Persons Present
Chris Bromley FSMAE Chairman
Derek Gilbert Secretary and Treasurer / Sale MFC
Roy Allam Achievement Scheme Co-ordinator / FCMFA
David Lloyd-Jones Area PRO / CCMAA
Keith Barker Area Web Master / Rochdale MAC
Steve Ogden Area Delegate/PMAG
Sue Reeves Education Co-ordinator / PMAG
S Headland Rochdale MAC
Gerry Ferer Timperley MF
Alan Cantwell Oldham DMAC
Michael Eccles Southport MAC
7 voting
The meeting commenced at 20. 04
Apologies for absence: Richard Budd, Tom Anyon, Mike Colling FSMAE and Jim Radcliffe
Correspondence
Kevin from Fylde Coast had phoned to note that the area meetings were in an
upstairs room. As he was disabled this precluded him from attending. This prompted
some discussion, but most agreed that whilst the present location was not the
most decorative, it was central for travel from the area and cost effective.
However it was agreed that when alternative venues are considered in the future,
disabled access will be a consideration.
Minutes of the previous meetings
S Ogden noted that the"local" club referred to re the Stoke fly in
was North Staffs MAC and that he and S Reeves attended the funeral with Robin
Gowler.
Minutes proposed by SO, seconded by GF, voting F: 8, A: 0, Ab:0
Matters Arising
CB agreed to speak to John French re the Top Gun trophies and certificates.
Apparently John had told the office to only issue certificates for "BMFA"
events. CB to discuss this before the area makes a formal proposal to formalise
the event.
AC to contact the trader who gave a talk on indoor radio to Bury to see if
he would be interested in something at the Rochdale event.
DLJ noted that he had been in touch with Derek Perchard and he will be seeing
him soon accompanied by R Budd. SO stated he was not happy with the situation
and queried why RB was involved.
RA noted that he was concerned with the C Gardiner situation as he was not
aware that he was a BMFA examiner. DLJ reported that he will be taking a silent
flight B test with him and will report back to the next meeting.
Still waiting for the news on how the examiners meeting in the Southern area
went and this topic carried forward to the next meeting.
Officer's Reports
None of the officers had anything specific to report.
Council Agenda and Minutes
Technical Council Agenda 21October 2006
The agenda was reviewed, principle discussion points were:
CB explained to the meeting that the proposals for battery restrictions for
F5 were needed on safety grounds with cases of batteries exploding and props
delaminating becoming a serious issue.
CB noted that item 8 should not be on the agenda, this was a full council item.
No specific voting instructions were given to the delegate.
Area Council minutes 30 September 2006
The minutes were reviewed.
The only area of discussion related to the appointment of ACEs.
The meeting concluded, without a vote, with the same result as the discussion
of the agenda at the previous meeting:
The controller should not have a veto, but should be able to contact the area
organiser and discuss any concerns.
Work done by an examiner may be of interest in considering his appointment,
but should not become a "qualifying" rule as levels of work vary with
every club's needs.
It was left to the delegate to pass the views of the meeting to the next Area
Council meeting.
Area Fly-in and competitions
SO reported that there were 30+ flyers at the Stoke fly-in. The only problem
being that the café was not open. However a caravan was used instead
to good effect. North Staffs were to be congratulated and the meeting agreed
to make a donation of £50 towards the club funds.
KB stated that the Rochdale indoor meeting went well, despite the good weather. There were a lot of spectators who he expected fly at the next meeting. It was reported that the heli flyers were looking at an alternative venue. SO asked why there were voting papers on display at the meeting and DLJ answered that they were there to encourage the membership to use their vote.
Forum
The meeting received an E mail from Stuart McFarlane very critical of the way
the forum was being moderated.
There followed a lengthy debate on the moderation of the forum.
AC commented that he was concerned that the forum is our National Showpiece.
All members should be working together and not seen to be slagging each other
off! Other sites are better, more polite and no doubt due to the level/type
of moderation
CB stated that the moderators do have a plan of campaign and are following it.
We do need the forum and would ask that that we give it a few months to see
if it settles down before we look to change the moderating method.
Flight Challenge
SR commented that she felt it was not worth the effort.
Whilst it is not BMFA funds being spent, she felt a lot was wasted eg toilets,
and there were only 17 teams and 6 individual entries.
SR stated that she would not be attending the F C meeting.
A discussion came to the conclusion that the main problem was getting the teachers
interested to take part. It was suggested perhaps there should be a preliminary
round with a postal competition, winners may be more encouraged to attend a
Final.
Proposal for ACE
RA reported that the area had received a nomination from the Crewe Helicopter
Club to propose S Ogden for the position of ACE.
A discussion followed as to whether two new ACEs were needed in the south of
the area, RA felt that with so little work being done by the existing ACEs one
was sufficient, whereas CB felt that we could do with two as we needed to promote
the scheme rather than just take tests when required, this view was supported
by AC.
It was agreed to take a vote to submit S Ogden's name to the scheme controller
to arrange an assessment as to his suitability.
Vote: F: 4, A: 3, Ab: 0. carried by a majority vote.
Examiners Meeting
CB reported that he had not heard how the Southern meeting went and asked that
this agenda item be carried forward to the next meeting.
Any Other Business
There followed a general discussion relating to the forum, its use and moderation.
AC felt there was a lack of information on candidates for the elections. CB
explained that in BMFA news there was limited space, and each candidate had
equal opportunity to record his merits. This may be reviewed for future elections.
The meeting closed at 10.50
These minutes are provisional until approved at the next meeting