rules model aircraft club radio control east lothian edinburgh

1. General
1. All rules shall apply to all Members & Guests
2. Adherence to these rules shall be a condition of continuing Membership
3. Only paid up Members of the Club and Guests accompanied by a Member of the Club shall fly models at EFA flying sites
4. Both Member and Guest shall be insured with the SAA, LMA or BMFA but when the Guest is a “first time inexperienced flyer”, that has visited for not more than 3 days, then he/she is insured provided flights are personally supervised by a BMFA/SAA insured Member who has been nominated for this role by the Club Committee.
5. Members and Guests shall fly with due regard to safety at all times and with due regard to their own flying abilities
6. Members and Guests shall if requested by a Committee Member provide evidence of their current Insurance or Club Membership
7. All gates shall be closed immediately after use unless egress of grazing animals is not possible in which case they shall be closed by the last person to leave or left open if found open on arrival of the first person
8. No litter shall be left on any part of any flying site
9. No unrestrained animals of any kind shall be allowed on any land used by the Club
10. Models shall not be flown close to or over any person(s) or property other than as permitted under SAA Safety Code guidelines. In particular:
1. Models shall not be flown over houses or parked cars and flying shall be restricted to the designated areas at all times
2. Models shall not be flown over the pits nor behind the pits
3. Models shall not be flown between the runway and the pits
4. Models shall not be taxied between the pits and the runway except in the case of a model which is restrained by a person other than the pilot in such a manner as to be able to restrain the model in the event of the engine being operated at full power
5. There shall be no low passes over the runway when more than one model is flying
6. Models shall not be flown directly over the transmitters of any other pilot or group of pilots
7. Models shall not be flown at or near livestock
11. Pilots flying shall stand no closer than 3 metres to the edge of the runway except during take-off and landing or when there is only one pilot flying when it shall be permissible to stand closer to the edge of the runway
12. In the event that a Committee Member or Contest Director appoints a look-out to warn the fliers of the approach of any full-size aircraft and the look-out shall subsequently wish to fly, a stand-in shall be appointed BEFORE he commences flying.
13. Members or Guests shall not fly fixed wing aircraft unsupervised unless current holders of at least the Bronze Fixed Wing SAA Achievement Award (http://saaweb.org.uk/downloads/awards.zip) or BMFA equivalent
14. Members or Guests shall not fly rotary wing aircraft unsupervised until they attain their SAA hovering competency award (http://saaweb.org.uk/downloads/awards.zip)
15. Hovering by beginner rotary wing flyers shall be personally supervised by a competent Helicopter pilot until authorised for solo practise by one of a list of designated individuals
16. Practice hovering of Helicopters shall be carried out only in the areas designated by the Committee.
2. Equipment
1. Only Type Approved radio control equipment shall be used
2. Models shall be constructed and equipped according to current SAA / BMFA / LMA regulations
3. Any model exceeding 7kg in weight (excluding fuel) shall only be flown if it has at least a throttle fail-safe in working order and the operator has reasonably satisfied himself that the flight can safely be made
4. Any model exceeding 20kg in weight (excluding fuel) shall have a CAA Exemption Certificate, adequate insurance cover and shall be operated in accordance with the Air Navigation Order
5. Running-in of engines or prolonged ground testing shall be carried out without the use of transmitters whenever it would otherwise restrict other peoples’ flying
6. No engine shall be run unless fitted with an effective silencer
7. Models shall not be flown unless they satisfy the noise requirements of 82dBA at 7 metres. Exact methods of measurement are set out in the Department of the Environment “Code of Practice for the Minimisation of Noise from Model Aircraft”, reproduced in the BMFA Members’ Handbook (http://www.bmfa.org/handbook/index.html).
3. Frequency Control
1. Members and Guests shall insert their Name Card in the frequency control board and take the relevant frequency peg before their transmitter is switched on
2. When sharing frequencies, the transmitter(s) not currently in use shall be placed in the transmitter pound
3. Any Member or Guest causing damage by switching on a transmitter without ensuring that the above conditions are complied with shall be liable for any and all damage caused as a result of their actions
4. Care of children and vulnerable adults
1. A child is defined as a person of less than 18 years of age.
2. A vulnerable adult is defined as a person of 18 years of age or over but who through mental or physical attributes requires a higher level of supervision than would be normally commensurate with an adult member.
3. A responsible adult is defined as the authorised parent/guardian/carer of a particular child or vulnerable adult.
4. An instructor is defined as a Club member qualified according to SAA Safety Scheme guidelines and Club rules to instruct in the discipline in which instruction is being given
5. All Club members and responsible adults shall comply with SAA policies and guidelines and Club rules for the promotion of welfare and care of children and vulnerable adults. Where there is a difference between SAA and Club policy necessitated by local circumstances the Club requirement shall apply.
6. A child or vulnerable adult shall be supervised at all times by his/her responsible adult. This includes when receiving instruction from an instructor. The level of supervision shall be commensurate with the child’s age, maturity, capabilities and levels of experience.
7. A child under the age of 14 years shall not start an engine of any type including electric or carry a model with the engine running unless supervised by an instructor and with the agreement of the child’s responsible adult.
8. Every child and vulnerable adult shall be supervised and protected such that he/she shall be at no greater risk from carrying out or being in the presence of any activity than would an appropriately competent able-bodied adult in the same situation. The child’s or vulnerable adult’s responsible adult shall be the arbiter if there is any doubt of the child’s or vulnerable adult’s abilities to undertake a specific activity.
9. No Club member shall assume full responsibility for a child’s or vulnerable adult’s welfare unless that Club member is also that child’s or vulnerable adult’s responsible adult.
10. Notwithstanding the requirements of the previous paragraph, shall a Club member discover a child or vulnerable adult that is unsupervised then he/she shall assume responsibility for that person’s safety in the first instance. The situation shall then be rectified as soon as possible by seeking out the responsible adult. Any instance of such an occurrence shall be reported to the club committee as soon as possible and a record made of the occurrence.
11. Club members shall avoid placing themselves in a position that could be open to misinterpretation or question in accordance with this policy.
12. Shall any Club member, responsible adult or the person themselves have concerns about the welfare of children or vulnerable adults then he or she shall contact the Club’s Welfare Officer (welfare@ef-aero.org.uk) or any of the help lines noted in the SAA Policy & Guidelines (http://saaweb.org.uk/downloads/SAAPolicyIss1V4%20sept%202005.pdf).
13. All Club members shall respect the rights and dignity of children and vulnerable adults and shall promote their welfare.
14. In the event that a child or vulnerable adult who is not a club member is on site then the Club C&VA policy and rules shall be followed as far as is practicable
5. Specific to East Fortune flying site
1. Maximum speed through the approach lane shall be 15mph
2. Models shall not be flown at East Fortune in contravention of a restriction notice whenever posted in the hut window
3. Fixed-wing flying shall be from the tarmac part of the runway and any adjacent grass area designated for that purpose and regardless of wind direction the pits shall be situated in front of the Club Hut up to the full width of the mown area provided
4. Only thermal soarers, models powered by engines of 0.10 cubic inches or less or electric models powered by batteries of 12volts nominal or less shall be flown while the Market is in operation and for 30 minutes thereafter
5. Pilots flying while the Sunday Market is operating shall have a Bronze Plus minimum
6. Whenever any Member of the Melville Motor Club is within the designated area at risk helicopter models shall be circuit flown only from the designated area to the west of the Club Hut or hovered only over the runway area south of the line of tyres in front of the Club Hut
7. Helicopters shall not take off from nor land on the tar runway
8. All aircraft exhausts shall output horizontally or above, otherwise Members and Guests shall use the runway protection sheets
9. Members and Guests shall not permit their model to leave a visible oil stain on the motorcycle race circuit
10. Smoking is not permitted in the Club Hut
6. Specific to Mount Lothian flying site
1. Currently there are no specific restrictions regarding Mount Lothian however every care shall be taken to avoid damage to crops and farm animals and to act sensibly and safely and in observance of all club rules not specific to East Fortune
2. When the electric fence is in use the last person to leave a session shall ensure that it is operating and that all posts are secure and that no tapes or wires are drooping into or close to the ground or long grass

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Approved by the Committee 16 February 2008

Amended by the modification of Rule 5.8 on 6 March 2011