MIDLANDS NATIONAL FLYING CLUB

MIKE LAKIN

M.N.F.C. Latest:  And Then There was Twelve!

Yes the MNFC committee has agreed with its members wishes and added an extra section, This will mean that members of the three Northern sections who reside in between 01..26 N and 02..10 N will now be in the new North Central section. This will make the following Leeds, Bradford, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Halifax and Todmorden which is Situated on the border of Yorkshire all now flying into the new section for 2016. It is believed by many that this will offer many fanciers who previously were in a poor position in their old section to have the opportunity of success in this new section. For those readers in doubt of this decision it would be good to realise that Yorkshire is a massive county in fact I’m told that it is comparable to the whole of Belgium. With this in mind then surely the western Yorks area fanciers deserve their own section to compete in. This follows ‘close on the heels’ of the Eastern section being split by the Humber estuary to give a new North North East section. The great news is that each of these sections will be competing for a £150 1st Prize the remainder of each sections prize money will be paid out in a ‘pro-rata’ manner. This means that the bigger the send the larger the Prize pot will be.

New Members and clock stations

The rumours about the formation of these extra two sections has had an impact already with new members coming on board and several new clock stations being sanctioned including one or two within these new sections. The locations of new stations are in Pocklington, Spalding, Scarborough, Swadlincote, Flamborough and Maltby in the Marsh. The membership figure is already in excess of last season’s figure and there is still plenty of time for more to come join and enjoy the ‘Midlands National Experience’. There are several clubs and feds etc rumoured to be planning to race in duplication from the MNFC. With this in mind please let us know of your plans as this will help us plan for 2016 logistically. Many believed that our large transporter capacity was pure ‘pie in the sky’. Well all I can say is that today the pie is now well and truly in the sky!

MNFC Training Scheme

Numbers for the scheme are growing on an almost daily basis and though there is still room and crates available I would advise interested parties to replace your interest with hard cash and at £110 for a crate for an 8 training flight season ticket that it is a great way of getting your birds (25 per crate) prepared for the forthcoming channel programme.

Following comments that the print of pickup times which appeared a couple of weeks ago were too small to read so I will rewrite the list: West side  Bolton 10-10.30am,Burtonwood 11-11.30, Chester services 12-12.30, Stoke 13.30-14.00, Penkridge 15-15.30pm, Bromsgrove 4.30-5.00

East side Barnetby Top 12.30-13.00, Doncaster M1814.00-14.30, Hucknall 15.30-16.00, Atherstone 17.30-18.00, Kings Lynn 14-14.30, Spalding 15.30-16.00,  Raunds 19.-19.30pm. Please note that these times are approximate calculations for guidance.

If demands dictate there may be other pick up points but logistics would dictate this in regards to drivers permitted hours.

One Loft Latest Update

The latest figure for the MNFC’s One Loft race is very close to a full house which could well be achieved by the closing date of 28th February for entries. The Loft Manager Ian French reports that work preparing the site is continuing on schedule and the Webcams and pooling will be put in place ready for fanciers to view or have a ‘flutter’. I am told that the pooling format will be as simple as a touch of a button though forms will be available for postal entries for those not computer savvy. All is looking good for a successful event on our first year. So if you want to participate get your skates on or you will miss out. There are forms in the fancy press or on the MNFC One Loft website

That’s just about everything except I want to inform you that if you want to pay your subs or order Z rings don’t hesitate as we only have a few left as I write these notes and we will sell out of them shortly

and bear in mind2016 subs are due before the end of March.

Mike Lakin