Whitby Aero Modellers

Club Safety Rules (2023)

 

*** STRICT NOISE LEVEL OF 88dB WILL BE IN EFFECT ***

 

No member shall hold any WAM executive member or any regular club member liable for any accident/incident arising from their actions or irresponsible behaviour.

 

WAM has the right to refuse or cancel the membership of any person deemed to be acting in anything but the best interest of the Club.

 

1. No one shall fly unassisted without a Transport Canada Pilot Certificate and their MAAC Pilot Qualification.  It is recommended that pilots never fly when alone.

2. When flying at the WAM flying field, always carry your MAAC Membership Card, stating your Pilot Qualifications.

3. The field box must be opened before anyone starts their engines or flies. The last club member to leave the field shall lock the field box, portable toilet, and the entrance gate.

4. RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) shall never be flown directly at or over the pit area. No one shall taxi into or out of the pit area.

5. Never take your RPAS off, directly from the flight station area.  This a Taxi only area.  Conduct all takeoff activity from the runway or beyond its northern edge.

6. Never fly near the Off-Leash Dog Park, as it is strictly out of bounds, behind the flight line.

7. Flyers shall stand in a designated Pilot Station while maneuvering their aircraft, except when taking off or hand launching.

8. All RPAS equipped with modern receivers and transmitters must be configured with Failsafe.  Please bench test functionality.  Failsafe should cut the throttle when a TX to RX signal loss occurs and should actuate safe descent control surface deflections.

9. Always turn your Transmitter on first and off last, any time you get ready to fly and/or get ready to pack up your RPAS.  This ensures that Transmitter programmed functions can operate until batteries are disconnected in your RPAS.

10. All aircraft must be secured against moving forward before starting the engine.

11. Giant scale aircraft (wingspan 84+ Inches) must be started in the designated area in the giant scale section and be taxied into the field.

12. Guest use of the WAM will be limited and requires executive pre-approval. 

13. All flying must cease during field maintenance.

14. No vehicles are permitted on the field at any time, except for field maintenance.

15. An adult must accompany all youth under 18 years of age.

16. No person shall fly any RPAS while under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or cannabis.  Cannabis use is not permitted at our field. Violation will result in immediate expulsion from WAM.

17. No member shall fly an aircraft in a manner that creates or is likely to create a hazard to full size aircraft. When full size Aircraft are about to be overhead, members must immediately descend to 100 feet or less until the full-size aircraft has passed.  Violation will result in immediate expulsion from WAM.

18. 3D flight or hovering will NOT be conducted within the perimeter of the runway unless you are the only one flying.

19. If you need to fly over the runway for IMAC or other aerobatic patterns practice, you must communicate your intentions to the other members present.  All must agree, prior to flight.

20. The field on the west side of pit area, is for the exclusive use of all small RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) activity. Stay clear of the main west-east runway.

21. All members flying FPV shall appoint a dedicated Spotter/Helper, who must remain next to the pilot throughout the entire flight. Pilots must follow all Transport Canada Regulations and MAAC safety codes regarding FPV.

22. The pilot must be able to shut off the model's engine by radio control, with the RPAS in any position, (e.g., a servo dedicated to throttle control or a kill switch).

23. The hours of RC Flight operations at the WAM Heber Down field shall be as follows:

    1. Gliders and Electric Aircraft – ½ hour before Sunrise to ½ hour after Sunset.

    2. Glow/Gas Aircraft - 7 a.m. to Dusk.  No night flying of Gas/Glow powered Aircraft.

    3. Electric Aircraft night flying only with full adherence to MAAC Safety Document MSD 11 - R/C Night Flying

24. An RPAS shall never be flown to an altitude greater than 400 feet and must remain within the field property per field maps located under the “Our Club” header of the WAM website. 

25. All RPAS must have the owner’s MAAC number and contact information affixed somewhere on or in the model.

26. All RPAS must be registered with Transport Canada and have their registration numbers externally affixed, per Transport Canada regulations.

27. A maintenance log must be kept for every RPAS you intend to fly.

28. Ensure you meet Transport Canada Recency Requirements, every 24 months, per CAR 921.04.

29. Please join the Whitby Aeromodellers Facebook webpage for most up to date WAM communications. Kindly respect the Facebook guidelines for posting. 

30. Please review email messages from WAM, as may be sent out from time to time.

31. Training is not guaranteed and is based on instructor availability.

32. All members are required to know what airspace the WAM field is in, and the distance to aerodromes near us. 

33. All members are required to regularly review and understand their responsibilities under the MAAC Safety Codes and Guidelines. It is your legal responsibility to know them.

34. Each calendar year, every member is required to update their MAAC personal account profile, with the number of airworthy RPAS they intend to fly.

35. Every WAM member must ensure their MAAC Account Profile, Club Membership section, lists Whitby Aeromodellers.  This is required to verify Pilot Qualifications.

36. Members are expected to speak up whenever they see individuals operating outside the MAAC safety code and guidelines.

37. Members are expected to relinquish their Pilot Qualification (formerly Wings) if/when they can no longer safely fly.  This is a regulatory requirement.

38. Sound levels will be checked as required by a WAM executive team member.  Please ensure you muffle and configure your RPAS engine appropriately. 

    1. Maximum 88dB as measured from the rear of the aircraft, 3 meters from the leading edge of the aircraft wing, at full throttle.

    2. Full throttle will be the max throttle setting configured through mechanical limiters or transmitter limit programming.  All members must demonstrate this setting upon request of any other WAM member.

    3. Borderline-compliant aircraft will be subject to on-site review by a panel of executive members when needed.

    4. Any RPAS deemed 'offensive' by fellow Pilots must be asked to ground and re-test. Refusal to do so will result in suspension of flying privileges and possible expulsion from WAM.