Congratlations to Ashleigh & Steven upon the birth of their lovely daughter Rebekah Sarah Legge.

Best wishes from everyone at NDMAC

BMFA Nats 2013

Matthew Poots, Horizon Hobby's sponsored aerobatic pilot, took part in the I.M.A.C UK aerobatic competition held at Barkston Heath in August. Watching Matthew prepare for his slot proved to be a bit of an eye opener. The amount of prior preparation was quite awe-inspiring proving, yet again, that winning contests requires a lot more dedication than just being a good flyer!

Matthew was ably assisted by his Dad, Trevor, so all that prior preparation must have paid off!  At the end of the competition Matthew was declared the winner and retained his title “I.M.A.C Champion” for the fourth year running.

 Well done Matthew.

Congratulations to Matthew and Lisa who took the plunge and 'tied the knot' on Friday.

The reception was held at the beautiful Darver Castle and Matthew found some time to entertain their guests with an aerobatic display of a small electrically motivated model (which he just couldn't resist bringing along!)

The happy couple are off to honeymoon down under in N.Z.  No doubt Matthew will find some time to fly inverted, or would that be the right way up down there?

Best wishes Matthew and Lisa from us all at NDMAC

A warm welcome to Ricky who has recently applied for membership.

Before visiting the NDMAC Ricky has been enthusiastically practising with his simulator which enabled him to get off to a good start with his E-flite 'Apprentice'.

On Saturday 28th September NDMAC held its annual Fly-in at Kirkistown.  This late season date replaced our event, originally planned for 17th August, which was postponed due to poor weather.

At the end of a dull and very damp week, we could not have hoped for better weather than the day that arrived on Saturday.  The sun shone, the wind died and a great turn out of planes and helicopters took to the air.

Although we had a super Fly-In last year, most people remarked that this year topped them all!

So what had made the difference?

Perhaps it was our new shelter, witnessing its first Fly-In.   Perhaps it was the fantastic culinary marvels served up by Tony Barnes from the club's hard worked barbeque.  Perhaps it was Mike Braithwaite and his hard working team, who so generously provided tea, coffee, cup cakes and non-stop aero-themed music over the PA system.  Perhaps it was the wonderful and diverse range of models and equipment displayed by Dave's RC Models.  Perhaps it was the very fine sum raised for Action M.S.  Perhaps it was just the unexpected good weather and the chance to meet some friends, old and new.  Perhaps it was the ballot prizes, kindly donated by Mike Braithwaite, Dave McClean and Matthew Poots on behalf of Horizon Hobbies.

I don't know what made the day so special, but I'll tell you that it will be hard to better that next year!

The visiting pilots, included Ian Robb, Harry Reid, David  Nolan, Stephen Brown, and Stuart, the 'Utterly Butterly man' to mention just a few.  Of course, Matthew Poots and wingman / father Trevor put on an immaculate and very entertaining aerial show which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone present.

Stewart presents Ann Walker MBE, CEO Action M.S., with a cheque for £100 from the NDMAC

The event raised a whopping total of £353.59 for Action M.S.

Out sincere and grateful thanks go to everyone who came along to Kirkistown from near and far and who helped make this a thouroughly memorable 2013 Fly-In.

'Steadyhand'

Welcome to Richard who has recently applied for membership of NDMAC.

Two electric planes currently reside in his hangar.  Richard has been demonstrating his excellent piloting abilities in the blustry conditions under the watchful eye of Michael, our club instructor/examiner.

Richard is well qualified in the area of IT, so if you have any questions on that subject, he's your 'man'.

(Ed.  Are internal combustion engines things from a bygone area?)

The Shelter Fund recently received a significant 'boost' with more contributions coming in to the 'Treasury'.

Thirty six members have generously assisted with this fund raising project.  We all can be proud of the wonderful facility which now stands on site at the NDMAC.

Thank you all.

Hon Treas.

FOLLOWING THE RECENT PURCHSE OF AN 'SBACH 342' FROM HOBBY KING, IT WAS NOTICED SOME HARDWARE PARTS WERE MISSING FROM THE KIT.

When contacted about this, Hobby King responded quickly and commented as follows:-

Hi (Taildragger)

Thanks for contacting the HobbyKing Support Team.

We are sorry to learn that some items are missing from your order. Our warehouse utilizes bar code identification, product scanning, RFID security, final item counting and parcel weight recording to ensure each order is full and correct. We take our shipping and dispatch accuracy seriously.

To open a claim file, you must do the following within 48 hours upon receiving the parcel:

1) Do not throw any of the packaging or product materials away. Keep the entire package 100% as you received it.

2) Weigh your parcel and its content. You can use a kitchen scale for this. It must be accurate to 5g.

3) Photograph the parcel and its contents. The photo must show products, parcel and packing materials clearly with the following information: Order ID, Parcel Weight, Missing item(s), and then attach photos of the parcel and contents, as stipulated above.

* Failure to follow the procedures above will subject to rejection of claim.

*Never accept a parcel that is crashed, damaged or has been left open - possibly allowing the contents to fall out.

Thanks for emailing support.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Judith

Well.  What would you read into this?

*    Bathroom scales accurate to within 5-grams.   That's a 'cracker' HK!  

*    Photograph everything.  What will this prove?   The missing parts won't appear in the picture!

*    Thought.   Ascertain from H K the ambient humidity reading noted when the parcel was so accurately weighed.  This will enable a calculation to be made to find the weight of moisture absorbation in the packaging materials.  The result can then be adjusted to compensate for the different humidity level recorded at this location.  Remember.  We're talking about an accuracy of better than 5-grams.

*   Pity that, when HK weighed the parcel, they weren't able to spot the fact that some parts weren't included.  Maybe their scales were a bit off that day.  There was however, an abundance of screws, washers and nuts which were surplus to requirements.  Maybe this goes some way to explain their error in 'final counting' and 'product scanning' etc. etc..

An itemised parts list is not included in the kit.  It's not obvious if smaller items are missing until you are at a stage of the build and go looking for them.

The model is of excellent quality.  I'd score it 9 out of 10.

Anyway.  I think I know where we are going with this!   It's a 'good-bye' from them, and it's a '.............' from me.

If you read this and can come up with a helpful, constructive and polite reply, please send me your thoughts.  I might give them another 'go'.

'Taildragger'

A further email received from Hobby King explains:-

Hi (Taildragger)

Thanks for contacting the HobbyKing Support Team.

We are sorry for the inconvenience that is caused. Please kindly be advised that it is normal procedure and necessary for us to check the photos for the missing issue shipped , and we need to record and claim with various department when necessary as well.

Look forward to serving you again in the near future! If you have any problems, you are kindly advised to contact us.

Thanks for emailing support.
If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Regards.
Rachel
HobbyKing Support Team

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW SEATING  has been erected in the departure lounge at NDMAC International.

The cushioned seats are very comfortable and popular with pilots.  Yes, we really do spoil ourselves.

Thanks to Billy McC for this much valued contribution

Interest in flying at NDMAC is as ever, on the increase.

Two applicants completed the necessary paperwork, and applied for membership.  (Yes. We do do things 'proper'.)

First up is Steve.  Steve holds a BMFA 'B' Cert and previously had been flying at Tyrella.  The concrete runway at Kirkistown proved irresistible to Steve who enjoys aerobatics with his electrically motivated Sbach.  He is also a keen scratch builder.

Steve hails from the Banbridge area and hopes to be a regular at Kirkistown.

Steve's good friend Phil H, also filled in the appropriate form and stated that he would like to fly at Kirkistown seven days a week!  Sorry Phil.  You'll have to make do with just six days.

Now retired, Phil held a full-size commercial pilot's licence and spent much of his time flying in Africa.  He's an expert at trimming his model for level flight just as he is expert at trimming his moustache.

Happy landings to both of you.

Taildragger