So You Want To Fly

Dave
Restell
I joined Bretons around a year ago to learn to fly RC fixed
wing aircraft and have been asked to write about the process of learning to fly
at
Bretons Model Flying Club.
I had built and flown a rubber powered model aircraft when
I was boy some 50 years ago now with a bit more time on my hands decided to
learn to
fly radio controlled aircrafts.
After a bit of reading and asking a few questions the best
piece of advice that I got to ensure
success was to join a club. It did seem a bit daunting being a newbie
when some of the guys have been flying for many years.
I got in touch with our
secretary asking if I could visit and was welcomed with a "Just come over when
it’s not too windy and not raining". I did visit Bretons Model Flying Club a
few times and was made most welcome and joined a few weeks later.
If you thinking of visiting the local clubs in your area. It may be good to ask first just in
case there is anything you need to know like parking, locked gates, fields full
of raging bulls etc. The answer will always be no problem come along.
At Bretons Model Flying Club being on a local authority
ground there are no problems for visitors as there is a free car park that is a
short walk from our flying area.
You
can just pop over any afternoon just for a look or ask any questions you
will be more than welcome and you can also bring you kids if they would like to see the
airplanes flying but obviously you need to ensure they stay in a safe area which
you will be advised of by any of the club members and supervised at all
times.

Hopefully you will be able to meet some of our instructors
for a chat as you will be spending a lot of time with them in the coming months.
Try to find when they normally fly, as all instruction is
free you will need to fit into their schedule and not forgetting they will want
to fly their own planes.
Ask as many questions as you like it’s all free the guys
just love talking about their hobby.
When visiting airfields try to find out what they fly, when
they fly, look at size of airfield are there trees to hit or ponds or rivers to
land in?
Any of the members at Bretons Model Flying Club will advise
you of any hazards that you would need to be aware of.
Big sites are best when learning to fly, we are lucky at
Bretons Model Flying Club as we have an enormous space but with a dedicated
landing and take-off area and pit area.
For all members to our club the training
is free and all the BMFA
membership and certification is included in the membership fee.

Training is given with our very experienced team of
enthusiastic flying instructors.
With years of experience they are very willing
to teach you to fly. Some of the instructors are over the airfield during the week and others are around weekends and holidays
this gives your training as much flexibility as possible.
Bretons Model Flying Club is an
affiliated club of the British Model
Flying Association (BMFA) so all the training given meets there very high
standard with recognised Certificates issued when you reach the (BMFA) standard.
With membership also comes third party insurance that
covers you to fly anywhere in the world.
Next Page --
Getting Your Kit