MODEL AERONAUTICAL

MODEL AERONAUTICAL

ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INC.

Newsletter

NO. 5/2004

M.A.A.A. member David Hobby is the new F3J World Champion. The Australian F3J Team of David, Gerry Carter, Carl Strautins and Team Manager Bjorn Rudgley took third place in the teams. A great effort. Carl finished 16^th and Gerry 31^st. The German team was fist and Turkey second.

I am sure all M.A.A.A. members extend their congratulations to David and the F3J Team for a great effort.

Members are reminded that any model with a mass of greater than 7kgs, excluding fuel, must have a Permit to Fly. The permit is issued by a Heavy Model Inspector. The contact details of your nearest Inspector can be obtained from your State Association Secretary. To fly a model over 7kgs without a valid permit to fly could could render your insurance cover invalid. Permits are valid for three years and it is the owner of the aircraft’s responsibility to ensure that their permit is valid.

The mass of an electric powered model is to be computed with the batteries that it uses to operate. Consider the batteries as the fuel tank, they are part of the aircraft and the mass of the aircraft shall be taken with the batteries on board.

If the model is damaged and requires repair or has major modifications made, such as change of engine, the aircraft must be inspected and the repair or change noted on the permit.

All gas turbine powered model aircraft, irrespective of the mass, must also have a valid permit to fly. Like the heavy model permits they are only valid for three years. Gas turbine permits to fly are issued by a Gas Turbine Inspector. The contact details of your nearest Inspector can be obtained from your State Association Secretary. To fly a Gas Turbine powered model without a valid permit to fly could render your insurance cover invalid.

To obtain a permit to fly for a heavy or a gas turbine powered model the pilot must demonstrate a suite of manoeuvres to the satisfaction of the Inspector. The permit identifies the pilot and the manoeuvres that he/she is allowed to perform with that particular aircraft. If at a latter time the pilot wishes to add to the manoeuvres that his/her and the model are certified to perform, they must have an appropriate Inspector to certify the pilot for the new manoeuvres and note them on the permit to fly.

If you wish to allow another pilot to fly a heavy or gas turbine powered model then they, and the manoeuvres, must also be noted on the permit by an appropriate inspector. To assist a person to be added to the pilot list for a particular model, a pilot already certified for the model is able to “instruct” another pilot, of a minimum bronze wings standard, to operate the model. This can be done with a “buddy box” or by the single transmitter instructional technique. Once the person is competent on the particular model they can then ask an appropriate inspector certify them and their suite of manoeuvres on the aircraft permit form.

There is also a VERY limited stock of FAI cloth patch and decals. These are of the old FAI logo. The FAI has recently updated their logo.

To obtain any of the above, please send a cheque or Money Order for the total amount of your order plus $1-00 for postage to the M.A.A.A. Secretary.

Note; Due to the very limited stock of the FAI badges, please e-mail the Secretary to reserve your selection of these.

The M.A.A.A. is the peak body for model aviation in Australia and is recognised as an Approved Aviation Administration Organization. The members of the M.A.A.A. are the State Associations. In most State Associations the Clubs are their members. The Club Members are therefore Affiliate Members of the M.A.A.A. and in most states are also Affiliate Members of the State Association.

The M.A.A.A. Council is effectively the Board of Directors of the MAAA. . This is made up of representatives of each State and Territory in Australia. As such, each state has three votes at Council meetings. All but NSW is represented by one State Association. NSW has three, one for each discipline, i.e. free flight, control line and radio control. Even though there are three associations in NSW that state is still only entitled to three votes at Council meetings.

The M.A.A.A. Council generally has one face-to-face meeting per year. At this meeting general business is transacted such as accepting financial and other reports, appointment of sub committees etc. Policy for the next year is also set and positions on the M.A.A.A. Executive elected. The M.A.A.A. Council does, if business requires, have tele-conferences during the year.

An elected Executive administers the M.A.A.A on a day-to-day basis. The Executive consists of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Technical Secretary. The M.A.A.A. Council elects all positions for three-year terms. The Secretary’s position is full time and a salary is paid. He works from his home office. The Treasurer is a part time position and an honorarium is paid. Positions are elected in rotation to assist in continuity of experience. In 2005 the positions of Treasurer and Vice President are due for election. In 2006 the President and Technical Secretary are due for election. The Secretary is due for election in 2007.

Any financial Affiliate Member of the M.A.A.A. can nominate for the M.A.A.A. Executive positions. Nominations for the positions are called for in this Newsletter at the appropriate time.

The M.A.A.A. has established many Technical Sub-committees. Most facets and disciplines of our sport has a sub-committee. These are generally made up of a representative from each State Association. There are currently eighteen subcommittees. Some of these being, Flight Training, Heavy Models, Control Line, Old Timer Gas Turbines, Helicopter etc. Each sub-committee has a Chairman who is elected by the Council.

The relevant M.A.A.A. Sub-committees are responsible for the administration of rules that govern their activities and to provide advice to the Council and Executive. The sub-committees propose rules or changes. These are considered by the M.A.A.A. Council who then vote on their acceptance. The M.A.A.A. Secretary also uses the sub-committee chairmen for assistance in dealing with matters applicable to that facit of the sport. In general terms it could be considered that the sub committees are the “technical experts” in their field of expertise.

Whist some may think that it is the M.A.A.A. that makes up the competition rules, in reality it is the Technical Sub-committees that actually draft the rules and the M.A.A.A. Council formally passes them.

The members of the sub-committees are normally nominated to the State Associations by the State Special Interest Groups. Generally each State Association has a recognised Special Interest Group for the various disciplines, such as aerobatics, scale, helicopter etc. There are also non flight related sub committees such as education, frequency and historic.

Hopefully the above has given a bit of an insight into how the M.A.A.A. works. Naturally it is not perfect but in general terms the association functions very well with a relative low overhead cost.

The M.A.A.A. requires any paid instructor who wishes to be listed on the M.A.A.A. Professional Indemnity insurance policy for the year 2004/05 to pay $50-00. Without paying this fee, if you carry out flight instruction on anything other than a totally voluntary basis you are not covered by the MAAA Insurance Policy and in order to protect yourself you need to have arranged your over private insurance. Without M.A.A.A. insurance, operating at an M.A.A.A. Club site posses potential risk to other club members.

To be listed on the M.A.A.A. policy as a paid, or professional, instructor the person MUST have the M.A.A.A. Instructor Rating. They should also have the permission of the club or clubs whose fields they intend to operate from. Applications to be listed on the policy should be made through your State Association who shall verify the M.A.A.A. Instructor rating of the applicant and then send the application to the M.A.A.A. Secretary who will arrange for it to be sent to the insurance broker. Please note that a listing is only valid for one year. Affiliate members that wish to continue to be listed in subsequent years must advise the M.A.A.A. of their intension to be listed and send $50. A person will not be listed until the $50 fee is paid. Those who were listed in 2003/04 are not listed for 2004/05 unless they have paid the fee.