MEMBER GUIDELINES (v9 26th January 2026)
1. Welcome
The committee welcome you to the MHMAC and hope you have many years of enjoyment in the club.
The main interest of club members is radio controlled model aeroplanes, but members also have interests in helicopters, free flight, gliding, control line and electric.
2. The Committee
The committee is elected by the members to run the club and are always interested in members opinions and ideas for improvements.
Current committee members.
3. The Flying Fields
The club has three fields available for flying.
1: The main field is situated in Welham Lane near Great Bowden and is available for flying any day after 11.00 AM until dusk.
2: We have another larger field suitable for R/C gliders and free flight models at East Carlton
3: A slope soaring sight at Jurassic Way, Honey Hill near Cold Ashby.
These last two are also used by other model fliers.
Find us.
To fly at any of our flying fields you must:
a: be a paid up member of Market Harborough Model Aircraft Club – see here.
b: hold a valid CAA flyer and operators license for your model – see here.
c: ensure all models flown are correctly marked with your valid CAA operators license.
d: to fly solo you must hold a valid BMFA ‘A’ certificate for the type of model you are flying.
4. Flying Field Etiquette
Radios
The majority of clib members now fly using 2.4GHz radios.
27 and 35MHz can also be used, our peg board is in the field hut.
Please operate 27 and 35MHz radios using the following safety rules:
a: Do not switch on your transmitter until you have the peg for your frequency from the peg board to ensure no-one else is on the same frequency.
b: Once you have switched off your transmitter, after a flight, return your peg to the peg board to allow others to fly on that frequency.
c: Remember that your transmitter has a very long range so don’t switch on to test things when you unload from your car.
d: Don’t assume that as no-one usually flies on your frequency that no-one will be flying on it today.
Parking
Parking is allowed in the field when the sign at the field entrance gate indicates OPEN.
When CLOSED please park in the farmyard without obstructing the farmers access.
Noise
We are lucky in that where we fly it is fairly sparsely populated. However, it would only take one complaint to the council to start an enquiry that could cause the loss of the field.
Make sure you choose an engine with an effective silencer.
Use over-size propellers to reduce the RPM of your engine and the noise with it. It is unlikely you will notice any loss of power.
Position
When you fly, ensure your plane takes off from the patch in front of the other flyers.
Stand 10m away from the patch, with the other flyers, during your flight.
Don’t overfly the pits.
Don’t launch your plane from behind the other flyers and keep whistling it over their heads!
Courtesy
Remember that we only have this field due to the generosity of the farmer so be friendly to him and ensure you don’t cause distress to any of his animals.
Ensure you are courteous to any walkers in the nearby fields.
Going Home
When it is time to pack up, please can you help/ensure that:
· the electric fence is replaced and switched on (unless it is the time of year when there is no stock in the field)
· the shutters are closed on the portacabin and door padlocked.
5. Newsletter
The newsletter is issued quarterly and contains the future schedule of events, reports from some of the committee and articles from members.
6. How Can I Help?
You can:
· write articles for the newsletter
· cut the grass on the patch
· suggest new ideas
· find new members
· enter the competitions/turn up for the events
· train others to fly
· help organise the Fly for Fun day
· help run the Auction/Raffles
7. Learning to Fly
It takes a lot of commitment from you and your instructors to get you to a position where you can fly. You will not be able to fly after a couple of flights. You will need to turn up regularly for many months before you will be able to fly solo. In that time you will have many crashes and many enjoyable(!) evenings repairing your model.
The way to get someone to teach you is to turn up on Sunday afternoons and talk to one of the committee members who will either teach you themselves or point you in the direction of a competent teacher.
Remember that your instructor will have come down to fly his own model and if there are many people learning, you may have to wait around a while. If you want a flight, make sure you make your wishes known – don’t just sit around getting frustrated waiting for someone to ask you!
If you are not patient enough for the free training, you could arrange for someone to meet you regularly on summer evenings and give you regular, uninterrupted training for a modest fee. If you want to do this, please approach the club secretary who will put you in contact with someone competent to teach you.
Once you can fly safely, you are encouraged to take the B.M.F.A. ‘A’ Certificate. It is recommended that you do not fly without an instructor until you have this certificate. After your skills have further improved you are welcome to take the ‘B’ Certificate through the club. Further details on these can be found in the B.M.F.A. Handbook.
8. Club Events/Competitions
The Competition Secretary arranges many competitions in which you can participate during the year. These are mainly for fun, but there are cups to be awarded in the AGM for the top fliers.
Competitions usually run are:
· Concours d’Elegance (for all types of flying model)
· Indoor Chuck Glider
· Control Line Balloon Burst
· R/C Limbo
· Scale Competition (for all types of flying model)
· Outdoor Chuck Glider
· Free Flight GRP
· R/C Glide & Spot Landing
· R/C Pattern
· BMFA Dart.
For further information on any of these, call the Comp. Sec. who will be happy to help you.
A timetable of Competitions & Events is published in the newsletter and on the website.
ENJOY YOURSELF!