CHRISTCHURCH AND DISTRICT MODEL FLYING CLUB

55 YEARS OF MODEL FLYING
BMFA  AFFILIATION NUMBER 2581

CHRISTCHURCH AND DISTRICT MODEL FLYING CLUB

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 7 DECEMBER 2022

AT BRANSGORE VILLAGE HALL

Present: Jon Goddard, Chairman, Martin Burr, Vice Chairman, Mike Roach, Secretary, Alan Butterworth, Treasurer, Brian Brockway, Membership Secretary and 31 members.

Apologies were received from Martin Delaney and Richard Docketty.

ITEM 1. The Chairman introduced the meeting by thanking all who attended and his pleasure at the positive and generous nature of the Club. He paid tribute to members of the committee and to Martin Burr and Nick King on their retirement from it. He mentioned the successful Open Day, the Workshops hosted by Paul Johnson, Instructors coordinated by Martin Delaney, the Construction and Finish meeting won by Richard Docketty and the social events during the year. He particularly thanked Alex Bush for his efforts at making Oldfield into a usable flying site.

ITEM 2 – MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING. The minutes had been published on the Club website for 11 months. They were proposed as being correct by John Macklin, seconded by Martin Burr and carried unanimously.

ITEM 3 – CHAIRMAN’S AND OFFICERS’ REPORTS.

• TREASURER. The treasurer’s report is attached at Annex A. He stressed the need to increase annual subscriptions in order to keep pace with the costs incurred with the new flying field.
• MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY. Brian Brockway reported that membership stood at 123, 15 more than in 2021.
• FLYING REPORTS. There were four reports to the meeting: Flat Field by Frank Bayes, Slope Soaring by Brian Brockway, Indoor by Trevor Hewson and Longham by David Bintcliffe.

• ITEM 5 – REVIEW OF ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS. The Treasurer described the need to increase subscriptions and proposed an increase from £25 to £35 per annum. This was proposed by Shaun Harris and seconded by Andy Slightam and carried unanimously.

ITEM 6 – CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION.

• The secretary described the current state of the committee following Martin Burr’s resignation. It was proposed that the post of Vice Chairman be rescinded and that the constitution should now read “The Officers of the Club shall consist of Chairman, Secretary, Membership Secretary and Treasurer. The Committee shall meet at least four times a year. Four members shall make a quorum, the Chairman having the casting vote in the event of a tie. If the Chairman is unable to attend, an Officer shall take his place and will have the same powers as the Chairman for that meeting.” This was proposed by Richard Davies and seconded by Brian Payne and carried unanimously.
• The secretary then said that the constitution did not adequately cover the need for all members to be members of the BMFA now that there was a rolling join date for some categories, and proposed the following change “All Club members are to be members of the British Model Flying Association (BMFA). Any member whose BMFA membership lapses must not fly at any Club site (or public site whilst claiming to be a Club member) until they have renewed this membership, a major and essential benefit of which is the BMFA Insurance Scheme. This was proposed by Frank Bayes and seconded by Trevor Hewson and carried unanimously.

• ITEM 7 – THE COMMITTEE. With the exception of Martin Burr and Nick King, all committee members were willing to stand for 2023. Martin Delaney volunteered to join the committee and had been persuaded to take on the task of Chief Instructor. The new committee was proposed by Trevor Hewson and seconded by Andy Slightam and carried unanimously.

ITEM 8 – APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS. The treasurer reported that Roger Dornon and Clive Spencer had agreed to act as auditors for 2023 and proposed the meeting’s agreement. This was proposed by Jon Couldridge and seconded by Roger Villiers and carried unanimously.

ITEM 9 – ANY OTHER BUSINESS.

• Nick Funnell had raised the issue of the bumpiness of Oldfield being unsuitable for scale warbirds, but he was not present at the meeting. Alex Bush described what measures were in place to improve the site in 2023, involving top soil filling, weeding, over-sowing and rolling, the last to be carried out by Dan Tanner early in 2023. Alex asked for additional assistance from Club members in these tasks.
• The Chairman described the current situation between members, the BMFA and CAA over Flier ID (the need to show that a flier has passed a basic flying test and knows how to fly safely) and Operator ID (the flier’s registration number which must be attached to all aircraft they fly). The Flier ID is renewable with the CAA through the BMFA portal, or can be done directly with the CAA through their website, but not until 28 days before its due date.

• Jon Goddard, Chairman

Mike Roach, Secretary

8 December 2022

 TREASURER’S REPORT

It is no surprise that the club’s finances have changed markedly from the previous year. You may remember that in 2021 we reduced subscriptions, for existing members, to just £5, the intention being to reduce our capital. That worked but, fortunately, as it happened, not too well, as 2022 has demonstrated why we might need ample reserves – renting a new flying site and preparing it for use. It has been expensive, as the balance sheet above demonstrates which shows both 2022 (black) and 2021 (grey). 

At the last AGM the committee recommended an increase in subscription to £25 and intimated that a further adjustment would be needed this year. Therefore the committee have proposed a subscription of £35. The BMFA have increased their subscription to £42 and the CAA “Operators Licence” to £10. 

Payment can be by cheque or, even better, by Bank Transfer (BACS). Cheques should be sent to Brian Brockway (36 Luther Road, Winton, Bournemouth BH9 1LL), and must be made out to either CDMFC or C&DMFC (and legible in black please). For BACS payment the bank details are Sort Code 30-92-02 and Account No. 00257688, and please email both Brian (b.brockway@btinternet.com) and myself (ajbutterworth16@gmail.com) that you have paid.

Whilst I am willing to sort out your BMFA (with or without the CAA) subscription, it is easy to do yourself through the BMFA’s Membership Portal. 

Finally, I would like to thank the Auditors – Roger Dornom and Clive Spencer – for keeping me on my toes again.

Alan Butterworth, Treasurer