Foyle
Model Flyer
Editorial
Hello
and welcome to the latest edition of the Foyle Model Flyer. May I take this opportunity
to thank Mr. Robert McCartney for his sterling work with FMFs' past issues. It
has been quite some time since our last publication going all the way back to
August of 2004, and for that we offer our apologies. Since then the North West
Model Aircraft Club has gone from strength to strength, we again have hosted a
number of extremely successful flying events such as the Kinsella Scale day, Helicopter
fun fly, Moorlough splash-in, and the NIAA aerobatics competition. All of which
were well supported by both our club members, and visitors from various Northern
Ireland clubs. The importance of these events can not be over emphasized, in many
ways they are our opportunity to showcase our club and flying site. Which I am
sure all would agree is one of the best in Ireland and a source of pride in us
all.
In
this issue of the FMF we have reports on:
1.
Flying site improvements.
2.
Jet World Masters 2007.
3.
NWMAC 50/50 club.
4.
Acknowledgments.
5.
A Word from the chair.
1.
Flying Site improvements.
The
committee would like to thank all members for their patience during the recent
site improvements, namely the construction of the pits area hard stand. This will
greatly improve winter flying conditions. It is intended, subject to financial
constraints and levels of support, to construct a lean to at the side of the hut
early spring / summer of 2006. This will incorporate a bench type workstation
for setting up of models and will provide shelter for models and pilots from unfavorable
weather conditions. I know that this will prove to be another very popular addition
to our club as the hard stand has already proven to be.
2.
Jet World Masters 2007.
Last
summer two of our members, Robert McCartney and Aidan Lafferty, accompanied by
Graham McMillen of the St. Angello Model Flying Club, traveled to Budapest in
Hungary to take part in the Jet World Masters, a biannual competition for the
turbine enthusiast. The Jet World Masters could be said to be the world cup of
aeromodelling, attracting many of the world's top modellers and flyers. The Hungarian
competition attracted 27 nations with some 67 models. Standards of aircraft and
flying at this prestigious event can only being described as spectacular. Robert,
Aidan and Grahams entry was a Wren powered (55 Newton's of thrust) Venom with
a wingspan of 85". We all know the time and effort required to produce a scale
model of this standard, and it has to be said that they should be commended for
their efforts as the Venom stood tall amongst the other international entries
producing an excellent static score. Their mission to Hungary however was twofold,
not only were they entering the competition, but they were also there to put Northern
Ireland on the worlds turbine aeromodelling map, by bidding to Host the 2007 round
of the competition. At the IJMC's (International Jet Model Committee) AGM held
at the end of the competition. Robert gave a PowerPoint presentation to the committee
and competitors as part of their host bid. During this well prepared and researched
presentation, Robert pointed out the many bonuses and attractions that Northern
Ireland had to offer the jet model world, including details of the active aeromodelling
community that exists here. This type of presentation takes a monumentous amount
of commitment, time and effort to put together, which is exactly what Robert did.
When the three bid countries (Northern Ireland, Israel and the United States of
America) had completed their presentations it was all down to the voters. No one
could have predicted the landslide victory in favour of Northern Ireland. It is
obvious from the results that Aidan, Robert and Graham were three extremely well
received ambassadors for Northern Ireland. The extraordinary efforts of this threesome
now means that we all can experience and enjoy the 2007 Jet World Masters (JWM)
right on our very own doorstep. The 2007 JWM will be held at the St. Angelo airport
just outside Enniskillen. This ex RAF W.W.II fighter station which was home to
parts of 133, 134 and 235 squadrons, is an excellent choice of venue, with a recently
resurfaced ASP runway measuring some 4376 ft. Robert approached myself to join
them on the 2007 JWM organizing committee as communications officer. A position
that I felt honored and flattered at being offered, but one that was just too
tempting to refuse. I am sure everyone in our club, the wider Northern Ireland
aeromodelling community, and internationally, will support this venture 100% with
offers of assistance and help for the competition. The final date of the event
will be announced shortly through the jet world master's website (www.jwm2007.com)
and no doubt will be an immediate entry into our diaries. The event will prove
to be a memorable experience for us all, and well worth booking some time off
from work. So once again congratulations to the threesome on a job well done!!
3.
NWMAC 50/50 Club.
We recently introduced a new fund raising initiative into the club with the 50/50-club
draw. Put simply this is a monthly draw held at our flying site on the last Sunday
of the month, and is open to members of the NWMAC at a cost of only £10 per entry.
The monies raised from entries are evenly split between the lucky winner and the
club. Therefor the more people that enter, the higher the prize fund. The need
for this draw has arisen in order to maintain the momentum achieved by the committee
in flying site improvements. At present our sole form of income is derived from
membership fees. We currently have a yearly active membership of around 40 people,
however due to the make up of this membership, the split between life memberships
and ordinary memberships, our surplus to expenditure cash flow stands at around
£300 per annum. There are a number of improvements we need to make at our site
including the resurfacing of the runway. The runway alone will cost an estimated
£1,200, taking us 4 years to achieve at current income rates. The facilities onsite
are enjoyed by all of our members, and their upkeep is the responsibility of all
our members. I would ask everyone to support the club by taking part in the draw.
Simple mathematics can show us its potential. We have 40 members at £10 per month
equating to £400 per month entry fees, splitting this 50/50 means that the club
would benefit from an additional £2400 per year, and our members also stand the
chance of winning £200 per month. Remember £10 per month is a little less than
£2.50 per week, hardly big money in anyone's book. Please don't leave the responsibility
of the club on the shoulders of a few; it's OUR club and OUR responsibility. In
the past our club experienced divisions within its membership, now is the time
to put these differences aside and support the club. Supporting the 50/50 club
draw does exactly that, it is a show of support to the club not to a committee.
So come on lads, get your wallets out!! Anyone interested in taking part in the
50/50 club should contact myself at the flying site or by e-mail at seanpscully@btinternet.com
4.
Acknowledgments.
After
the Annual General Meeting of the NWMAC on the 1st November 2005 three of its
officers took the decision to stand down. This was due to various personal reasons
including the pressures of other commitments and time constraints. I know we would
all like to thank Mr. Arthur Morrow for his time spent as club treasurer. An onerous
task, which he carried out with total professionalism. I think it is true to say
that Arthur treated his duties with the utmost trepidation. This was apparent
during club committee meetings when the words, "tight fisted git" were heard being
muttered on a number of occasions. Only kidding Arthur, again a BIG thank you
from the entire club for a job well done. Mr. Robert McCartney also deserves a
massive thank you from the entire club. Robert as we all are aware has held the
position of club secretary for most of the last twenty years. During that time
Robert has worked feverously behind the scenes making grant applications to Derry
City Council, organizing our flying events and making sure that the other local
clubs were aware of times and dates etc. This was in addition to his other secretarial
duties such as looking after the minutes and agendas of our meetings. Most notably,
his main contribution to the Club was the development of our flying site. Robert
obtained Planning Permission for a proposed model flying site at Newbuildings
back in 1994. He then negotiated a very favorably lease with Derry City Council,
obtained grant aid for the development and supervised the construction of our
runway and access road. Again a BIG thank you Robert for a job well done. Last
but by no means least is Mr. Frank Durnin our outgoing chairman. Frank conducted
proceedings at our AGM and committee meetings with an executive level of management.
He also represented the club expertly during our flying events at the presentations
of trophies and prizes. Frank has giving up much of his own time in order to become
a qualified child and vulnerable adult representative for the club, an unfortunately
necessary, but commendable task. So once again on behalf of the entire club, thanks
Frank for your time, efforts and professionality during your term as club chairman.
I would like to welcome Mr. Niall McDonnell, Malcolm Haire and Mr. Robb Evans
to the NWMAC committee. This is their first term of office on our clubs committee,
and I am sure that they will make a positive contribution. Our newly elected committee
for the 2005 - 2006 term is as follows
Chairman:
- Mr. Martin Lyttle
Vice
chairman: - Mr. Robb Evans
Secretary:
- Mr. Sean Scully
Treasurer:
- Mr. Niall McDonnell (Resigned and replaced by Mr.Arthur Morrow)
Safety
officer: - Mr. Aidan Lafferty
Membership
Secretary: - Mr. Malcolm Haire
Flying
site manager: - Mr. Billy Ayton
5.
A Word From the Chair.
Hello
all, And welcome to the 4th issue of the Foyle Flyer. We are now nearing the end
of another year, and I am sure Santa is firmly on our minds with the possibility
of some flying goodies in his sack. I would like to take this opportunity to wish
all of our members and their families a very happy and peaceful Christmas and
new year. 2005 has been a very successful year for our club, again seeing flying
site improvements with the addition of a pits area hard stand. We can now at last
look forward to dry feet during our wetter weather conditions, in other words
all year long. I would like to thank all the club members who turned out to help
with the digging and cement work, a dirty job but one which was sorely needed.
A special thanks goes to Tommy Cunningham for the use of his tractor during the
work. We now look forward to 2006, a new flying season, and new models, hopefully
it proves to be one with more thrills than spills. I hope everyone enjoyed the
events we hosted in 2005, I for one eagerly await the 2006 events kicking off
with the Moorlough splash-in, please let us know if there are any additional events
you would enjoy. Finally I would like to thank everyone who helped support the
club in 2005, both financially and with the hours of work that go on behind the
scenes. I know that we can look forward to another year of continued growth and
improvements at NWMAC, lets make 2006 the best year ever!!
Martin
Lyttle
Chairman NWMAC
