I have to report that an unexpected hike in our Insurance premium from £477 to £729 has made a very large hole in our funds. This unfortunately will probably mean that we will have to increase the club fees for next year, as your subscriptions are the only method of raising money for the various club activities during the year.
We continue to attract new members through indoor flying as well as our other disciplines, and the club trainers are being well used on our various training programs. On the subject of our indoor flying, I am delighted to report that we have secured Oakmead for a further year. This has involved a compromise on both sides, as we have had to accept a later starting time of 9pm and they are extending their normal closing time to allow us to continue to 11pm. I know that these times will not suit some of our indoor flying brethren but it was that or nothing. Finding a new site is becoming critical. We need a place equivalent to four badminton courts preferably free on a Friday night. If you know of a venue, which you think would be suitable, please let a committee member know.
It was nice to see our glider guiders at Stanpit all practising for the summer thermal series. The light evenings now allow flying at Stanpit again. This signals the beginning of our summer thermal comps for bungee launched gliders and electric gliders. The simple rules for these comps appeared in the last issue of 'Sloping Off'. I know that many of you have these models in your collection so why not come along on a Friday evening and join in these very informal events?
At the April meeting we were treated to another brilliant talk on lightweight building, including foam cutting demo by Mike Roach, is there no end to this man's talents? The video evening was also a great success with some hilarious footage provided by Jim Ruffell. Some of it at my expense I might add.
Build or ARTF?
After an unfortunate incident involving the fence post at the
undershoot end of the runway at Howard's, my Extreme came in for
an extensive rebuild. Recovering with Profilm at a cost of £25,
new engine mount £5, cowling £16, canopy £5
and 15 hours rework. I'm beginning to wonder if ARTF is better
value than actually building from kits, especially as I happened
to notice that Channel 4 were selling a similar ARTF model for
around £100. I doubt if it would be possible to build the
complete Extreme airframe and hardware for the remaining £50.
The original kit was bought at Sandown three years ago and cost
about £70.
Trevor, Jim, Gordon, Peter and I visited Sandown again this year which was a little disappointing with not the usual discounts to be found. Perhaps it is now so expensive to exhibit there that the traders cannot offer the usual incentives. It was good to see three of our members working very hard on their South Coast Sailplanes stand. We were amazed to see Neil with only one packet of crisps for company instead of the usual mountain of fast foods, which is the norm. Trevor's people carrier did not have the usual pile of large colourful boxes, as the only purchases were a Cougar ARTF for Jim and a Zagi for Peter. For myself the only bargain I could find was a digital vernier on the Proops stand for £22. Jim and I spent the journey up bartering over my spare four-stroke motor and his 'Bird of Time' thermal glider kit. After a couple of hours hard bargaining we finally agreed to a straight swap! These intense negotiations therefore saved us both much gold. He is a hard man that Jim.
I suppose you will all have heard of the terrible accident in which a young girl was killed by a model aeroplane recently. I will not dwell on the facts of this tragedy, only to point out that it behoves us all to act in a responsible manner and to do all we can to ensure safe flying. We are all responsible not only for our own actions but also for other club members. If you perceive someone flying or acting in what you deem a dangerous manner you should point this out to the person involved. If it happens to be a club member and you do not get a positive response, please inform your committee so that we can take appropriate action on the club's behalf. I make no apology for asking you to act in this manner, as one accident on Christchurch or Bournemouth Council land will bring all our activities to a halt. So with this in mind I wish you all a good and safe flying season.