skanked by BMFA ?

[stuskimac]

Okay, let me start by saying " i don't wanna upset the powers that be or anything, but"

having recently bought a second hand raptor via this site, very happy with it i am too ! ( thanks callum), and having read recent posts about insurance and the BMFA membership being a worthwhile must-have, and of course the the overwhelming size of the raptor + scary nitro engine's, i thought i better get covered before i think about flying this ! so i did !
2 weeks ago i posted my check for the current fee at the time £28, and i was made aware by the BMFA site that price reductions were due in a few days time. well i couldn't wait, and thought what the hell ! pay a bit over the odds, atleast i can fly legite ! yeah ?
ok, so far no probs, then when it arrived today, and i read the small print, i realise i've just paid £28 for 5 months insurance cover, i missed the fact that it runs concurrent to the calender, my mistake ! but that means that when a newbie joins in january they will only be paying £11 for 6 months !! ok they have too pay £22 for 12months, but thats what it equates too !
if say for instance you by anti-virus software and subscribe for a years updates, thats what you get ! if you buy car insurance you get twelve months worth ! so how the hell does this work ?
i'm not knocking the BMFA, because i know nothing about them, but i does kinda makes u think what kind of outfit have i just joined ? i feel a little bit stiched up here, and i'm left thinking will they stitch me up if things go wrong and i have to make a claim ?
they obviously have a very healthy bank balance in january, prior to april, u know end of tax year ? what profits they make they could setup a paypal account linked to there online site to make registration easy on there... urmm modern website ?


Breakaway heli group required i think !!!!

[Stuart]

Breakaway heli group required i think !!!!

Working on that one...http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/rcha-building-commences/

[stuskimac]

Stuart,
i've been following your posts with interest, and hope and wish u every success in your goal ! as a relative newbie myself, i don't think i can bring anything tangable to you ( due to my lack of knowledge ), other than my support !

but following my intial dealing with the BMFA, i noticed that the free newsletter sent with my membership only featured an R/C heli in an advert !! very fixed wing orientated i thought !

would your R/C HELI membership be tied to the BMFA, and there system of renewal ?

luv this site by the way ! good work.

best regards stuart.

[Gareth-71]

Hi There

As a relative newb myself, I can't really comment on the BMFA other than I have a license now and had to swallow the fact that I am losing a bit of money due to getting it late (only last month). However I know that at some point in the year they do reduce it a bit.

While this does not seem totally fair (take your anti virus example) it is not alien to me.

I have numerous motorcycle race licenses, and therefore have to belong to a few motorcycle race clubs, and they ALL run from 1st of Jan to 31st Dec.

I once had to get a full year license that only lasted a few days because I wanted to race in the 'Plum Pudding' race on Boxing Day !!!!

It seems that when insurance companies are involved, things go according to their rules.


Anyway, come on, we are only taking a few quid here. Race licenses can run into hundreds of pounds.....Is it really worth kicking up against the BMFA when it could be out of their hands?

Gareth

[bronzino]

They normally give you a discount voucher which gives you 'X' amount off of next years fee to allow for the fact that you have joined midway through the calendar year. I would ring them up and ask them why you have not been given a voucher.

[Tosh]

they could setup a paypal account linked to there online site to make registration easy

To be fair it takes about one minute on the phone with a credit card to renew each year.

[GravityKills]

it's the same here in Finland, although they do give some discount if you join mid-year (but far less than you'd expect).
It may be that the insurance company is the bottleneck - why should they be more flexible if as a result they earn less money.
But this is just a guess.

[rotorwrecker]

When one organisation has the monopoly they can do pretty much what they want no 12 month cover mid season,joining up by printing a form off and posting cheques,As soon as there is an alternative to them that clubs will recognise (and i dont see why not if your insured) then i,m gone.The BMFA give me the impression that they are stuck well in the past and do not want to move forwards and that bothers me.As previuosly said how are they at paying out.

Dave.

[moyesboy]

For hang gliding I am a member of the BHPA which has a similar (though more expensive) insurance issue, similar number of full time staff, fewer memebers probably (but almost all participants are memebers), affiliation to the RAEC etc etc.
That memebership has always been a rolling memebership, you jouin for a year and it rounds to the end of the month you joined. While there is a surge in renewals in the spring, the workload for the office is spread through the year as the memberships expire and renew proportionally every month.
The way thre BMFA renewal works is a bit mad. They must have to have so much extra work over the renewal month - but the worst thing is it discourages people from joining until its the right time of the year to pay...and that means there are more folks flying without insurance and even advised by BMFA clubs not to join just now...it makes no sense.

[Sesame]

it seams to be a common thread amongst this type of organisation, when they have a annual renual date it all works from there and you dont get very many of them giving discounts when you join part of the way through the year.

our flying club aligns it renewal date to the BMFA one and again same thing you join part of the way through the year and you miss out.

[moyesboy]

Unlike a model flying club our local hang gliding club has a large number of memebers (over 400). As the National body memebership is rolling, so is the club membership - thus the club administration is a bit of work every month rather than an impossible amount all in one month.
With a modern organisation the membership should be rolling - with computer admin there is no reason not to do it like that.

[pchristy]

The problems of renewal / new members is one that always causes issues in organisations like the BMFA. There is no simple answer, but the BMFA does try to recognise the issue by offering reduced rates to those joining late in the year. The original post indicated that " I couldn't wait...." - had he done so, he would have got the discount! You pays your money and makes your choice!

However, part of the problem is the way the BMFA is constituted. Crazy as it sounds, the BMFA regards the *clubs* as its members, not the individuals. This is why it is often so difficult to get the BMFA stirred into action. Unless the *clubs* raise issues, they tend to get ignored!

My efforts to promote "one member, one vote" have gone a little way to redress the balance, but the fact that so few members actually bother to vote at elections has severely undermined their value.

There is little doubt in my mind that helicopters are seriously under-represented within the BMFA. Most clubs tend to be fixed-wing or mixed. There are very few heli only clubs by comparison, even though helis are probably the fastest growing branch of the hobby.

Another issue is the difficulty in persuading heli pilots to get involved with the BMFA!

To illustrate the problem - I'm the Area delegate for South Midlands, and as such have a seat on both Areas Council and Full Council. On Areas Council, there is only ONE other member (out of about 20 voting members) who holds a helicopter "B" certificate (as far as I am aware)! We both also sit on Full Council, and again, as far as I'm aware, we are the ONLY TWO helicopter "B" cert holders, even though Full Council has more members!

Again, I'm 59 going on 60, yet at most of these meetings I'm one of the younger members present!

IT SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS!

This is meant to be a sport for Heaven's sake - a young persons activity. But until some of you get off your backsides and GET INVOLVED, the BMFA will continue to be dominated by old farts like me, and more importantly, dominated by plank pilots!

I will be standing down from the RC Power Technical Committee this year. I've done my time, its someone else's turn to take over. Dave Pacey will remain as heli rep on RCPTC for another year (he tells me).

It is also my intention to step down as South Midlands Delegate this year, though there is some unfinished business that needs attending to there. If I do step down, there will be only ONE regular helicopter pilot on both Area and Full Council.

Think about this!

Yes, its hard graft sometimes, and I haven't always got it right - I'm only human after all. But at least you have had a voice - however small - in the upper echelons of the BMFA.

If you want that to continue, someone else needs to step forward!

Cheers,

--
Pete

[Mikee]

I can't what you problem is here.. the fees are clearly laid out on the BMFA site.. and phoning them to renew or start a membership .. takes minutes...

Sure your paying for lost months in some cases... But the cost of the insurance is cheap.. and even more so If you injure a member of the public and have to pay out tens of thousands of pounds

My argument is that if you go to the pictures and arrive late and the films started... would you expect a partial refund.. No

Mikee

[Photex]

I just joined, and because membership runs from Jan to Dec, I got a discount voucher towards next years insurance.

Chris.

[stuskimac]

fair comments everyone, i have paid my dues and got what i wanted, i wasn't aware however that i could do it over the phone though, so hopefully i will do so in jan.

I just think the present system is a bit unflexible and outdated.

thanks, stu.