Membership Renewals for 2021
Membership renewal letters were posted to all current members on 9th December.
As of 31st December, 110 renewals have been received (almost 80% by bank transfer) and membership cards for all those received before today have been posted to those members.
The BMFA has responded to the tier 4 situation by the following statement on their web site.
"Whilst outdoor exercise is still allowed, either alone or with one other person, we are now no longer permitted to leave our homes to visit public outdoor places for the purposes of open air recreation."
The previous sentence comes from the BMFA and is their considered interpretation of the current law
We therefore have no option but to comply with the recommendations made by the BMFA and suspend all flying for the time being. We will reinstate flying as soon as we have been given clearance to do so. You can see the whole BMFA statement here.
John Davis
Chairman
EDMAC
Tier 4 restrictions - 23 December 2020
Tier 4 restrictions came in with little notice and the Downs is in tier 4. Consequently, flying is limited to 2 people with immediate effect.
The restrictions have encouraged many more people than usual to visit the Downs, especially at the weekend. If the number of people is too many for safe flying then you must not fly. I realise this is a judgement call and that it must be based on your opinion but please remember that safety comes first.
John Davis
Chairman
EDMAC
Covid-19 'lockdown', 4 November 2020
Earlier this week the BMFA published the following news bulletin;
Further to the announcement from the Prime Minister on Saturday regarding new restrictions in response to the rapidly increasing cases of COVID-19, we must now update our advice for England to reflect this.
Members should continue to keep themselves updated on current government and NHS advice. Please see https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus for the latest information.
Members are advised to follow the precautions provided by the NHS at all times details of which you can find here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Subject to a vote of Parliament, the Government will introduce further restrictions from Thursday 5th November until 2nd December (at the earliest), which limit the reasons why people can now leave their homes for at least the next four weeks (see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november).
England
Model Flying in the club environment
The Government has ordered that certain venues must close, including indoor and outdoor leisure and sporting facilities. We therefore see little option for model flying clubs to continue operating during the period of lockdown and they should close.
Therefore, our advice is for members to stay at home and make an early start on their next masterpiece.
BMFA Organised events, contests and roadshows
The BMFA is advising that all events and contests scheduled to take place in the next 4 weeks must be cancelled at this time.
BMFA Buckminster
The site will be closed to visitors during the period of lockdown.
(The bulletin also contains information, not relevant to EDMAC, about Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
BMFA Office
The BMFA Office functions remain largely in operation as usual, though most of the staff are now working remotely and we regret that the Office is closed to visitors. Please use This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as the primary means of contact.
Important note:- We must advise members to follow Government/NHS guidance and stay at home wherever possible.
Please stay safe. It’s time to get the building board out again!
This afternoon Parliament confirmed the restrictions that will come into effect from 5th November.
We will be following BMFA advice and ceasing flying during the period of this second ‘lockdown’.
Regards,
John Davis
Chairman
4 November 2020
Welcome to the website of Epsom Downs Model Aircraft Club.
While people have been flying model aircraft on Epsom Downs for many decades, the club has only been in existence for a few years. You can read the background to the formation of the club here.
Since the start of 2006 the Epsom Downs Conservators have required that anyone flying a model on Epsom Downs must be a member of this club. This requirement embraces all disciplines of radio control and free flight. Our membership application form can be downloaded from the Membership page.
We fly 7 days a week, except for horse race days, from 12 noon until 8pm or sunset - whichever is earlier. Free-flight and non-powered radio-control models may continue flying until sunset when this is later than 8pm. Models over 7kg. and those powered by jet, rocket or gas turbines may not be flown on the Downs. Control line models and catapult-launched models are also not permitted. These restrictions form part of the Byelaws, which along with the Club Rules and Constitution can be found here. Other restrictions also apply - this is just a brief summary of the main ones. See the Byelaws and Club Rules for full details.
The club is affiliated to the British Model Flying Association (BMFA.)
This website will continue to be updated from time to time with news and information for current and prospective members.
2020 AGM
I have pleasure in advising you that the 15th Annual General Meeting of the Epsom Downs Model Aircraft Club will be held on Monday 7th Dec 2020.
Due to the current pandemic situation the meeting will be on line using Zoom starting at 20:00 hrs. Further details will be sent to members shortly.
Membership
Renewals for 2020 members
Personalised renewal letters for 2021 were posted on 9 December.
Please ensure that you renew both your EDMAC and BMFA memberships before flying (pandemic-permitting) on the Downs in 2021.
The quickest and easiest way to renew is to use your Internet or Telephone Banking service to make your payment direct to our account rather than writing and posting a cheque. Account details are on the renewal letter and you do not need to return the form.
Cloud Tramp 2019
Good weather at Epsom Downs on Saturday 3rd August 2019 made for a pleasant afternoon for us to join in the world wide mass launch of Cloud Tramps at 17:00 BST.
The Cloud Tramp is a simple, all balsa, rubber powered model, 20” (51cm) wingspan plane designed by Charles Grant and featured in his 1960s “How To” book.
