Dear Member,

May I wish you and your families a Healthy, Prosperous and Happy New Year.

The winter has now set well in, I am writing this newsletter and the outside temperature is sub zero, a little like Wednesday 28th December, when a few brave members flew up at the field when the temperature was -2 degrees. We had ice forming on the wings and cockpits of the planes. Still, a good afternoons flying!

REMINDER
Have you renewed your club membership yet? If not, may I remind you that they were due on the 31st December as was your BMFA fees, please send them by return to the club secretary. Dennis Paul LMFC , 2 Church Cottage, Church Hill, Bristol, BS4 4LX
If you do not pay your subs this will be the last newsletter you receive AND you will not be able to fly at the club field. BMFA membership is also a requirement of club membership. You can join through the club or directly with BMFA. If you pay BMFA directly, please forward a copy of your insurance to the secretary for club records.

OFFICIAL NEWS
Following a meeting of your club chairman and treasurer Phil Durant, it was decided that Phil would resign from the position of Treasurer. His duties are now being handled by the club secretary. As you know Phil was unable to attend our AGM due to being confined to a hospital sick bed. I can now report that he is up and about and able to drive again. I was pleased to meet Phil for the first time at the field over the Christmas period and have a brief chat to him. May we all wish him a continued recovery to full health.

Since the A.G.M. Colin Holmes our appointed auditor has closely examined the club accounts for 2005 and reported the following (brief resume)

* Totals for income and expenditure in the cashbook are correct.
* Turnover for the year was £1593.04 with £717.00 passed straight through to the BMFA, leaving £876.04 to operate the club. The most significant expense being the Site Fee at £209.64. Profit for the year was £416.48.
* All expenditure seems reasonable with just £41.42 on other running costs (postage and stationery). The club subsidised the AGM raffle by £118.00 (£199.00-£81.00).

The club is in a healthy financial state.

I NEED HELP
I still need input from you to help me fill this newsletter. YOUR newsletter! So a few questions, answers on the back of a £10 note or email or snail mail.

* What are you building over the winter period?
* Are you rebuilding anything? Any mods or updates?
* Have you got any tips or info for "us newbies"
* I would like to know how to make a smoke system. How do I do it? What do I need? What is the smoke fluid made from? Transmission fluid and oil?

If anyone else has any specific questions, let me know and I will ask the members.

MEMBER'S MODELS
Now a bit of news just in. Our Chairman, Pete, had during the late summer a one off model of Thunderbird 1. The wings are forward swept to help with stall. Wing span is 2100mm, weight is 6lb. Powered by a super tiger 91and ducted propeller 11" to give the required thrust. Pete has now sold this unique model to Andy Johnson and Steve Holland who expect to get it fully airborn and flying at L.M.A. shows in 2006 Remember, you saw it here first!

In the last newsletter I asked if you could send me a brief note telling us how you got into our sport. Well I got a reply! Andy Short sent these few lines about his son.

Peter (11) started flying about 2 years ago with a diesel assisted Sperber glider, built as a 'hack' model by his great uncle, Frank Shawyer. Frank had started model flying before the second world war as a founder member of Winchester MAC. After the war, he ran a model shop in Winchester but closed it when the lease expired at about the time Peter's dad (Andy) was born. Frank gave up flying for about 12 years until pestered by Andy to help him build a KK Nomad. This rekindled his interest, and he rejoined the WMAC, eventually becoming a semi-professional model builder (mainly scale) for some locals who would rather fly than build, some were entered in nationals and local competitions, and a few are still around.

Unfortunately, Frank died of an industrial disease in 1999, leaving us the Sperber, and a scratch-built 'Bluebird of Chelsea' Thames cruiser he built specially for Peter. Dad decided to try and get back flying, in a way this was in memory of Frank. The Sperber was flown on joining the Lansdown club, and Peter became quite interested in flying (dad, on the other hand, wimped out, but will keep a free-flighter or two to hand!). Following write off of a nice Magnattila, and frustration with a ground-looping Piper Cub, Peter now flies a Trainer 40 and Nebula. He would like to graduate to more sporty flying, reducing his commitment to his much-loved football to put flying first. We are going to try and locate a nice scale model of Franks for when Peter is ready. He is interested in reading, go-Karting, and anything that scares mum (as is dad!) and is most creative with a big box of K-nex (with an old sanwa RCset incorporated), usually to be found scattered all across his room. When he grows up, he would like to be a pilot in the RAF (so he will need a haircut along the way!).

Thanks for those few words Andy. Ok who's next? That's all I want just a few words.

WEBSITE
The club website is not quite up an running yet but is well under construction, Have you any ideas what you want to see on the website? Lots of pictures? Q and A section? Events, Building tips and hints from experts? Again, tell me what you want to see.

For the next newsletter (March) I would like to include a For Sale and Wants section, so if you have any item surplus to requirements or taking up valuable hangar/workshop space let me know. This is a free service for club members.

SHOWS
The 1st show of the year I will be attending is the L.M.A. show at Haig Hall, nr Wigan in Lancashire on the 26th February. Usual trade stands, demos, swapmeet and it's FREE.

I will report on that in the March newsletter. Details on BMFA website for those with infernal net access!

That's it for this month

Happy and SAFE flying.

Dennis

Dennis Paul

LMFC Secretary