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Latest Club NewsObituary It is rare in this day and age that one can say they actually new an honest man, it is also rare that one can say they have met someone they can really trust, but it is exceptional to find someone who believes in what he says and lives that life. Derek was a great supporter of his Church St Thomas’s at Claremont, and although a robust man, he was also a humble and caring person who did a great deal of work for his church. On April 7th and while carrying out work for his Church, Derek became the victim of a tragic and fatal accident. Derek was a founder member of our club the Brighouse Vintage Model Aircraft Club and was, until recently Secretary, he travelled hundreds miles representing the club and its members at various BMFA meetings and his dedication to this task saw his election to Vice Chairman of the Northern Area. Derek was a devout Christian but it would only be fair to acknowledge that Derek was a traditional Christian, his approach to the Bible and how he articulated its traditional Christian theology sometimes put him at loggerheads with the Church, to mention the ordination women and gay men would see his eyes glaze and a reply that would be Anglo-Saxon rather that Christian. I know that all his friends both old and new will miss him greatly and our heartfelt sympathies are with his wife Mary and his children Graham and Susan Jack Parker. ================================================================================= November 2006 Newsletter From the Club SecretaryWelcome to the November News letter. In this issue I would like to remind you about the Club Christmas dinner which once again will be held at Lightcliffe Golf Club on 7th December, at 7.30pm. The food is excellent (see attached menu), and it is a good night out, so please give it your full support by attending. Good food, something to drink, and good company, what more could you ask for. Tickets are available from David Archer, email david@archer-family.demon.co.uk, or telephone 01422 206727. Price £16.50 per person, non-members welcome. Please indicate your choice of menu at time of ordering, with payment ASAP please. Cheques made payable to BVMAC as usual. TockwithImportant changes to the dates for your diary re flying at Tockwith. For the coming year 2007, by popular demand, flying will be moved to the second Sunday in the month. Child Awareness Policy The committee’s attention has been drawn to BMFA Watch (viz. the club’s action plan for any children that we may come across at our flying sites. Set out below is the BVMAC Child Awareness Policy as debated and agreed by the committee at a recent meeting. This had to be done to comply with new legislation concerning the safety, protection, and well being of children. THE CHILD AWARENESS POLICY OF THE BVMAC All Junior Members of the BVMAC under age of 16 years must have a parent who is also a Full Member of the club. No Children under the age of 16 will be allowed on to any BVMAC Flying Site unless accompanied at all times by a Parent or Guardian. BY ORDER OF THE COMMITTEE
Clifton flying site RulesAs a result of recent incidents, our Safety Officer has drawn up a list of the above for clarification; this applies to all who visit the site at Clifton. 1. UPON ARRIVAL, IT IS SAFER FOR ALL THAT THE GATE BE CLOSED BEHIND YOU
2. CONES SHOULD BE DEPLOYED ON THE FLIGHT LINE WHEN ANY FORM OF FLYING IS TAKING PLACE 3. ALL FLYING MUST TAKE PLACE FROM THE CONED FLIGHT LINE 4. TAKE OFFS AND LANDINGS TOPSIDE OF THE “FISH” MARKER FOR PILOTS PROTECTION 5. CARS SHOULD BE MOVED TO THE PARKING AREA BY THE GATE, AS SOON AS MODELS AND EQUIPMENT ARE OFF LOADED 6. STRICTLY NO DOGS ALLOWED IN THE PITS AREA . PETS SHOULD BE LEFT IN CAR PARK VICINITY WITH A SUPPLY OF WATER DURING HOT WEATHER. 7. DEADSTICK’ LANDINGS HAVE PRIORITY. 8. GOING OUT FOR TAKE OFF OR RETRIEVAL ETC. SHOULD BE CLEARLY CALLED. 9. TX CONTROL MUST BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OPERATOR, ESPECIALLY IN THE ABSENCE OF A PEG BOARD. 10. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT A RANGE TEST WITH THE AERIAL DOWN, BE CARRIED OUT BEFORE THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE DAY. 11. ALL FLYING SHOULD BE IN FRONT OF THE FLIGHT LINE, LANDING APPROACH ONLY, ON LOW THROTTLE FROM BEHIND AND ABOVE THE SAFETY POINT, AS SHOWN 12. AS THE BMFA MOTTO STATES, “SAFE FLYING IS NO ACCIDENT”AT THE CLOSE OF ACTIVITIES, THE GATE MUST BE SECURED WITH THE CHAIN, LEAVING NO GAP.
The above rules are for our safety and that of others so we may enjoy our hobby in a safe environment. Clifton Site Plan
First Solo (by David Archer)I haven’t done much model flying this year. A bit of slope-soaring at Baildon, but nothing that can really justify my membership of the BVMAC. But note the word ‘model’ in the above statement. I’ve actually been learning to fly full-size and this has used up most of the ‘recreation budget’ allocated to me by ‘she who must be obeyed’. It all started about a year ago, when I was driving back up the A1 after a business trip with my boss. Having exhausted most of the conventional subjects, our conversation turned on to a more esoteric level, such as the meaning of life and all that entails. “What would you do differently if you had your time again”, asked my boss. “Well”, I said after a few moments thought, “I’ve always wished I had learned to fly. Model flying is a good fun, but it’s not quite the same as the real-thing”. “What’s stopping you?” said he. Of course I gave all the usual answers – time, cost, opportunity, but mainly cost, to which he replied with a single word “SKI” – Spend the Kid’s Inheritance” for the uninitiated. Well, to cut a long story short, that’s precisely what I’ve been doing. For reasons that I won’t go into here, I joined a flying club in the Midlands at an airfield about 6 miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon called Wellesbourne Mountford. This is an ex RAF base with a superb 4000ft asphalt runway and access to huge areas of uncontrolled airspace on the edge of the Cotswolds. Also, as there’s no commercial traffic operating from this airfield and hence very little take-off delay, it’s quite usual to be airborne within 5 minutes of engine start-up. My flying training only commenced in earnest in the spring of this year, when I was introduced to my trusty mount, a Cessna 152 affectionately named Golf Bravo Whisky November Bravo, or November Bravo for short. My first reaction on getting into the cockpit was “It’s a bit cosy, isn’t it”. Imagine a Mini (one of the original 1959 Issigonis models) but with only two seats and a vastly less spacious interior, and you’ll get the idea. My initial training covered the usual skills – straight & level, turns, climbing, descending, slow-flying, stalls, spins (!!) etc, most of which I found relatively easy to pick up as a result of my model flying experience. Then I moved on to take-offs, circuits & landings, and this is where I started to have problems. For one thing, we don’t get much practice at steering models with our feet, do we? And I kept forgetting to apply carburettor heat – essential to prevent carburettor icing at low throttle during the approach & landing. Carburettor icing can be a real killer – imagine the outcome if your engine fails to pick up after an aborted landing. But eventually I began to get the hang of it, and by late September I felt I was about ready to go solo. Then the weather changed – autumn mists, strong cross-winds, rain - and my instructor took 3 weeks well-earned vacation from his day-job flying 757’s out of East-Midlands. So it wasn’t until the first weekend in November that the opportunity finally arose. It was a superb day – bright autumn sunshine, dead calm, and good visibility. My only concern was that the light was failing – we didn’t start flying until 3.30pm. After an hour of dual-circuits (during which I managed to remember to apply carburettor heat at the appropriate times), we taxied back to the flying club, Richard got out and said “Right, off you go, enjoy yourself, you’ve still got 40 minutes of daylight left, and you won’t need that for one circuit”. OK, taxi to the holding point for the runway in use, I’m number 1 in the queue. Wait for an aircraft on finals to land, then radio-call “Golf November Bravo, ready for departure”. Take-off clearance received, line-up, full throttle, touch of right rudder to correct for propeller torque, rotate at 55 knots. Trim for climb out at 65 knots, then after-takeoff checks (flaps up, engine temp & pressure OK, landing light off). At 700 ft commence a climbing turn to the right, then level off at 1000 ft, and trim for 90 knots S&L. Another turn onto the down-wind leg, runway in sight off to the right (that’s a relief). Downwind radio-call, then pre-landing BUMFFI checks (Brakes off, Undercarriage down!!, Mixture rich, Flaps up, Fuel on & sufficient for a divert if necessary, Instrument check, Landing light on). Now turn onto base leg, followed immediately by the all-important carburettor heat before reducing throttle to 1500rpm. Keep the nose up, let the speed drop-off, 10o flap, then 20o, dip the nose and trim for 70 knots. Final turn, then .. shit, there’s another aircraft just ahead. I’m a bit high, he’s low, but we’re both aiming for the same bit of runway. No alternative, “Golf November Bravo, going around”. Second time, lined up a dream. Crossing the runway threshold, throttle back, flare, flare, flare, flare and down, smooth as silk, best ever. Final radio-call, “November Bravo, clear of runway, thank you and good afternoon”, to which I received a reply, “November Bravo congratulations on your first solo”. A truly unforgettable moment.
My mount is the one in the foreground!!. This was taken about 15 minutes after I landed, so you can see it was getting quite dark. The aircraft behind me is Vulcan XM655 which is owned by a preservation society based at Wellesbourne. This aircraft will never be airworthy again, but it is cleared for taxiing, and twice a year is taken out for high speed runs on the main runway
It’s also used for training the crew of XH558 based at Bruntingthorpe, which is being prepared for flight next year with the aid of a lottery grant. [Site Map][Newsletters ] [Flying Sites] [Model Flying Events] [Membership] [Model Aircraft Images] [Links] [Modelling Tips][Model Gear For Sale] [Model Aircraft Plans] [Scale Model Aircraft Plans] [Weather] [e-mail webmaster]
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