Welcome to the North Wiltshire Model Aircraft Club (NWMAC) Website
STOP PRESS: 2023 AGM is at Sutton Benger Village Hall on Thursday, 23rd November at 7:00pm
The NWMAC has been in existence for more than 17 years and, with a healthy membership of more than 40 members, enjoys a good reputation for welcoming young people in the area to Model Aircraft Flying.
We fly from a grass runway at our site at Sutton Benger which offers excellent facilities for all types of fixed wing model aircraft, including multi-rotor, colloquially called "drones". NOTE: Hullavington became unavailable in April 2016 as MOD sold the site to Dyson.
Members are required to be members of the BMFA, which the club is affiliated to - the BMFA providing the insurance and the code under which the club operates. The club promotes the BMFA achievement scheme with training conducted using the BMFA "Up & Away" manual. (See "Links" page)
Please Note:New adult new members require recommendation by a club member and then sponsored by a committee member or who are direct relatives of existing members. All new applications have to be approved by the NWMAC Committee. Potential junior membership (under 18's) can only be accepted provided the parent or Guardian undertakes to remain with their child at all times whilst at the club sites. The Club operates in conjunction with the BMFA child and vulnerable adult protection policy.
Do come along and see for yourself what the club and the hobby are about - training takes place mainly on Sunday mornings at Sutton Benger between 10am and 2pm.
There is a joining fee of £20 for Adult and Senior members and for members renewing after the end of February. The current annual membership fee is £65 for adults and £20 for juniors who are under 18 years of age. There is also Family Membership available. Please contact the Secretary for Junior Family membership.
Membership fee for the BMFA is currently £42 for all Adults and £18 for Juniors. There is also a Family membership available for the BMFA and that currently stands at £29 for the Family Partner and £15 for Family Juniors.
Tthe CAA Registration fee has changed to £10.00. Please note CAA registration renewals can only be processed within 28 days of the registration expiry date.
NOTE: Drone Registration and Competency requirements which were introduced in the 2018 changes to the Air Navigation Order and became law on the 30th November 2019 for those operating unmanned aircraft. See https://rcc.bmfa.uk/caa-registration/dmares-quick-start-guide On the 23 Oct 2019 the BMFA issued the following update: The changes to the law are in part to address established issues arising from unlawful operation, but also to help facilitate the wider integration of unmanned aircraft into the airspace in the future. The Queen’s Speech of 14th October announced the ‘Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill’ which introduces mechanisms for modernising airspace and Air Traffic Services and provides the Police with new powers to deal with the unlawful use of unmanned aircraft. It is acknowledged that Operator Registration is unlikely to address unlawful operation and that those using an unmanned aircraft for malicious purposes are unlikely to register. However, it does provide the Police with a mechanism for enforcement if they challenge anyone they suspect of operating an unmanned aircraft illegally. If the operator is not registered or able to confirm competency, then the Police have an immediate and clear reason for issuing a fixed penalty notice or prosecution. Details of the punitive measures have yet to be published. Similarly, it is acknowledged that Competency requirements will not address the issue of those using unmanned aircraft with malicious intent. However, there is a hope that it may help reduce the significant number of unlawful operations conducted unwittingly. The BMFA does not disagree that awareness of applicable regulations is an essential requirement for safe operation and during our campaign it has become evident to all parties (including the CAA) that there are, perhaps, a few too many model flyers who do not fully understand the existing regulations. The measures announced earlier this week are interim ones to deal with the immediate issue of the changes to UK law which become applicable on the 30th November. We will be working with the CAA towards the implementation of the EU regulations in June 2020, so actively encouraging members to break the law by not complying (as some have suggested) would be counterproductive and detrimental to our ongoing negotiations. What does this mean for BMFA members? In simple terms, if you operate an unmanned aircraft weighing more than 250g outdoors after the 30th November then it will become a legal requirement to be registered as an Operator with the CAA and be able to provide evidence that you are competent (essentially to confirm that you are aware of the applicable laws). Those who only operate control line aircraft will be exempted from the requirements. The CAA have agreed to recognise our members’ Achievements as an alternative to their online test and allow us to administer registration of Operators as part of our membership process. A few key points to note are that: 1. The fee for Operator registration will be £9/year. Where members choose to register through the BMFA, we will collect the fee and pass it on to the CAA. The BMFA does not profit from this in any way. The CAA has to make a charge to users in order to cover the cost of the scheme which is not subsidised by the Government (unlike in some other countries). 2. Members will be exempted from registering as Operators on the 30th November and can register instead as part of the BMFA’s membership renewal process (ideally by the end of January 2020). 3. Registering as an Operator through the BMFA will be a specific ‘opt-in’ for members and the CAA will only receive information for those members who have given consent by ‘opting in’ and paid the CAA fee. 4. The BMFA has never and will never share members’ data with any third parties without consent. 5. We are still clarifying arrangements for junior members in terms of Operator registration, but there are no age restrictions for ‘Remote Pilots’. 6. Members who ‘opt in’ will receive an email from the CAA with their ‘Flyer ID’ once their data is uploaded. (Should a member be asked to provide proof of registration before receiving their Flyer ID the BMFA office will provide evidence of compliance.) 7. There will be no requirement to place any registration numbers on the exterior of model aircraft, but they must be carried in an easily accessible location (within a battery hatch for example). 8. For members with an existing Achievement, all that they will need to do to remain lawful will be to simply ‘opt in’ when they renew their membership and pay the additional CAA fee. 9. We will shortly introduce a Member’s Competency Certificate (a simple knowledge test which will be available online/hardcopy and/or via our clubs and examiners) as an alternative to the CAA system for those without an existing Achievement. Members without an existing Achievement will either have to complete a Member’s Competency Certificate or the CAA’s own test before we can register them as an Operator. 10. Registration and/or evidence of competency will not be conditions of BMFA membership but failure to be able to produce evidence of both if challenged by the Police could result in a fixed penalty notice or prosecution. 11. Compliance with the Registration/Competency requirements is largely a matter for individual members and as such we would not expect Clubs to automatically assume responsibility for policing it, though of course some may choose to do so (perhaps to assist those members wishing to comply who do not have access to the internet or in order to comply with local operating requirements such as FRZ permissions for example). 12. We are still working with insurers to resolve any potential insurance implications and hope to be able to clarify the situation by the end of this week. 13. Members will continue to benefit from the existing permissions/exemptions already granted to the CAA recognised UK Associations (such as the permission to operate above 400ft with aircraft of less than 7Kg, operate control line aircraft within an FRZ and operate FPV aircraft with a competent observer).
We appreciate that there are still likely to be many questions arising from this, but there remains a lot of detail to resolve with the CAA (and our insurers) before we can issue definitive guidance. However, please be assured that we will provide further information and guidance as soon as it becomes available. In the first instance this can be found at: bmfa.org/News/News-Page/CategoryID/50