New Website Launched

A Message from the Webmaster:

On the 1st September, a new website launched for the Worcester Model Aero Club. Please make sure all the information in this email is read and not deleted!

New Web Address

The new address for the website will be https://www.wmac.uk

You will need to update your bookmarks and any Home Screen shortcuts on your devices.

Features

All the same functions on the current website will be available, and the layout of the site menus are all reasonably similar. A radical new design, a new language and a focus on user security are the main changes. Some more are included to test the water, to see if it’s something members would use. If adoption rate is poor, they’ll be removed. These include:

  • A club member’s forum to discuss ideas and problems which you can all post to and communicate in. No additional sign up necessary 
  • Skype group chat (not video) for those not keen on using Facebook or WhatsApp or who do not own a smartphone as Skype can be installed on a PC
  • A new booking in for flying calendar
  • Training calendar (coming soon)
  • Events calendar
  • Mobile friendly
  • Reset your own password if you can’t log in
  • Online store
  • GDPR Compliancy
  • Profile pictures and cover photos
  • Automatic news updates via email as they get posted to the website
  • More to come…

Online Store

Memberships are now going to be processed online. This is to alleviate some work from the Membership Secretary as it’ll auto-update the database on who is a current member, who has paid, who is overdue etc. It also gives members more choice in how to pay, and more secure choices. I will be at the AGM to assist you, providing one goes ahead under the current pandemic. If anyone does not have internet access, they can still process membership as normal in person. I will do the online part for them (this service is only for those who have no internet or really, really struggle with online purchasing). 

You can securely pay with PayPal or card straight away online. Alternatively, you can order your membership online, and choose cash, cheque or bank transfer as the form of payment. You will then be able to place your order and it’ll be flagged as ‘unpaid’ to the Membership Secretary until you make the manual payments. You will also be able to renew online.

Remember, the prices online do not include BMFA or CAA registration. 

Mobile Friendly

The website is now fully scaleable to different devices. The aspects of the website will be manipulated around automatically to best suit your screen size and resolution. This makes the website very easy to use on a smartphone.

Secure Emails

You can now contact us with secure emails, please try not to use private emails when others exist for the following:

This is to conform to GDPR Regulation. These addresses (apart from Webmaster) will not be manned until website launch.

Website Training Support

If anyone looks at the new website and needs some help, I am happy to get a group of us together and go through some basic training. Obviously sticking to the Government guidelines though. Upon launch, in your new website welcome email you’ll get some instructions on how to do the most common tasks. This will be online ordering, booking in to fly and updating your profile.

Survey

A couple of days after launch I will be emailing you all a survey to complete. This is for your feedback on the website, so it can be addressed at the Committee meeting being held in September. Please report all bugs, broken parts, problems, improvements, feature requests and positives on there and also to my webmaster@wmac.uk email address linked above. Whilst as much testing as possible has been done prior to launch, when the masses get access things could break or issues could be spotted I didn’t notice. We have access to the current website until the end of the year, just in case of any major disasters.

As more features get added and made live, you’ll be kept up to date!

Any questions, please just email me.

New Hanbury Flying Site

A message from the Chairman:

The committee, with great regret, have to make the following announcement.

The committee wish to inform you all that as from Mid September (final date to be advised) we will no longer have access to our current flying field at Hanbury. Our landlords currently lease our field to another farmer for sheep grazing, but that farmer has made the decision to cease sheep farming because it is now uneconomical. Therefore our farmer/landlord has agreed to allowing the field to be ploughed for crops in order to make the field viable .

We have until around Mid September before final cut off.

HOWEVER ALL IS NOT LOST dear friends. Dave and Dianne our landlords do not wish to see us go from their farm as we have such a good track record there for the last 18 years and have built up an excellent working relationship with them so they have offered us the adjacent field sited behind the hedge by the current car park.

That field has some advantages over the current field. Such as better access, some shade in Summer, exclusivity to us. no trees etc.

Within just 48 hours of being told this news last Sunday August 23 the committee have conducted a survey of the new field with the farmer, identified the optimal runway position and mowed an 80 metre x 20 metre runway, plus pits area and pilot box.

Also  the farmer is currently constructing a very convenient car access into the field directly from the concrete area at the barns and will reduce the hedge height by 50%.  No more driving down that rough track. and the views are spectacular!!

The committee, along with David the landlord are doing all the prep work now so as to ensure a smooth changeover when cut off day arrives. I personally believe this could be a very good move. Yes we put a lot of effort into making the current field one of the best model flying sites in the midlands.

We can do it again!!

Dave

Covid-19 Updates

The model aircraft club take your safety very seriously during this pandemic

At the moment, we are following regulations from both HM Government and the BMFA, as well as our own common sense and our landlord’s guidance

Currently, the temporary rules are as follows:

  • You must respect the social distancing rules set out by the Government
  • You must book your flying session in by logging into the club website and booking yourself in
  • Flying sessions are now AM (10:00-13:00), PM (14:00-17:00) and EVE (18:00-21:00 electric only)
  • You must not have more than 6 people per session
  • Guests are not permitted without prior permission from a Committee Member (see contact details page for more info on who to contact)

We will keep reviewing the situation continuously and will keep in touch about any further changes to these rules. Updates will be posted here, on our Facebook page and via email.

Any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact a committee member.

Thank you for bearing with us and for your understanding during this time. Stay safe