04/09/2006

Thank you to the six members who attended the working bee on Saturday 2 September.
The following jobs were completed:

· Log barriers around the turning circle half painted (the bottom half, we ran out of paint for the rest)
· Log barriers drilled and spiked into position
· Old water stand pipes removed from pit area and car park
· Star pickets and webbing placed around sewer manhole in multi-use area for protection
· Sprinkler heads installed and tested in pit area
· Large portable sprinkler tested for runway watering
· Extra gravel placed and levelled on turning circle
· Some set out pegs removed
· Silt fence constructed on natural drainage line ready for fill to be placed on multi-use area
· Tidy up and removal of excess material from around water meter and stop cock
· Rake and remove rocks, sticks, grass, etc., from temporary pit and taxiway area
· Mow runway extension and track between temporary pit and temporary pilot area.

Several jobs still remain to be completed around the club house. These include:

· Finish painting of log barriers
· Install rabbit proofing
· Install hand rail
· Construct path from turning circle gate to front steps and from front steps to pit gate
· Construct path from car park to club house gate
· Construct roof and stormwater drains
· Install additional log barriers around car park etc

Working bees over the next few weeks will focus on these jobs.

We will then start on the clean up of the multi-use area. The first task is to remove the large rocks, logs and other pieces of wood. This will have to be done by hand, but many people make light work. The fill in the multi-use area should also commence in the next week or so.

Hopefully by the end of the year we will have the majority of this finished.
Please watch out for future notices about working bees.

Best regards
Wayne Harris

Field Development. (31/08/06)

Over the last couple of weeks the work to level, top-dress and grass the runway, pit area and club house surrounds has been undertaken. There has been a significant input of time and effort by members at several working bees to rake and remove rocks and to do hand work where the contractor’s machinery could not do the job. Thank you to everyone who helped.
The contractor has now finished the work. The grass has been sown, and straw and tar ‘hydro-mulch’ has been spread. A watering roster will be put in place from this week-end. Hopefully we will see a ‘green tinge’ in 2 to 3 weeks. It will take at least 6 to 8 weeks before we can use the new grass. A decision as to when we can use this area will be made when we see how the grass grows. In the meantime a temporary short grass runway is available at the western end of the main runway and a temporary pit area has been cut on the western side of the turning circle.
The ACT government rangers inspected the site this morning and are happy with the work we have done.

Wayne Harris

Over the past two weeks the major earth work for the runway, pit area and club house yard has been done. A large amount of topsoil was brought in and levelled with a grader. We managed to negotiate an arrangement whereby we did not have to pay for the topsoil, but we did pay for the transport. (This probably saved us somewhere between $6,000 and $8,000.) Today the landscaping contractor commenced the final preparation of the site for sowing the grass. This involves going over the whole area with a “stick rake” to loosen up the soil after the rain and then working the loose soil with a levelling frame to smooth out all of the wheel ruts and minor lumps and bumps. This also “feathers” the transition between new soil and existing grass. While it is necessary to use experienced contractors with proper equipment to do the major work the current work could not have been done without significant input from members. A major working bee with 15 people spent one Saturday morning doing hand work around the club house and 6 members spent this morning removing rocks and pieces of wood that the stick rake pulled up. Further rock picking will be necessary tomorrow before the grass is finally sown. Our thanks to these club members is necessary once again for generously giving their time to help with the development of the field. No one has kept count, but since commencing the move to the new field there has probably been several hundred man days of voluntary time given by members to help get the facilities set up. This has been a tremendous effort and saved the club a significant amount of money. Hopefully we will all be rewarded with really good facilities for preparing and flying our models when the work is eventually completed. I have been advised today by the ACT government that we may commence to import fill to “level” the multi-use area to the east of the club house. Work should commence on this in the next couple of weeks. We have managed to negotiate an arrangement whereby this fill will be placed at no cost to us. However, true to form the ACT government still requires us to obtain one more approval for the work. I will do what is necessary to get this approval. It seems that there is no end to bureaucracy! For interest I have attached a couple of photos of the landscaping contractor at work. These photos were taken about 1:30pm this afternoon, from the Crace Trig station.

Best regards Wayne Harris

The boom gate has been installed by the ACT Government at the Hoskins Street end of the lane leading to our site. This new boom gate is intended to stop the illegal dumping and other elicit activities occurring along the laneway.

This laneway is used by several parities to access their properties. The arrangements we have been able to negotiate in order to avoid having to lock the boom gate at all times require us to ensure that the boom gate is closed, with the opening end resting securely on the support post (but not locked) while BMAC members are using the flying field.

Similar to our previous arrangements at the old field the first person to arrive unlocks the boom gate and closes it again before proceeding to the flying field. The first person also opens the gate at the entrance to our site (this gate may be left open if the boom gate is closed). All other members then open and close the boom gate as normal. The person leaving last at the end of the day locks both gates as well as the clubhouse.

If you are the last person to leave, please ensure that both gates and clubhouse are locked at the end of each flying session, we have quite an amount of gear on site and in the clubhouse.

The cost of cutting new keys each year is substantial. It is hoped that we may be able to reduce this cost by recycling keys from previous years at some time in the future. If you have old keys (I still have every club key for the past 5 years) please return your old keys by placing in the marked box located in the clubhouse. This will help in containing costs in the future.

You will probably notice that some preliminary earthworks have been started on the site. This is in preparation for the filling and regrading of the site. This will take place over the next couple of months and will allow the regrading of the site to incorporate a glider area. The soil stockpiles adjacent to the entry track will be used in the regarding and grassing of the site.

Further work to upgrading the runway and pits area will occur in spring. Some of this work will be done using contractors but working bees will be essential to keep the cost within the limits that the club can afford. Your help at these working bees will be greatly appreciated. If we want improved facilities we must do the work ourselves. The more help we get the sooner we will enjoy the benefits.

Over the coming weeks gravel will be placed to make a drop off and turning area adjacent to the pits area. The intention is to provide easier access for unloading models adjacent to the pits. Car parking will still be behind the club house and it is hoped to modify the layout of this area to make it easier to park close to the clubhouse.

We hope that these measures will improve access for everyone.

We have had the new site for just over seven months. During this time club members, working together, have achieved an incredible amount. The fencing is complete, the runway is operational. The club house has been re-established and now has a larger veranda as well as “town” water and sewerage. When you consider how much flying has been done as well I am sure that you will agree we have all done a fantastic job. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their contribution.

I would also like to thank you for renewing your membership and hope that you will continue to enjoy using the club facilities and the friendship of our members.

Yours sincerely

Anthony De Marco

President.

Field Report from Wayne Harris

The General Meeting on Sunday 13 August was well attended and the proposals for the next stage of the field development were discussed extensively. A number of issues were raised in discussion and it was clear by the end that there is a strong desire to move forward with the work to improve the area around the club house, the pits and runway.

Even though some additional funds will have to be found to ensure the normal operation of the club for the coming year, the meeting voted overwhelmingly to commence the next stage of the work immediately.

The next stage of the work will involve:
·the placing of gravel to form the turning circle / drop off area,
·the placing of topsoil around the club house and pit area,
·the forming of the swale drain and taxiway between the pit and the runway, (a bridge crossing will come in a later stge),

·the placing of a significant amount of topsoil on the centre of the runway and in depressions along the rest of the runway to try to get a smoother, ’level’ surface

·the sowing of the above areas with a non-invasive dryland grass mix, including fertiliser,
·spraying the club house yard, the pit area, the swale, the taxiway and the centre of the runway with a straw and tar ‘hydro mulch’ to help the grass germinate.

While we are using contractors for much of this work there will be working bees to do a lot of hand work. This will keep the cost within the range that we can afford.

It is expected that the grass will take at least two months to reach a stage where we can use the area. During this time a temporary pit will be established and flying operations will be conducted from the western end of the runway. The available runway length will necessarily be limited but hopefully it will be adequate for most people.

When the grass is established we hope we will have a significantly better runway. However, it may be necessary to do more work on the runway over the next few growing seasons to further improve it. Time will tell. However, we are committed to trying to get the runway to a standard that everyone agrees is suitable for all of our activities.

Over the next couple of months fill will be placed to create a constant grade on the eastern side of the block. This will enable us to begin the development of the Glider, Electric, Helicopter, Control-line multi-use part of the block. Because of the size of this area it will inevitably take much longer to get this up to a standard that people consider adequate, but we will keep working on this. The placing of fill and general development of this area is not part of the current stage of the work. We have arranged for the fill to be placed at no cost to the club so it is proceeding separate to the grassing of the runway and club house area.

Our club is characterised by its inclusive nature, we are all here to enjoy our flying and we hope to ensure that the interests of everyone are taken into account as we develop the field.