NOTAM (CANCELLED) – All pilots grounded until further notice!

Dear BRCM Member

As we look ahead to the New Year, one issue dominates the Club. How will the MAAC crisis regarding controlled airspace resolve, and how long will it take? No one can answer this question.

However one thing is clear. At the present time, we MUST abide by the present rules and remain grounded. From the original email:

“the MAAC Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend all outdoor flying activity, effective immediately. “

If individual fliers ignore the suspension, they risk not only losing their own membership, but also de-sanctioning the Club. In another letter, the MAAC president states:

“If you fly your model in Canada in defiance of the MAAC suspension, you could face disciplinary actions from your club and MAAC. If you fly an RPAS you will be flying under the Canadian Aviation Safety Regulations Part IX and could face disciplinary action from Transport Canada which could include fines for individuals and clubs.”

We can hope that this grounding will be temporary, but for the moment, the right course of action is to play the game and be a little patient.

We are moving to explore how we might proceed if the unthinkable happens and MAAC can no longer speak for fliers in Canada. I am creating a task force to explore these issues, and ensure we will be in a position to deal with any eventuality. However, with luck the issues will be resolved expeditiously at a national level and we can resume flying under MAAC umbrella soon.

Geoff. Norman

President

Message from the President – Nov 28

  • 1) The clubhouse now has an electronic lock. We no longer have to worry about which key is which. For the remainder of this year, until Jan 31, the combination is the same as the charging station and gate. If you don’t know what that is and want to know, email me at norman@mcmaaster.ca and I’ll send it to you
  • 2) Christmas party at the Church, 128 Plains Road E., on Thursday Dec. 15 at 7:30.

Show and tell, swap meet and free pizza.

  • 3) Thurs Jan. 27 is the AGM. We will need some additions to the Board and to other essential positions. Please give it some thought. The Club runs on volunteers – there’s no other way. And if we have lots of volunteers, we don’t have much work for anyone.
  • 4) If you don’t renew your membership before Jan.31, 2023 there will be a $25 late fee. This restores the system in place before Covid. Send e-transfer and application (download from Web) to Steve Waterfall at memberships@brcm.org

Message from the President

It took about 48 hours for the flying season to end. Last week we benefitted from several days of glorious summery weather and calm winds. Then came the weekend and suddenly we’re in winter. It looks like it’s here to stay, so for most of us, except a stalwart few, this signals the end of flying for a while.

It’s also time to pause and recognize the major contributions of many Club members who have contributed long hours to maintain the field and plan activities.

FIELD MAINTENANCE

Keeping the grass under control is a BIG job. We have two individuals scheduled each week to cut grass and two others to trim the weeds. That’s each and every week from May to November.

A huge vote of thanks to:

Field managers Ken Sisler, Ross Gosling, Dwayne Baldwin

Grass cutters Ken Sisler, Ross Gosling, Frank Pilih, Dave Darling, Ashley Armstrong, Tony Madge, Peter Foto, Dominique Binckly, Steve Waterfall, Dwayne Badwin

Week trimmers Marty Field, Robert Christie, Mike Penney, Geoff Norman

SPECIAL EVENTS

Ian Brown organized 3 special events over the summer: Maidenfest in May, EDF Day in July and Corn Roast in September. The weather gods cooperated and turnout at all events was amazing. Feedback was very positive. We even got photos from the Corn Roast in the centerfold of RC Canada magazine.

Special thanks to the following: John Ham, Dave Darling, Barry Parkinson, Bill Ayre, Pete Foto, Don Irvine, John Zellman and undoubtedly some others who should also be counted.

WINGS PROGRAM

Chair Don Irvine

Instructors Eric Klebsch, Paul Penney, Barry Parkinson, Brian Harrington, Branko Jazvac and Tom Norton

OTHER ROLES

Membership: Steve Waterfall

Webpage: Dwayne Baldwin

General Maintenance: Dwayne Baldwin, Bill Ayre

Facebook Ian Brown

Photographer John Ham

We all owe a round of applause to these people who have given so freely of their time. As I assembled the list it didn’t escape my notice that compared to overall membership, they are a small minority, with many folks doing multiple roles.

It goes without saying that without people stepping forward to volunteer, the club would not be sustainable. I am aware that many more people do give their time in less formal ways by helping others at the field. But I hope each of you will give some thought to how you might commit to helping out when the next flying season rolls around.

Geoff Norman

President’s Message – March 15

Greetings BRCM fliers.

The end of the long cold winter is in view, as temperature occasionally breaks into the teens. I was at the field a few days ago and some folks were flying. It almost felt like May.

And as of next week, we will resume more or less normal activities for the first time in over two years.

On Tuesday, March 22, we will have our first general meeting, at St. Mathew church, 126 Plains Road W. at 7:30. As well as a brief business meeting, Doug Matthews will do a presentation on field safety, He will review existing rules, as well as the new MAAC reporting rules, and address any questions you may have. WE WILL ALSO HAVE A SHOW AND TELL. PLEASE BRING YOUR WINTER PROJECTS TO SHOW OFF.

(Nicholas Jacobs was supposed to speak, but he has been under the weather with Covid for a couple of weeks.)

Looking ahead, we will have general meetings at St. Matthew monthly: April 19 and May 22.

Looking ahead to summer, our first summer event will be Maidenfest on the May 19 weekend, where we will have some expert fliers on hand to help you tune up and maiden your new creations.

I am also pleased to report that the weather station is now up and running after a long silence, thanks to the efforts of Dwayne Baldwin and Bill Ayre. And if you have not noticed, the spring 2022 edition of Skywords is accessible from the Webpage, Thanks to Joe Fazzari for the literary contributions.

If you’re contemplating how to spend the lazy hazy days of summer, one possibility is to assist Ken Sisler and Ross Gosling. They can be reached at bayview@brcm.org

That’s all for now

Geoff

p.s. In future, I plan to put any messages on the web page so keep your eyes peeled.

President’s Message – March 3

Dear BRCM fliers.

We had our Board meeting recently, and I am delighted to bring you several items of good news.

  1. Survey

We had a total of 52 responses. Sixty percent wanted to resume winter meetings; 40% declined. We got great information about what folks want to hear about. High on the list, a) mysteries of electricity – batteries, motors, props, b) Understanding your transmitter. Accordingly we will start off with s session with Nicholas Jacobs about electricity. All other categories (sadly except for controline flying) were of interest to a majority of respondents. We’ll use that to plan future meetings, (although we may have some surprises along the way.) Ian Brown is in charge of programming, so if you have any ideas let him know (see website for his and others’ emai)

  • Membership

At last count we have 86 signed up members. If that does not include you, you can download a renewal form from the website (brcm.org). Please note that we are not charging a late fee this year, so fee is $120. If you overpaid that will be credited to your account for next year. Please submit to Steve Waterfall, memberships@brcm.org. We will have applications available at the next general meeting end of March.

  • Winter meetings

Based on the survey results, we have decided to have 3 meetings this winter.   The Library is still not open, so we have found an alternative site. St. Matthews Church, 126 Plains Road E., Burlington.  Right across the street from Skycraft. We have a large room with tables and chairs

We had to pick a different night from before. So meetings will be held on 3rd Tuesday of the month, 730-900. Dates for this year are: March 22, April 19, May 24. In March, Nicholas Jacobs will be talking about the mysteries of electricity applied to e-flying. How do you pick a motor. Care and charging of batteries. Matching motor to prop.

Topics for April and May are being finalized and will be announced later

We must, of course go along with provincial guidelines, which means that a) Vaccination status does not matter, b)  Social distancing is enforced, c) Masks are encouraged but optional and d) we have to create a contact list at each meeting, which will be destroyed after a few weeks. 

  • Skywords

Thanks to Joe Fazzari, a new issue of Skywords has arrived. Access it through the BRCM webpage (brcm.org).

  • The field

We are fixing up the weather station and windsock in preparation for another year of flying. A team consisting of Dwayne Baldwin, Bill Ayre and Pete Krautter has been getting things back up to snuff. We have a new Wifi provider – Skychoice — and the weather station is up and running. We’ll also have CCTV going soon. And repairs to the flagpole and a new windsock. We will also have keyfob access to the clubhouse. Stay tuned.

Ken Sisler and Ross Gosling are getting the lawn mowers tuned up. They are looking for helpers doing trimming around the benches, stands, etc. So, come spring,  if you have the time, get in touch with Ken on website. Once a month for a couple of hours

  • Summer plans

Now that life is sort of back to normal, we’ve been thinking ahead to summer events. We have 4 events planned. We’re getting into detailed planning for the first one; the rest are still preliminary.

Maidenfest      May 14

              Bring your new planes out, and we’ll have some experts on hand to help with preflight, trim and buddy system. And if you’re an expert (You know who you are) please get In touch with Ian Brown (see webpage) if you can help out.

Father’s Day Fun Fly    June 19

EDF Day             July 17

Corn Roast       Aug 27

Events are always scheduled for Saturday. If weather sucks, Sunday is an alternate.

That’s about all for now. Counting the days !

Geoff

President’s Message – Feb 1

Happy New Year to all.

On January 13, Mike Block e-mailed all 2021 and 2022 members regarding the Annual General Meeting, which would normally be held on the last Thursday of January. Because of COVID, no meeting was possible, so Michael indicated to members that if they were interested in running for the Board, they should notify him and, if necessary, an election would be held electronically.

As it turns out, we received nominations for all positions on the Board, but no position was contested, so an election was not needed. The new slate of officers is:

Executive
PresidentGeoff Normanpresident.brcm@gmail.com
Vice PresidentBill Ayrevicepresident.brcm@gmail.com
SecretaryDwayne Baldwinsecretary.brcm@gmail.com
TreasurerVictor Wellstreasurer.brcm@gmail.com

Directors
Director at LargeAlex Hutchinsondirector1.brcm@gmail.com
Director at LargeEric Klepschdirector2.brcm@gmail.com
Field ManagerKen Sislerfield.brcm@gmail.com
MembershipsSteve Waterfallmemberships@brcm.org
Past PresidentMike Blockpastpresident.brcm@gmail.com
ProgramIan Browsnprogram.brcm@gmail.com
Web SiteNicholas Jacobswebsite.brcm@gmail.com
WingsDon Irvinewings.brcm@gmail.com

A second issue that would normally be addressed at the AGM is approval of the 2022 budget. This was presented to the Board at the January meeting. There are no unusual capital expenses, and it is virtually identical to the 2021 budget with the exception that costs associated with the runway improvement are deleted. If anyone wants more details, feel free to contact me or another Board member.

The new Board held its first meeting on Feb 1. Minutes of the meeting are attached to this email. They will also be posted on the website.

Winter meetings

All indications are that the current wave driven by the Omicron variant is now on the wane. New cases in Ontario are less than 20% of the 4th wave peak (2600 on Feb 1 vs. 18000 on Jan 1). It appears likely that the government will be able to stay with the planned 3 stage reduction in precautions, which means that by March 14, indoor social gatherings with up to 50 people (with masks and social distancing) will be permitted.

It therefore will be possible to restart a winter program, with a meeting on the 4th week of March. However, it remains to be seen if there is sufficient interest among club members to justify the planning of indoor events.

Discussion with the Burlington Library did not arrive at any conclusion regarding availability of a meeting room. Accordingly we have identified another venue, the parish hall of St. Matthews Church, 126 Plains Road E., directly across Plains Road from Skycraft. The room will hold 100 people so is sufficient to permit social distancing. Once we are more certain of the winter schedule (if there is one), we will firm up rental.

To gauge interest, we will be sending out an electronic survey by mid-February, assessing whether you would attend a winter meeting and assessing interest in various proposed topics. Please complete it promptly. We will compile results and then let the club know whether we will proceed with a winter program for March—May.

Summer Events
Looking ahead to summer, we are hoping to hold several events – a spring “Maidenfest” to check out new planes, summer Fun Fly, and September Corn Roast and wrapup. We will keep you informed.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not express to Mike a sincere vote of thanks on behalf of all the members for his guidance and leadership over some very difficult years. Thanks so much!

Geoff Norman