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Christchurch & District Model Flying Club
Minutes of Annual General Meeting
Bransgore Village Hall, Bransgore 4th December 2019.
Present :- T Antell Chairman, Martin Burr Vice Chairman, Malcolm Bird Secretary, Alan Butterworth Treasurer & 38 members.
Apologies: - Apologies received from 6 members.
The Minutes of the 2018 AGM, published on the web site October 2019, with no matters arising, were proposed as a true record
- Proposed Trevor Hewson Seconded Jon Goddard.
- Voted unanimously in favour.
Committee Reports.
2. Secretary (MFB) reported 4 Committee meetings had been held during the year at Committee member’s Alan Butterworth & Jon Couldridge’s homes & were thanked for their 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 maintained, especially, during the New Portal membership System together with the new CAA Regulations both of which have been carefully handled by Alan & Brian. Martin was invited to advise members of the “Memorandum Of Understanding” he successfully negotiated on behalf of C&DMFC & WSA & their guests with Compton Abbas Airfield as Win Green lies within their restriction Zone. Martin made contact with the Landowners Site Office & should the need arise he is the “Nominated Contact”
We have no other Legal Licencing or Agreement outstanding.
No changes have been made to the Constitution.
2a. Strawberry Field (MFB & TA) There are approximately 540 plus signatures to date in the ‘Flying Register’ of members using the Site, about 40 less than last year. The site atmosphere at SF has been enjoyed due to the cooperation of all members. Flying standards have remained at a reasonably high level with occasional planes recovered from the trees & beyond. Trevor Hewson, Peter Chaldecott, & Jon Couldridge have continued to give excellent on-site training & advice with many successful Maiden flights to their credit. Pilot line discipline has been good with no serious incidents or accidents. There were no neighbour problems during the year. Thanks to Jon Couldridge, Alex Bush & Roger Villiers the grass has been regularly cut. There have been Mower problems, which is now out of the Warranty period, maintained by the team, with servicing carried out by a local Company. Mike Cooper, our landlord, has been very supportive throughout the year. He did find a person using the site flying a FPV Drone. He was removed from the site & it is unknown if he is a member. The Rules have been updated & inserted into the Signing In Box, to comply with the needs of the New Forest National Park Authority & the Site owner, “Helicopters, Multi-Rotor Drones & FPV Flights are NOT PERMITTED” At the moment, due to Christmas Tree sales, our parking area has been temporally moved. Flying fees remain the same at £2.00 per day or part day, payable when signing in, before flying.
Hurst View Sadly access has been very limited at both ends of the year, hopefully next year it will be more readily available. The site makes a welcome change of site enjoyed by all who took advantage of the free facility.
2b. Indoor Flying (MFB) At Durlston Court School we held 12 flying sessions one of which was free. A total of 143 flying, 30 less than last year. The cost to hire the Hall, as expected, has been increased to £35.00 per evening. The Club subsidises the sessions to enable the evening fee to members to remain at £2.00 per session. We start at 7.30 pm & finish at 10.00 pm. on average 2 sessions per month on Friday evenings. We fly 4 groups of planes of 6 minute duration, Small helicopters, Slow fly, some a bit faster (Space Walkers) & Shock Fly, with a recent addition of small Hovercraft , in motion at the same time as the Slow fly & Shock Fly planes. The last hour on alternate evenings is devoted to ‘Round The Pole’ flying with the Hovercraft operating in a different area to keep clear of the flying circle. Trevor Hewson continues to organise the RTP, keeping & maintaining the Club Equipment. At the moment we have about 10 members with planes & 2 club planes for members use. We are waiting for 2020 dates to be agreed.
Members were reminded of the benefits of belonging to the Google Group. cdmfc-sffe-and-ba@googlegroups.com were explained & new members urged to enrol in the Group to receive information of Club activities. Members were urged to use the site for ‘Subjects related to Club Flying’ not personal use & to create a new ‘Subject’ when needed. Applicants to Andrew Ford-Hutchinson. The meeting thanked Andrew for administering this great communication facility.
2c. Treasurers Report (AB) Alan reported the financial health of the Club is good. A slight drop in membership fees, never-the less, a surplus of almost £900.00. Without the income from the Bits Box of items donated by members the finances would still break even. Alan circulated his Audited Statement of Accounts & his report (attached) to all members attending showing Opening Balance £6108.05, Income £3958.76, Expenditure £3077.50,Annual I/E (Surplus) £881.26. Closing Balance £6989.31. These figures exclude BMFA Payments. There are some concerns that the imposed CAA Registration of members could result in a down turn of membership. However, the Committee propose the present annual Membership Fee of £15.00 remains the same for 2020.
The Accounts were Audited by Roger Dornom & Clive Spencer.
Approval & acceptance of the Treasurer’s report
Proposed Mike Roach Seconded Peter Chaldecott.
Voted & approved unanimously
2d. Membership Secretary Report. (BB) Membership at end of year stands at 118, remaining more or less steady on last year. Renewal, BMFA & CAA fees were collected from some Members at the meeting BMFA & CAA Fees will be forwarded to the BMFA via the Portal as soon as the new system becomes operable, bulk renewals are not yet available, details will be by returned to Portals or by Email from the CAA. Members can renew individually using their BMFA Membership Portal, enabling members to have their country memberships recorded, Membership Cards maybe be downloaded or printed directly.
Brian did try to explain the new CAA system & registration requirements & answer member’s questions in open forum. The whole situation is totally confusing with so much conflicting information & implications, with luck all will come clear.
In case of difficulties members were advised to contact Brian or Alan for assistance.
2e. Activities Secretary Report. (TA) Activities 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 not been organised this year due to the inconsistencies in the weather, but, rather depended on the arrangements being made by way of the Google Group System. The most well attended Sloping sites have been Win Green & the Picnic Site in the Purbecks. A Fun Day, BBQ & Competition BBQ was run by Jon Couldridge with other family helpers, one member even brought his own BBQ, in the region of 50 people attended, including wives & partners. The weather was not too good, but, all made good use of what was available. We invited other local Clubs to join us on this & other occasions. The first Photo Evening organised by Alan was a great success, although, more entries would have been better. All photos were displayed on the 80 inch club screen.
2f. Competition Secretary Report (BB & TA) The weekly Club Challenges held at Stanpit Recreation Ground over 18 weeks has proved successful again from May to August, start at 6.00 pm, one or two cancellations due to weather. Thermal Comp, Open Electric bungee launch &. Novice Challenges were held. A good turnout for the Rose Bowl Competition arranged jointly between WSA & CDMFC & held at Chalbury. This year the completion was run on an individual basis not inter-Club. A good day enjoyed by all. The actual Rose Bowl itself has been mislaid & it is the intention to replace with ‘Something’ different.
2g. Longham Reservoir. (MR) Flying has taken place throughout the year without problem. The highlight of the year was the Open Day, organised by the Staff. The event is covered in ‘Sloping Off’& apart from the fresh breeze, which, unfortunately, made it unsafe to fly. Our static display was well received & the Simulators were a big success, with some youngsters managing to fly circuits after a little practice. Crashing was very popular. Thanks to everyone who attended, particularly Jan (who brought his own laptop & simulator), Malcolm, Alan & Trevor. Nine new Models were flown over the year; there have been 110 first flight models since the start of flying at Longham. Model launching & recovery has been made easier due to the reed clearance by Contractors along the bank near the launching platform, flying is more confident because of it. Ian Hayward, the warden, has been very helpful throughout the year.
2h. Construction & Finish Competition. (A Bush) Seven Models were presented for judging all having being successfully flown. The Judges Cup was awarded to Peter Chaldecott for his magnificent P52D Mustang. The Member’s choice went to David Bintcliffe for his De Haviland No 2 Biplane, also, the Prize for the First time Winner. Unfortunately, all can’t be winners as all models were well worthy of a prize. As the winner Peter Chaldecott earns the distinction of being next year’s Judge.
2i. Bransgore Village Hall (TA) This is our second year in the Hall which has proved a great success since we now use the Main Hall & will continue to do so. The hire is from 7.00 to 10.00 pm. the first Wednesday in every month. Agreed by members to be monies well spent.
2j. Web Master’s & Newsletter Reports. (MR) Mike gave his thanks to all those who contributed to ’Sloping Off’ during the year & is happy to continue as Editor & Web Master unless, of course, someone else would like to take over. If anyone has suggestions or ideas please let him know. Our Facebook Page is under-utilised; it is a good place to post photos & reaches over 50 people. Casual visitors have to log in, which, is tedious, but, free. Sloping Off is no longer available in printed format, no complaints received. Contributions have been up again this year, which all are welcomed by email & attachments more could be willingly accommodated.
2k. Chairman’s Review. (TA) 2018 has been a good year for the Club with a steady membership, there has been an increased interest in modelling generally, building, training & flying. Members continue experimenting with various types of Indoor models. Friday evenings at Stanpit Recreation Ground has been well supported in Competition/Challenge & social flying. All are welcome to take part & ask for help & advice. All other flying sites have been well utilised with no complaints, just compliments from the site owners & Administrators. In July & in perfect weather we held another Fun & Family Day. The Site Owner has agreed to give us a “Free Day” for next year’s event.
After moving to Bransgore Village Hall for our monthly meetings we have enjoyed many Speakers, some from outside companies & some from members giving interesting & informative presentations & we are constantly looking for more. Any suggestions welcome. BMFA have introduced a Membership Portal for renewing your membership with them. Details are on their Web Site & in the BFMA Newsletter. When renewing Membership (Club, BMFA & CAA) you may now pay by BACS. This will save you postage & helps the Club Treasurer & Membership Secretary. Cheques & Cash will continue to be acceptable. All your Committee members have supported the Club activities. Just because you don’t see us, it doesn’t mean we are not working hard to maintain a friendly membership.
I do apologise for my absences during the year my health has not been that good, but, hoping 2020 will be a better healthier year. It is with much reluctance that I must give you all notice of my intention to retire as Chairman of the Club at the 2020 AGM. I would appreciate if my successor could be in place to take over during the year to enable continuity.
The Secretary on behalf of the members thanked the Chairman for his devotion the Club particularly during his painful & troubled year. He continued to keep in touch, hand on the pulse all through this difficult time.
The meeting gave him a generous round of applause.
3. Membership Fees.
Considering the present Club Finances, your Committee proposes the 2020 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 £38.00 for Seniors & £17.00 for Juniors.
Club fees, incl. BMFA is £53.00.
CAA fees, £9.00 where applicable
Cheques/BACS payable to C&DMFC.
Acceptance proposed Doug Bowman Seconded Ian Wettstein
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 proposed & voted in en-bloc.
- Proposed Peter Chaldecott Seconded Trevor Hewson
- All above voted unanimously in favour.
5. Appointment of Auditors for 2019,
Roger Dornom & Clive Spencer.
Proposed Jon Couldridge Seconded John Macklin .
Voted & approved unanimously
6. Mike Roach (MR). Is willing to continue as ‘Web Master’ & ‘Sloping Off’ Editor, also Club Administrator for Longham Reservoir. All of which are non-Committee positions.
7. Constitution. No Amendments or Motions received
8. A O B.
9. Date of next AGM Wednesday 2nd December 2020.
The Chairman thanked members for attending. The meeting closed at 21.00.
---ooOoo---
Terry Antell Malcolm Bird.
Chairman Secretary.
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