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 5^th November until 2^nd 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 5^th November. 

We will be following BMFA advice and ceasing flying during the period of this second ‘lockdown’.

Regards,
John Davis
Chairman
4 November 2020