Committee of Management

Club Appointments

The February General Meeting will be Friday 24th April 2009 at the Community Hall on the corner of Todds Road and Ellis Street Lawnton commencing at

7:30 pm

The next working bee will be Sunday 26th April 2009 starting at 8:00AM.

Working Bee brought forward due to S and B event on 3rd May

Presidents Report

The secretary of the Wamuran Flyers came to our committee meeting on the 8th of April to give us an update on developments with the proposed new flying field at Uhlman Rd Burpengary. The Moreton Regional Council has approved the development application for the proposed field with certain requirements such as a soil test because of the acidic nature of the ground in that area. Also copies of documents of previous negotiations with government departments have been handed to the amalgamation sub-committee by the Wamuran Club. The amalgamation sub-committee will give reports on progress, at our monthly club meetings. I would encourage members to attend the monthly club meetings as amalgamation issues will arise from here on. The next issues to arise are the possibility of the Wamuran Flyers joining our club and a possible name change for our club. Club meetings are the only official forum where members can have their say and decide the future direction of the club.

The next matter I wish to raise does not do credit to the club and questions the honesty of one or two members and that is the number of cans of drink not being paid for or money being taken from the cash box.
This is very disappointing and is stealing from the club which is a low act.

Also if anyone has or knows what happened to the install cd for the new Great Planes flight simulator please let a committee member know.

Peter Atkinson

Notice.
Sat 25th April is Anzac Day. No flying is allowed before 12 noon.
However, judging for the Harry Gerhman Craftmanship Award may take place in the morning. Details will be given at the general meeting.

MINUTES OF PRAMS GENERAL MEETING
Held on March 27 2009 at Lawnton Community Hall.

Meeting opened: 7.35pm
Chairman: P Atkinson
Members Present: as per the Attendance Book.
Apologies: C Parry, L Wherrett, E Pond, F Grosvenor.
Confirmation of minutes of previous meeting: moved: D Wherrett seconded: G Reid Carried
Business arising from the minutes: Nil
President's Report: Nil
Secretary's Report:
Inward Correspondence: As per the Correspondence Book
Outward Correspondence: As per the Correspondence Book
New members: P Murphy, T Baker, G Simpson. All will be considered at the next Committee Meeting.
Treasurer's Report: As circulated
CFI Report: Nil
Field Maintenance Report: No problems, sullage pit to be extended at next working bee.
Heli Report: Nil
Fuel Report: Sales have improved, plenty stock on hand.
Catering Report: Nil
PRO Report: Flier for S & B Electric Day tabled. Organisation of Charity Air Show progressing.
Static display at Morayfield Shopping Centre has been approved for the week before the Air Show. A roster will be displayed at the club room - please put your names down for a 2 hour stint!
The Jet Day has been cancelled due to a clash of dates.
Library and Airwaves Report: New DVDs are now circulating. Permission sought and given to renew subscription to Flying Models magazine at a cost of US$50.
Amalgamation Committee report: No progress at this time - P Hetherman stated that he has been trying to meet with the Wamuran Club to access the documentation to date without success. The secretary is to send a letter to the Wamuran committee requesting this be made available. Although rumour has it that the Uhlmann Rd field has been approved by council nothing has been seen to confirm this.
Moved that the reports be accepted: moved J Fagan seconded B Evans carried
General Business: J Fagan told the meeting that James and Mary McAllen have just delivered a baby girl, and mother and baby are doing well. Members expressed their good wishes.
P Somerfield reported that he had attended the MAAQ meeting recently and that MAAQ are now handling display approvals, not CASA.
The club barbeque needs some repairs or replacing - to be checked at the weekend.
Meeting closed at: 8.20pm.

This is an edited copy of an interesting email exchange between Danny Hollis and Kevin Dodd the MAAA Secretary. All members please read!

From: MAAA Secretary
Sent: Friday, 17 April 2009 7:12 AM
Subject: MOP058
Thanks Danny,
In reply to your query re the 'C' Tick I am unable to give a yes or no answer to some of what you ask. Some part of your question can be answered depending on your clubs own By-laws and if they state like some clubs do that the 'C' Tick is a requirement.
By signing your membership card to operate under MAAA jurisdiction you are obliged to comply with MAAA MOP's.
MOP058 is MAAA policy and is intended to assist members to comply with the legal requirements of ACMA.

Whilst Australian requirements are broadly in line with other international standards there are detail differences.
The consequences of not complying with Australian legal requirements on an insurance claim is a legal issue which ultimately would be determined by the Courts depending on the respective legal arguments in the particular circumstances.
All MOP's are subject to continuing review and if any specific changes are being investigated that process has to be completed before there is any certain outcome.
Regards
Kevin Dodd
************************
Danny Hollis wrote:
Thanks Kevin,
PRAMS does not have any By Law that covers the C-Tick issue. What I need to know is what risk the club carries and if the club has a responsibility to police use of C-Tick equipment.
MOP058 states at 3.2 "... Without this compliance mark the Radiocommunications Act places the responsibility on the user to ensure that the equipment complies with the applicable standards..."
MOP058 states at 3.4 "...The operation of equipment that does not conform to the requirements of this Policy may result in the Affiliate Member having a liability in the event of a claim on the MAAA insurance policies..."
MOP058 states at 4.1 "...Whilst not part of the MAAA Requirements, the following information is provided to assist users of this class of equipment..."
The above references tell me that the individual carries the risk under the act and under the MAAA insurance. The last reference indicates that MAAA does not make C-Tick a requirement under the MOP. In the event of a claim it may be up to the individual to prove their equipment was compliant with the ACMA requirements. This all gels with my reading of the ACMA guidelines.
The bottom line being that there is no "requirement" to have a C-Tick to operate equipment however in the case of a problem it will be the individual's responsibility to prove compliance.
Am I correct in my interpretation that the MOP does not place a requirement for a C-Tick?
If the MAAA/Insurer requires C-Tick then PRAMS would have to enact a By Law and police the equipment. If there is no requirement and people are made aware of the issues then it becomes an individual's issue.
The above all assumes that the equipment is on the accepted list.
Danny
*****************************
From: MAAA Secretary
Sent: Friday, 17 April 2009 10:52 AM
To: Danny Hollis
Subject: Re: MOP058
Thanks Danny,
Your interpretation is absolutely correct. If you do not have a By-law requiring a 'C' Tick then all you say is true. MAAA/ Insurance do not require a 'C' Tick and state that the 'C' tick is an indication that the equipment meets ACMA requirements, if no 'C' Tick, the individual is responsible to ensure it meets the requirements especially in the event of a claim.
It is very much like having or not having a Heavy Model Permit to Fly for a model over 7kg. The onus is totally on the owner/operator to comply, if they don't then in the case of a claim and Court action they have to be responsible for their decisions.
Regards
Kevin.

(MOPs are the MAAA Manuals of Procedure which spell out the legal requirements under which we operate.)

COMMITTEE BYLINES

At the recent committee meeting the following matters were discussed:
Jim Gibson from Wamuran MFC was welcomed as a visitor. Jim showed us the letter from Moreton Regional Council confirming that the planning application for the use of the Uhlmann Rd field had been approved. Jim also handed over copies of all the previous correspondence etc between the Wamuran club and MRC on the issue. Patrick Hetherman accepted the documents and promised to read them all and give us a summary and an idea of the next steps at the general meeting.
A couple of junior members have been spoken to via their parents on disciplinary matters - we hope they take notice!
Bob Moore asked that the following letter be published in Airwaves:
'For those of you who have been to the field of late you will have noticed a new work bench on the left of the Tx pound.
This work bench was constructed by Jay Allen in his own time, and the materials were also donated by Jay.
We would also like to thank Amber de Brueys who outsourced the angle iron for the construction of the work bench.
We very much appreciate Jay and Amber's contribution!
We would also like to remind members that these benches are work benches for repairing and adjusting models, not for storage of aircraft and equipment.
Safe flying,
The Committee'

The ticket system for working bees is working well. When you turn up for a working bee, (before 8.30!) make sure you get a ticket for your breakfast and see your name entered in the book.
Keys to the containers are to be checked and reissued as the current key register is out of date.
Dave Wherrett is going away for a while so Bob Moore is taking over the fuel issue job. He will call for help if he needs it!
Planning for the Charity Airshow is going ahead - application to hold the show now has to go via MAAQ not CASA. We will be supporting the Royal Children's Hospital and the Salvation Army as in the past.
The S&B Electric Day on May 3rd is going ahead - electric models only may be flown on that day! There will be visitors with electric models arriving on the Saturday and camping over, but general flying will still be the rule on Saturday.

LIBRARY NEWS
The new DVDs are proving popular - it's a case of first in, best dressed!
There are few outstanding items, but Grant Thompson seems to have several DVDs out from last year…

Forthcoming Events

See also the PRAMS 2009 Calender on the noticeboard at the field!