On March 25th, British aeromodelling lost not only one of its most celebrated national and international competitors but one of the very few remaining links to our beginnings before World War 2. Ray Monks built his first models at the age of seven or eight during the 1930’s- free flight, of course, there was nothing else in those days- and by the early forties he was entering competitions. In 1945 he won the S.M.A.E.’s prestigious Hamley trophy (on what is now Heathrow airport) and in 1951 qua...

The Government has today announced proposed changes to the Air Navigation Order (ANO) to introduce increased regulations aimed at drone pilots. The proposed changes are as follows: Operators of drones above 250g to be registered (effective from 30th Nov 2019).  It is hoped that membership of one of the UK Model Flying Associations will satisfy this requirement. Drone operators will be required to take an on online safety test to verify their knowledge of the regulations (effective from 30...

Do you know someone who has passed a BMFA Achievement certificate and displayed outstanding attitude, determination, diligence and or performance in the lead up to and or during a test? Or maybe an instructor or examiner who has effectively and diligently promoted the achievement scheme and carried out their role to the benefit of your club? Then why not nominate them for a BMFA Achievement Scheme Award? See http://achievements.bmfa.org/achievement-scheme-annual-awards for details.

As most will know the new General Data Protection Regulation comes in to force tomorrow, 25th May 2018. The full BMFA Privacy Policy can be read at https://www.bmfa.org/Privacy-Policy  If you have subscribed to any news feed on our website at www.bmfa.org you have given consent to receive email notifications when new articles are posted. If you no longer wish to receive these notifications you can unsubscribe by following the link that is present in every notification email you receive or by em...

THE NEW 2018 FREE FLIGHT FORUM REPORT – HOT OFF THE PRESS   For thirty-four years these Reports have included papers covering the widest possible range of free-flight topics. Have a look at what this year’s Report covers.   F1D Prop Selection for Slanic 2017 European Championships - Tony Hebb;The Power Egg - John Emmett;Use and Abuse of GPS Model Trackers - Chris Edge;Designing for BMFA Scale Competitions - Andy Sephton;Generating Youngsters’ Interest in Aeromodelling -   John Jacomb;Expe...

As reported in the last issue of the BMFA news the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes in to force on 25th May 2018, there are a number of documents available for you to download from the club support page at https://www.bmfa.org/Clubs/Club-Support these should provide you with all the information BMFA Affiliated Clubs and Specialist Bodies require so you are able to take the necessary steps towards GDPR compliance. GDPR is quite a complex regulation and there is a huge amount of...

Recently the BMFA has been assisting a large film production company on a mystery project. We're now in a position to announce the following, very exciting opportunity... The Battle of Britain – on September 15th 1940, more than a thousand planes, took to the skies in the most intense aerial battle ever seen as Britain stood its ground, during the climax of Germany’s aerial offensive, a dramatic attempt to destroy key targets and knock the RAF out of the sky. In honour of the RAF’s 100th An...

We have been informed by the West Midland Model Flying Club that their mower has been stolen. They are based near Weston Park.Please keep an eye out for a Kubota 2160 with an auto guide deck which has a brand new front wheel and charging socket fitted. See picture.Please share this post as far as you can and lets see if we can get this mower back.Please contact us if you have any news. Please note the image is of the mower type and not the actual mower in question.

Only just over a month to the first BMFA Achievement Scheme roadshow of 2018. The first of which is taking place at Pedham Place Golf CentreLondon RoadSwanley BR8 8PP UK on 7th April. The second takes place at BMFA Buckminster on 28th April. To book your place see http://achievements.bmfa.org/event/achievement-scheme-roadshow-south-swanley Those that have already booked should have received confirmation of you place already, however if you haven’t please complete the booking form again as y...

It is my sad duty to report the death of recently retired BMFA Chairman, Chris Moynihan, who passed away at his home on 6th February 2018 after a long battle with cancer.  Chris had been receiving treatment for some time but remained in good spirits and active as BMFA Chairman for as long as he was able.  Having started model flying as a 10-year-old in 1956, Chris was drawn towards silent flight where he made his mark as a keen thermal soaring competitor and competition organiser. However, alwa...