrow Farm, Bransgore was not supported as a result we have cancelled the facility. We have kept the gate open in case we find a use for the site in the future. All other sites have been well used with no complaints, just compliments from the site owners & Administrators.  When renewing Membership you may now pay by BACS. This will save you postage & helps the Club Treasurer & Membership Secretary. Cheques & Cash will still be acceptable.  Our Membership subscription will remain unchanged at £15.00. BMFA Fee increased by £1.00 to £34.00,  Joint Fee £49.00.  All your Committee members have supported the Club activities. Just because you don’t see them, it doesn’t mean we are not working hard to maintain a friendly membership. I do apologise for my absences during the year as my wife is very ill & my own health has not been that good.  Hoping 2018 will be a better healthier yea

3.  Membership Fees.

Considering the present Club Finances, your Committee proposes the 2018 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 £34.00 for Seniors & £17.00 for Juniors.

Club fees, incl. BMFA is £49.00. Cheques/BACS payable to C&DMFC.

Acceptance proposed  Alan Butterworth    Seconded Jon Goddard.

Voted & approved unanimously

4. Election of Officers.

Chairman Terry Antell, Vice Chairman, Martin Burr, Secretary Malcolm Bird, Treasurer Alan Butterworth, Membership Secretary Brian Brockway  & Ordinary Members  John Macklin,  Jon Couldridge & Alex Bush were willing to continue in their present posts. All above Committee members were voted in en-bloc.

Proposed Tony Solomon Seconded. Paul Johnson

All above voted unanimously in favour.

Proposed    Trevor Hewson     Seconded   Paul Johnson

Voted unanimously in favour.

5. Appointment of Auditors for 2017,   

Roger Dornom & Clive Spencer.

Proposed    Peter Chaldecott,  Seconded    Doug Bowman .

Voted & approved unanimously

6. Mike Roach MR). Is willing to continue as ‘Web Master’ & ‘Sloping Off’ Editor, also Club Administrator  for Longham Reservoir. Both are non-Committee positions.

7. Constitution Amendments & Motions.  Due to recent changes in our Banking System – BACS – it is necessary to change the Constitution wording of :-

• Item 6. ACCOUNTS.
• From     “All accounts of the Club shall, as far as practical, be paid by cheque which shall have the signatures of any two of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer.”
• To :-  All payments shall be made by BACS or cheques to be authorised    by    any  two signatories of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer.
• All other items remain unchanged.
• Proposed Amendment,
• “Where practical” To be inserted between “made” and “by”
• Proposed    Trevor Hewson    Seconded     Peter Chaldecott

• Voted & approved unanimously

• Revised  Proposal  “All payments shall be made, where practical, by BACS or cheques to be authorised    by    any two signatories of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer”
• All other items remain unchanged.
• Proposed    Paul John    Seconded     David Cross

• Voted & approved unanimously

8. A O B.  No matters raised

9. Date of next AGM Wednesday 5th December 2018.

 The Chairman thanked members for attending.  The meeting closed at 21.28.

Malcolm Bird. Sec.