Club Rules and Safety – Updated April 2011
Site Specific Rules
- SITE FLYING TIMES – See specific Flying Site Page for more details
- Electric planes may be flown at any time at the site and also at lunchtime
- No more than 3 IC (internal combustion) aircraft in the air at any one time. At the same time electric planes and helicopters are able to fly.
- Non members need committee member authorisation to fly at the flying site
- First arrivals to the site should erect the peg board
- Appoint a Safety Marshall(s) to look out for the above and any potential safety hazards in the field and pits
- Do not over fly the pits
- Fly from the pilots box only
- All small children (under 16 years) must be supervised by an adult / guardian. All animals are to be kept on a leash and restrained at all times
- Flying alone is discouraged due to safety issues however this is allowed by the club
- Please note that members without an A certificate can only fly aided by a BMFA accredited member who has an A certificate.
Please refer to the BMFA Manual for additional safety items.
General Rules and Flying Safety
NEW MEMBERS
All new members joining the Club and requesting BMFA membership will be issued with a copy of the BMFA Members’ Handbook and ‘Up and Away’ book.
These WMAS Wealden Flyers Club rules are supplementary to the BMFA rules and safety guidelines.
VISITORS / OTHER SITE USERS AND RESIDENTS
Dogs should be kept on a lead, and be supervised at all times. Owners must also remove any dog mess from the site.
Junior members must be accompanied by a parent /guardian at all times and shall be responsible for their safety, welfare and behaviour.
LITTER
Please take your litter home with you as we have no facilities to deal with litter / waste.
PERMITTED AIRCRAFT
Helicopters and Planes are allowed to fly at the club site, Jet Turbine helicopters and planes are NOT allowed to fly.
ARRIVAL AT THE SITE – PRE FLIGHT
Appoint a Safety Marshall(s) to look out for walkers and horses and any other potential safety hazards in the field and pits
First arrivals to the site should erect the Frequency Peg Board
All radio frequencies on the 35 MHz and 2.4GHz are permitted for flying aircraft
The Club operates a peg system with pegs displaying frequencies for 35MHz. When not using your transmitter the peg should remain on the board. Clip your peg to the transmitter aerial BEFORE switching on your transmitter. If the peg denoting your frequency is missing DO NOT TURN ON YOUR TRANSMITTERas someone else may be flying on that frequency and you may cause a crash or dangerous incident.
Inexperienced R/C flyers should never fly without an experienced helper.
Mobile phones should not be taken to the flight line due to possible swamping of the transmitter signals when the mobile phone is communicating with local masts (this occurs all the time the phone is switched on not just when taking or placing calls.
PREFLIGHT
The plot is responsible for ensuring that the model is airworthy and must carry out any checks as per the BMFA Handbook.
- Check airframe for any transit damage
- Check that servos and linkages are secure.
- Check undercarriage for secure fixing and correct alignment.
- Check propeller for damage and secure fixing
Start up box(es) must be used on busy days however when the start up box is not being used ensure that all propellers face the same way and that models are not started when they are sited perpendicular to each other.
- When ready to start remember:
- Obtain correct Frequency Peg
- Transmitter ON before turning Receiver ON
Before every flight, check that you have selected the correct model in a computer radio and that transmitter trims, rate switches etc. are in their correct positions and that each control surface on the model moves freely and in the correct sense.
FLYING YOUR AIRCRAFT
There must be no unrestrained taxiing between the start up boxes and the runway or vice-versa.
- Fly with your back facing the pits / wood.
- Do not over fly houses near the site (south east of the wood) and keep plane and general noise to a minimum.
- Do not over fly the pits / car park or the woods behind the pits
TAKE-OFF – Advise those already flying that you are preparing to take off and check that no planes are preparing to land or have a dead stick – call loudly if necessary to compensate for the noise of engines.
Check the controls for correct sense and at full throttle. If the engine stops or the model needs attention you must return to the start up box / pits. You must not re-start or make adjustments on the runway.
If a pilot has an engine cut they must call out “DEAD STICK” and obviously has priority for landing over other models.
LANDING
Check that the runway is clear, call out “LANDING”.
After landing switch off the receiver in the model, then switch off the Transmitter.
Remove the model from the runway.
POST FLIGHT
Important – Turn the Receiver OFF then the transmitter OFF.
Replace the frequency peg on the peg board.
Clean the aircraft down.
Check propeller, airframe, undercarriage, wing fixing etc. for any damage for your next flight.