SAFETY RULES RMFC updated December 2024
Field
1) Safety officers appointed will be members of the committee and appointed club trainers
1a) Members must read the field and BMFA rules regarding safety. By paying the clubs yearly subscription a member confirms they have read these documents.
All members must adhere to the RMFC rules & constitution. As part of the renewal of membership members must agree to have read and understood current flying site rules and constitution as per constitution (14a)
2) Bullying either verbal or physical will not be condoned.
3) Members must ensure that they comply with the D of E Noise Code for the Minimisation of Noise from Model Aircraft. “Add on” silencers and “quiet” propellers should be fitted unless the model emits below 82 decibels at 7 metres without them. Notwithstanding if in the opinion of the Committee a model is excessively noisy in the air, then it is to be grounded until rectified
4) No flying when grass cutting is taking place, grass cutting always has priority over flying.
5) Gate must be locked when the last person leaves
6) No flying after 2000hrs or before 10:00 hours except for club organized members only socials by RMFC
7) No person may use the facilities of the club unless they are:
a) A fully paid-up member,
b) A visitor invited and accompanied by a fully paid-up member or
c) Someone who wishes to sample model flying before joining and is having a trial session on a buddy box system.
8) No visitor is allowed more than 3 visits per annum
9) Guests must use the RMFC member’s peg on the pegboard when they are flying. Guests MUST give priority to RMFC members.
10) All vehicles must be parked in the designated area only.
11) When driving on the field stay on the roadway and parking area only.
NO MOTOR VEHICLES ON THE GRASS
12) All debris, litter and other belongings must be taken away from the field
13) No smoking is permitted in the vicinity of inflammable fuels and materials.
14) Members bringing pets to the field must keep them suitably restrained and clear up any mess left by them. They must also respect other members and not allow them to cause a disturbance
15) Children must be closely supervised at all times and must not be allowed to run around the pit area or runways.
16) No member is allowed to use club equipment unless they have been trained on the equipment and have signed a club disclaimer form
Flying
17) All CAA regulations (must be complied with) will apply for all aircraft including visitors. CAA operators registration number can be checked at any time by a committee member
18) Any accident involving a third party or another member must be reported to the club Secretary
19) All fliers must observe field discipline and comply with the Air Navigation Order, all relevant BMFA safety codes as contained within the BMFA Members’ Handbook and Civil Aviation publication (CAP) 658.
20) On matters of field safety needing an immediate decision, the responsibility lies with instructors or committee members. Any instructions must be accepted without dissent. However, should a member believe the instructions to be wrong, then he should bring this to the attention of the Committee through Article 15 of the Constitution.
21) Before starting an I.C. model or connecting a battery to an electric powered model the aircraft must be suitably restrained.
22) No starting of models from under the bonnets of motor vehicles
23) Under no circumstances must an engine be run unless all persons are behind the line of the propeller with the exception of the person starting the engine. When carrying out power checks all persons including the pilot are to be behind the line of the propeller
24) Models having their engines run in on the ground must not be left unattended whilst the engine is running.
25) No full throttle engine tuning runs to be done within the pits area
26) In the interest of safety, assistance should be sought when running up engines and taking models to the runway for take-off. All helpers must have BMFA membership
27) All engine adjustments to be done from behind the prop.
28) Appropriate use should be made of all available pit area, and under no circumstances should engines be set up in the immediate vicinity of the pilots who are flying at that time. Where practical, models should face outward from the pit area.
29) No more than 6 aircraft shall be airborne at any one time
30) Any person wishing to enter or cross the runway area must seek clearance from any pilots flying at the time before doing so.
31) All fliers must observe the established flight line and stand in the designated area whilst flying. Any variation to suit daily conditions may be made as in rule 31a (g). Any spectators must remain in the spectators’ area whilst flying is in progress.
31a) All pilots must communicate with other pilots in the pilots’ box
a) Permission to go out on to the field
b) Call to other pilots take off
c) Call landing or intent to land called to other pilots
d) Permission to go out on to the field to recover an aircraft
e) Dead stick landing takes priority
f) Advise other pilots of a different flight pattern
g) Agree circuit to be flown dependent on wind direction
32) All flying is to be done in the designated areas only in front of the pilot’s box. Taxiing through the pilot’s box is prohibited.
33) No low flying over the road.
34) No flying towards the farmhouse or village
35) No flying over the pits.
36) No dangerous flying e.g., extreme aerobatics or manoeuvres at low level in close proximity to spectators or pits area.
37) Should an aircraft go out of control, the first priority must be the safety of persons with the second being avoidance of damage to property. A warning is to be shouted by the pilot which is to be taken up by other members
Training rules
38) Any pilot not holding their BMFA “A” qualification for the type of aircraft they are flying must not fly without the supervision of an instructor or their specially appointed deputy if the instructors are absent from the field. If no instructors are present at the site, any member holding the BMFA ‘B’ Certificate may act as an appointed deputy until an instructor arrives.
39) Due consideration must be given at all times to trainee or novice pilots in the circuit. In the event that the pleasure or concentration of a pilot is affected by the flying style of another, precedence will be given to the pilot who was airborne first. Intimidating flying of any sort is not permitted.
40) When tests are being taken ALL aircraft should be grounded UNLESS the candidate has agreed otherwise. Candidate should not be put under pressure to allow other aircraft to fly during a test.
Transmitters & frequency
41) Mobile telephones should not be kept in close proximity to computerised transmitters and must not be taken onto the flight line
42) The frequency allocation system in use is Peg On System.
43) All members must use the provided frequency peg with membership card attached.
44) Adjacent frequencies must not be used unless a proper adjacent channel
interference check has been done.
45) Frequency peg to be stored on the throttle stick when not in use.
46) All new models must have a thorough range check done before maiden flight.
47) All 35 MHz transmitter aerials must remain retracted unless the model is being flown. The flight is defined from the point of release to when the engine is stopped or the model is restrained
48) All PCM equipment MUST have throttle failsafe set to cut or idle
49) All operational fail safes in use on powered models operated from our Club site must set the throttle to tick-over, not hold, (stopped in the case of electric power) regardless of the other control operations governed by the failsafe. Particular care must be taken when operating on Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) or when swapping from normal modulation
(PPM) to PCM to ensure that the Failsafe is correctly programmed Failsafes are to be checked prior to flight by switching the transmitter off whilst the model is restrained.
50) Transmitters should not be taken away from the flight line when retrieving an aircraft, unless to do so would aid retrieval of the model. In this instance the matter should be brought to the attention of the safety officers so that this may be carried out without the risk of over-flying the transmitter.
Jets
51) When Jet powered aircraft are flying all other aircraft must be on the
ground.
52) All aircraft may be subject to random inspection by a committee member or appointed official for
its suitability to fly.
.
53) All Jet model must be flown in accordance with the BMFA recommendations for operating jet
powered aircraft.
54) If there are dry standing crops in neighbouring fields, jet aircraft must not be flown
