New bits in at rapid rc

They have the new fms fox glider 300mm only one and the fms Fox glider 2320mm four of  the prices are the 300mm £409;99 and 2300 mm £179;99   All so some oleo legs all different sizes. With more products to follow.

Gr8 fun thx guys :)

CAA WANTS OUR AIRSPACE - AMAZON & GOOGLE ?

DRONE DELIVERIES - Just had to post this to show you why I think the CAA has gone ahead with their draconian proposals which directly affects our hobby.
Could this all be down to BIG BUCKS with Amazon and Google !
I have posted this together with other info on the RCM&E forum site as well.
After viewing the video remember this is NOT being done in the USA yet -
WHY - the model flyers over there have all got together and blocked Amazon and Google from the lower airspace (so far) but over here they suspect our resolve is far weaker...
Please make sure you do something about it. Back the BMFA & LMA / SMA. Send letters into your MP...
In short be active or lose your hobby.
Regards Peter

Sunday fun

Glimmer of hope well done 🤞

https://bmfa.org/News/News-Page/ArticleID/2585/IMPORTANT-UPDATE-CAA-PROPOSALS-PLEASE-READ-SHARE

Friday aftermoon b4 early may bank hoilday wend :)

New Laws

Important update, read and take action.

Following the recent publication of CAP1775 which launched a consultation on the CAA's proposed arrangements for registration fees for operators of unmanned aircraft, the UK model flying associations (BMFA, LMA, SAA & FPVUK) held a meeting last night with advisers.

The text in CAP1775 is far more serious than the issue of registration fees alone. The consultation reveals that key policy decisions (such as age limits, not allowing us to register members on their behalf and repetitive competency requirements) appear to have been imposed on us in the absence of either consultation or the further discussions the DfT/CAA publicly promised earlier this year.

The policies outlined are inconsistent with the EASA Regulations for model flying associations, because they mandate requirements which should instead be subject to negotiation and agreement with us prior to incorporation into our operational authorisation. As the scope of the consultation is limited to the fee arrangements, it does not invite comment on these wider policy issues.

As the CAA/DfT have evaded engagement with us on policy development since the end of 2018 and have now seemingly closed the door on us with CAP1775, we believe that it is now time for members to hold them directly to account.

The document available heresummarises the views of the UK Associations, explains what we hoped to achieve and outlines where we believe the CAA/DfT have failed our members, who are the largest single stakeholder group affected by CAP1775 and details what you can do to help.

Please feel free to use this document as part of a response or print and pass to members who have not received this email.

Unfortunately, the issue of the Journal that you have just received went to print before this happened, which is unfortunate timing!

This call to action is just one element of a wider co-ordinated campaign. There is still a long way to go with this and please be assured it is by no means the end of the story.

We need a big response on this and we would urge every member to help us.

Any questions, as ever, please let me know.
  
Best Regards

Rob Buckley Secretary - Large Model Association
secretary@largemodelassociation.com

Rapid rc Shops new number.

                     01795 870414

Concerns you.

Afternoon, As you may have already seen, earlier today the CAA released their consultation on the charges for their upcoming drone registration scheme. https://consultations.caa.co.uk/finance/drone-registration/ This registration scheme is currently proposed to apply to all of us who fly model aircraft, as well as recreational and commercial drone operators. That means every single person who wants to fly a model aircraft in the UK (including every LMA, BMFA, SAA, FPVUK member) will, before the end of November 2019, have to- Register themselves on the government website Pay £16.50 for the privilege of registering Renew registration and pay £16.50 every year Pass an online test of theoretical competence on the government website (for free) Please read the consultation in the above link, and please respond to the consultation. Again, to be clear, we need your help to communicate how popular this will be with the UK’s modellers, so PLEASE RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION. I will be responding formally on behalf of the LMA as well as working with the BMFA, SAA & FPV UK to meet with the DfT and the CAA and apply political pressure via the APPG for GA and other routes to get the best possible result for modellers. We need your support though in the form of weight of numbers responding to the consultation. I met yesterday with the developers of the system in Gatwick, and the proposed system is quite straightforward to use, if a bit expensive to use! They are however only providing what the CAA & DfT have asked for. If you have any questions, please ask. I do however know it is overkill, the charge is completely excessive, only the law abiding will comply with it, it will be widely ignored, especially by anyone upto no good and it is a ‘seen to be doing something’ knee jerk reaction to the perceived ‘drone menace’ that lives in some influential people’s heads. Based on the predicted numbers or registrants, modellers will be approximately 25% of the numbers, so PLEASE RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION to make modellers the largest group making their views known on the questions in the consultation- a) What is your view on the CAA’s proposed charge, in terms of the level and structure of the charge? b) Do you have alternative ideas about how the CAA could cover the costs of running the registration scheme? c) Are the CAA’s estimated volumes appropriate for the make-up of drone operators in the UK, based on existing sources of data and your own observations? Best Regards Rob Buckley Secretary - Large Model Association secretary@largemodelassociation.com

Concern's you.

Bmfa.

Following the recent sudden announcement of Flight Restriction Zones around protected aerodromes capturing the operation of all unmanned aircraft of any weight and at any height (and the unreasonable three week notice period given for our clubs and members to comply), the CAA have dropped yet another bombshell on us with no prior warning.

They have today published a consultation (CAP1775) on their proposed charges for the registration of all operators of unmanned aircraft – which includes all of our members.  The fee the CAA is proposing is £16.50 per annum which is significantly more than the cost levied on model flyers in any other EASA country, something they have conveniently omitted from the comparison figures in the document.  An interesting direct comparison not included is France where their equivalent registration scheme is completely free and valid for five years.

It is accepted that the EASA regulations do mandate the registration of all operators of unmanned aircraft (including model flyers) in their country of residence, but also state that in terms of model flying ‘Associations may register their members into the registration system on their behalf’ which the CAA have made excessively onerous and also completely disregarded in their consultation document.  

There are some significant costs associated with the ongoing upkeep of the CAA registration system which they are expecting you to pay for.   We believe that their figures for the number of users registering in the system are also somewhat ‘optimistic’ and the consequence of fewer users could be even higher costs.  The BMFA did offer to make its new membership system available to the CAA at cost, but didn’t receive any response!

We believe that the proposals will be detrimental to the future of model flying in the UK and place requirements on us which are more excessive than those for manned aviation – despite the DfT/CAA acknowledging that model flying has established an excellent record over the last century.  Even in France where the registration scheme is free, the model flying community has already reduced by 10%.

The UK Model Flying Associations are strongly opposed to the CAA’s proposals and believe that they represent the worst excesses of ‘gold plating’ of regulations (something which the CAA are committed to avoid).  We would strongly encourage all members to respond to the consultation and register their concerns without delay (please encourage your club mates to do the same) before the UK Government/CAA destroy model flying in the UK. 

The UK Model Flying Associations will continue to work with the CAA & DfT and bring political pressure to bear to try and minimise the impact of excessive regulation on our members, but we need your support to show the strength of feeling, so please respond to the consultation. 

Full details of the consultation and how to respond can be found here: https://consultations.caa.co.uk/finance/drone-registration/

The consultation will close on 7 June 2019.

Rapid rc

Hi all,
Just a quick message to let you all know that we are going to be posting on here with what we are doing at rapid, what models/products we have and any new items that we are getting in.

Robin Stuart.

Super fun bank holiday wend :)

Quick video of Peter's ( rcfly ) Maiden of his
Giant U Can Fly :)

Easter Good Friday fun

Making the most of the good weather :)

Gate Now Open.

Hi all,
GRASS HAS BEEN CUT.😃

Sunday morning slightly warmer than friday ;)

              Good company today thx Ade Mark Richard

Very cold North Easterly Friday fun thx guys

Rain stopped play but we still smiling :)

A blustery day!

April 1st 2019

It may have been a blustery old evening but the 20mph wind was no competion for our determination! @Paulheed & @IanMcGregor!

Left: Dean's Tundra / Center: Paul's Quad. / Right: Ian's Tundra.

Ian & I got the tundras out and made haste for the field, Paul quickly caught up with his quad-copter.

We was all amazed at how well the Durafly Tundra's handled the wind given there sized and weight, we were both running on 2800 mah 4s Batteries.

Expert photography by Paul.

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