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BMFA CLUB No :- 2761

Davidstow Model Flying Club Constitution and General Rules

1 The primary objective of the club is to allow members the opportunity to fly model aircraft in a safe and responsible manner from the site of Davidstow Aerodrome SX 156 847. The club is affiliated to the British Model Flying Association and is governed by a Constitution and Safety at the Flying Field documents that all members agree to adhere to by completing and signing a membership request form and paying a yearly subscription fee.

2  Its officers who are full primary members are elected by members with a majority vote each year at the clubs AGM held in December act as the committee to run the club, with a quorum being set at three officers. The officers are, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Safety Officer and two Safety Assistants. There is no time limit on the number of years a person can hold one of the above positions. Decisions made at an AGM, EGM or general meeting in which each paid up member is entitled to vote at will be carried by a majority number.

3 All Safety at the Flying Field rules and regulations will be reviewed annually by the clubs officers, and will be considered binding for 12 months,

4 The club is limited to 24 full members, this number is the basis of use and set by the four bodies that the club is responsible to, namely, Davidstow Parish Council, English Heritage, Davidstow Commoners and Kivells the Agents who act on behalf of the three previous names. Part of our agreement state that no aircraft shall be flown higher than 500 feet for models under 7Kgs; current legislation limits this to a maximum 400 feet for any multi- rota / propeller / drone aircraft and any single rota or fixed wing model aircraft over 7Kgs.

5 The club financial / membership year runs from January to December, the renewal fee must be sent to the Treasurer for the year by the 14th of and a copy of the BMFA insurance as soon as possible in January of the year. The annual fee is set each year at the preceding December AGM for full and provisional members; BMFA membership is available through the club which is mandatory as is the requirement to conform to the CAA Registration Scheme Law.

6 Full members who renew each year will retain that membership status. Provisional members may be offered full membership when full membership numbers fall below 24.

Provisional membership is not guaranteed for the following year but applications will be invited for consideration. A provisional member will not be offered full membership for at least 12 months.

7 Any member not renewing or not providing insurance proof will be deemed as not wanting / failing to renew by the 14th of January in the current year. BMFA membership through the club will only be available until 10th January of the current year. There will be no refunds if a member decides to leave in the current year unless the officers decide to reimburse in special circumstances.

8 The previous year's membership card is valid as proof of membership until the end of January of the current year.  The member must not fly until BMFA insurance proof for the current year is available for the secretary to check on the BMFA GoMem portal.

9 Any person can apply for membership to the club, this will be in writing on the club's application form, which is available from the secretary on request, application does not guarantee membership. If there are vacancy's membership may be offered to those who do not belong to another club in the first instance, all applications will be considered.

The club does not insist that prospective applicants for membership hold the A or B proficiency license but that they are responsible and competent individuals.

10 Provisional members may fly at the site providing they contact the Safety Officer when arriving on site by means of a Mobile Phone text message stating their name and BMFA membership number. A provisional member may not permit an individual to fly as a visitor.

11 Visitors may fly but they must have permission from a full member who must be present at the flying field. A full member can only allow a visitor to fly up to a maximum of three times in any one year and will be responsible for the visitor at all times. The member will advise the club secretary as soon as practicable via e-mail, text, phone or post  that a visitor was on site stating date, name and BMFA number of visitor, CAA registration number (if applicable)

12 The access to the club flying site is on land that cannot be controlled or modified to help any specific needs of disabled individuals, there are no toilet facilities or shelter, however the club will try to help any individual who needs assistance as far is practical. The club will try to give assistance to young persons or vulnerable adults as far as practicable; the club does not have a specific individual that has been CRB checked. Any young person or vulnerable adult must be accompanied by a parent / legal guardian / responsible person at all times and must make themselves known to a club officer in the first instance.  A Young Person / Parent / Guardian responsibility awareness form must be lodged with the secretary before a young person can be on site, it can be viewed on the club web site and can be obtained from the secretary.

13 Any person be it member or visitor must have current BMFA insurance that any club member may ask to see at any time. Failure to produce the insurance validation document will mean the person cannot fly for that day until the document is produced.

14 The club's officers and the Agents acting on behalf of the bodies named in section 2 above, hold member’s personal data. The data will not be forwarded to any other person other than club members and the landowner's agents or used for any other purpose than that as club a membership list. E-mail addresses provided on the membership form will be used to verify membership status for registration on the club forum by the administrators.

15 Members will display their membership card in wallet provided when on site which shows the type of membership status to validate BMFA insurance, this helps promote the club as a recognised body with the landowners and the general public who may visit.

16 Alterations to this constitution can only be made at the Annual General Meeting or at a General Meeting called for that purpose. Any Proposed alterations must be submitted to the secretary in writing at least 14 days prior to the meeting.

                    

Disciplinary Procedures

1 All members, without exception, must obey all club rules. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action by the Club which may lead to dismissal.

2  Any complaint concerning any member must be made in writing and signed by the complainant(s). The written complaint must then be forwarded to the Secretary so that the matter can be addressed by the committee as soon as is practicable.

3 If a complaint is a result of any incident or action that may breach the Safety at the Flying Field rules an incident reporting form available from the secretary on request must accompany the written complaint.

4  The Committee may impose a flying suspension not exceeding 30 days upon any member in the event of misconduct. Any suspension must be accompanied by a verbal and/or written warning as deemed appropriate in accordance with Article 5.

5  The Committee may consider removal from the role of members any member whose conduct on the field or elsewhere is considered to be prejudicial to the club. Dismissal will be in accordance with the following procedure in order to comply with the laws of natural justice:

a. The member is to be given a recorded verbal warning by an authorised Committee Member in which the member is made aware of their misdemeanour and what they are reasonably required to do to make amends.

b. If the member does not respond, they will be given a written warning by an authorised Committee Member to advise them of their misdemeanour and what they are reasonably required to do to make amends.

c. If they still fail to respond, the Committee should invite them in writing to meet with them at a previously agreed date and time to discuss the situation, advising they are considering withdrawal of their membership.

d. If they still fail to respond to reasoning or fails to attend without reasonable cause, the Committee can advise them in writing that their membership is withdrawn, stating the reasons why this decision was reached.

e. When the member is advised of withdrawal of their membership, they must be given the right of appeal. If he opts to appeal, this will be to the Club membership at an EGM which the Committee would call on their behalf at a previously agreed date and time. The motion to uphold the membership withdrawal or reverse it must be in accordance with the voting procedures set out in the Club Constitution.

6 In the event of gross misconduct, immediate dismissal without warnings may be considered but the member must still be accorded their rights to present their case to the Committee and be given a right of appeal in accordance with sub-paragraphs c, d and e above.

7 In the event of dismissal the Committee will arrange for the member’s current membership fee to be reimbursed in full.

DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB

1  Should it be considered necessary or desirable to dissolve the Club, the Committee will call an Extraordinary General Meeting. Should a quorum fail to appear, the meeting will be adjourned and a further EGM must be called. The second meeting will proceed even if a quorum is not present and the motion will then be carried by a simple majority vote.

2  On dissolution and after the sale of assets, settlement of all outstanding debts and the refund of subscriptions for the remaining part of the year to the paid up members, the funds remaining will be distributed in equal shares to the last charities the club made payment to.

3 If the final accounts are less than required to refund the subscriptions to the members, the total money remaining will be donated to the last charities the club made payment to. All members will receive a final statement of accounts.