General Announcements

[gbar7217]

Hi Marcel,
Any day that is good for flying and training is a good day. I have 5 members that are under instruction, there schedules vary, so if there is no wind on a Tuesday or Thursday morning or afternoon we go and fly. There are other members who just go out to fly when the weather is good and we all take turns at having a fly. Shutting down Tuesdays and Thursdays to accommodate a couple of learners is not a good idea, we have to learn to fly all together and take turns and share the field, after all everyone pays the same fees.

[Celwin]

The whole day isn't being shut down. I never said that or meant that. The times of training will be posted on the forum, under a new tab probably.

This won't start for another week or two.

[KENNYGLIDE]

I I cannot believe this... Our club has been up and running since 2011 and this has never been an issue.... We have respect for learners and also for those that are making maiden flights this has always been the way....we always abide by the age-old procedure of asking people ....Is it OK if I go up ??..... Ours is only a very small club, there is plenty of time and space for everyone to fly, rarely have I seen more than 3 planes in the air at one time and that's on a club day.... We all pay the same fees and we have already ascertained that we have equal rights to fly at the field at any time within the regulated hours. Could someone please explain why after all of these years we have these so-called proposed regulations cast upon us? . as has already been announced on this forum we have had a tough year.. we had the drought... the fires ..that heat then the covid lockdown . A lot of us never got much flying in this year... So why these unnecessary regulations now when we least need them.? Our members are precious we need to treat them as equals. We are intelligent, we have respect for our fellow man, we have all been learners, we understand, we will always stand back if someone is in the air no matter who it is if that is what they want .. these are the rules of our club. These rules cannot go ahead..it was stated that we don't want somebody just coming in and plonking their model down on the field while there is a learner on the strip.. ...this just doesn't happen , there are rules that cover this.. we have to ask ... is it ok if I go up..?.?.. This proposed regulation will make it very difficult for other club members as there is not even a set time... How on earth are the other members going to work around that...if I'm going to fly in the afternoon I may make arrangements to do something else in the morning or vice versa.. these things cannot be last minute ....just looking up a website to see what time we can go to our OWN Flying Field..is unsatisfactory ..... If it's windy in the morning and calm in the afternoon I will want to fly in the afternoon....and the other way around.....we all want to fly when the conditions are good and unfortunately for most of us it's not always convenient so we need to be able to go to the field at any time......we all have lives to live and things to do and we also like to do a little bit of flying when we want to...that is what WE PAID FOR .....Please , please ,please reconsider this proposal..... I notice..Greg the other trainer mentioned in a previous post does not appear to be asking for these proposed regulations to be adopted for his training sessions. I see in a previous post he has 5 students....very confusing.

[gbar7217]

The whole day isn't being shut down. I never said that or meant that. The times of training will be posted on the forum, under a new tab probably.

This won't start for another week or two.

Marcel,
If the training was scheduled for Tuesday morning and the wind got up and it was changed to afternoon flying, the members who were going out for the afternoon fly wouldn't be allowed to fly, so basically the field would be closed for the day!! this would also apply to Thursday's.
This whole issue should have been discussed at a general meeting before a decision was made. It has been stated recently,"that this is a members club and every one has the right to use the facilities".
Cheers

[Brian Clarey]

Well gentlemen,personally, I believe in leadership, Not dictatorship.Yes, sometimes the two can become confused!! After reading the previous columns, it reads like the subject is already sanctioned by the club and it`s members. I`ve no knowledge of this. It seems to have been initiated by a couple of well meaning members to boost membership. The repercussions of which are already showing up. In all the years of my involvement with R/C flying , trainee pilots were supervised.... as in full size aircraft, by an instructor, till it was considered the trainee was capable of going solo. Buddying up is an excellent way for the newbie to learn fly, so that the instructor can take over the controls as and if required . The argument could be that we don`t have sufficient club transmitters/ aircraft, to satisfy the trainee requirements The above suggestion would allow every one to fly together. The odd incident is bound to happen, that is a fact or life !!

[Celwin]

We'll take it to a meeting. The next meeting is 6 weeks away, being Sunday the 1st of November, which was another reason why we put it out there. That meeting is quite some way away.

Dennis and I thought it would work, especially because there are more members right now than ever before, really keen on getting some time with an instructor. Time with very few other distractions around. Many of you learned to fly many years ago when you were much younger, as was I, or at our club more recently when there were not many fast-moving distractions around.
I need to be diplomatic now... the majority of our latest learning members are not in their teens, twenties or thirties etc. so will not catch on as quickly as they once did and will not cope with distractions as they once did. Having a focused 10 minutes or so in the air will make a big improvements to their learning curve.

I'm certain that an instructor will have some students that will be able to cope with other aircraft being in the air, but some will need to be alone for now. The gentlemanly thing would be to ask and be a bit patient.

This isn't a big deal, just like it wasn't a big deal when we were concerned with drone members taking over our field.

[KENNYGLIDE]

As previously stated Marcel ,we always ask the person flying before we go up ,I guess that's what you mean by the gentlemanly thing to do?? As stated before ,.we are all well aware that trainees need space ,and I am quite sure no one in the club would begrudge giving a learner even 30mins of focused flying time if necessary. . When you say they need to be alone well i am sure we would be happy to sit around and chat..instead of flying...whats new....usually have trouble getting members up from the clubhouse ...lol......this of course is based on the assumption that as many people are going to turn up on the Thursday or the Tuesday....as on a Club Day ,......As a matter of interest how many experienced members have turned up on on the training days.wanting to fly or disrupt the training. ??....if i could get some figures on this it may give me a clearer picture....as far as i am aware only the occasional old fellow wants to go down for a quiet fly on the off days...hardly disruptive unless they have left me out of the loop and are rolling up in their droves and not telling me...I just cannot get my head around this ...we have so few members ...it's not a big deal l as you say....we really just need to plug along.... leave it as it is and stay happy ...........still I would be interested to know how many experienced members turn up on the training day wanting to fly. Please let me know ! .. ..I know what you mean about coping with other aircraft in the air....i still have trouble with this and prefer fly alone and even on a club day I easily manage to fit in flights on my own .....which is why i just cannot see the problem with the odd extra flyer through the week...by the way..... we always have plenty of free time and space on Wednesday afternoons for a learner or two. Let's put this whole thing to bed ....we don't need a meeting about this....it is just not necessary and is causing grief to our experienced flyers who have paid their $300.00 to have equal rights to be able to use the field within the regulated hours.....that is what we signed up for.....drop this idea and I am sure the trainees will go ahead and probably not even have ONE EXPERIENCED member turn up most times....and even if 1or 2 do arrive they usually only fly for 10min 1or 2 times and even then i am sure they will respect the trainees...and if they don't, they need to be reminded of club etiquette. ....as I see it....there is no existing problem ....just leave things as they are and we'll all be happy.

[rosecottage.32@gmail.com]

As previously stated Marcel ,we always ask the person flying before we go up ,I guess that's what you mean by the gentlemanly thing to do?? As stated before ,.we are all well aware that trainees need space ,and I am quite sure no one in the club would begrudge giving a learner even 30mins of focused flying time if necessary. . When you say they need to be alone well i am sure we would be happy to sit around and 

Well said Kennyglide. Surely we don't have a lot of learners wanting to fly at the same day and they don't fly for any longer than 10mins at a time for perhaps 2 or maybe 3 times a day as it is stressful just once, I think everyone should should be a little considerate of others and listen to all opinions and stop getting a little precious Cheers Dando

[Brian Clarey]

lately, l`ve been considering of ways to overcome issues that are worrying many club members , that is, the accessibility to the airfield 24/7. That option was offered when we paid our fee`s !! Having given the subject considerable, thought, I think that a more professional approach to the subject matter is in order. Why can`t we adopt full size methods that are proven and work. Each commercial pilot undergoes training on a simulator to a level of competence before moving on !! This would add to the novices confidence and produces safety habits. The club has a simulator, with some components for a second one. It could be that a certain number of hours {time to be discussed } that the trainee pilot must accumulate.....before moving on . Training can continue even in bad weather and also free up flight line congestion. There is a room at the end of the amenities block that could be fitted out as a training facility, giving noise reduction and a degree of privacy.....Marcel might enjoy producing a log book to record flight times , personal info like contact details , blood type ,allergies etc. My previous article regarding budding up, is still relevant and I believe the above would make their task easier. Brian C

[Celwin]

Brian, your words about buddying up just reminded me of something that the committee discussed last year when Greg found himself with more students than he could manage, which was mentoring new members. An experienced member would be asked to make regular contact with the new member helping them with things, but not necessarily training them.

The simulator has been used, but the special lead that the club owes has been lost while it was being lent to new and potential members to take home to practice with. That makes it hard to simply fire up now, as we need to borrow a lead from someone who has a Phoenix sim and that is usually Greg.
Simulators are good, but not like the real thing. One of my sons can fly forever on a sim and make good landings, but we are yet to see if he can do it for real. It really does pay for itself giving a student confidence though and making them feel like they're not wasting the instructor's valuable time.

The intention of training days (not a whole day, 3 or 4 hours at most) wasn't to take away access to the field, but to take away distractions for those who need that as much as possible.
In the case of those who have very narrow windows of opportunity to fly, like myself and a few others, the gentlemanly thing for the instructor to do would be to let me slot in.