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BYLAWS of the OTIS MODEL AERO CLUB
10/23/07
ARTICLE I.
(Name)
The name of the club is the Otis Model Aero Club, Inc., hereinafter known as, or referred to, as OMAC, or the Club.
ARTICLE II(Purpose/Objectives)
1.The club is organized and shall be operated exclusively for pleasure, recreational, sporting, and other non-profit purposes in the promotion of safe and proper use of radio control miniature aircraft. Further, OMAC, Inc will endeavor to encourage the technical development of such models, encourage the membership to expand its knowledge of aerodynamics within the art and sport of model construction and flying, and set standards for the safe operation and enjoyment of that pursuit. OMAC, Inc shall also endeavor to secure a suitable flying site for use of OMAC, Inc members and guests.
ARTICLE III (Membership Qualification/Class of Membership)
1.Membership is open to any person interested in the design, construction, and/or flying of miniature radio control aircraft. Members accept the responsibility of strictly adhering to Club Bylaws; Crane Wildlife Management Area Rules and Regulations, Club Field Regulations (see Appendix A); the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) rules and requirements (specifically the AMA Safety Code); and when applicable, special event rules. Further, all members are expected to assist in upholding Club Bylaws and safety practices by encouraging compliance of violators, and/or reporting such to Club Officers.
2.The membership limit is presently unrestricted.
3.The Club has two classes of membership: Open and Junior.
A.Juniors are those under the age of 19 by July 1 of the membership year, and for flying site usage, must be accompanied by a responsible adult until cleared by the Safety Officer.
B.Open members are all other adults.
4.Guests, accompanying a Club member and holding a current AMA membership, shall be accorded flying site privileges on three separate, non-event occasions before being required to become a Member.
5.Individual members are responsible for ensuring the Secretary has updated mailing and phone information; for the payment of dues in a timely fashion, including forwarding a copy of their current AMA along with a self-addressed-stamped-envelope (SASE) if done through correspondence.
ARTICLE IV (Dues)
1.Open Membership dues are $55. Renewals paid before January 1 are $50; renewals paid after March club meeting (change Oct 2007) additional $25 for a total of $75 that year. A membership year runs from January 1, to December 31. The dues amount for the following year may be set at the annual meeting, based upon projected needs and reflecting OMAC’s non-profit status.
2.New members joining after September 1, shall pay the annual dues of $55, which covers the remaining months of the current year AND the following membership year.
3.Junior membership is one dollar ($1.00)
ARTICLE V (Financial Structure)
1.All Club dues, income, and earnings shall immediately be passed on to the Club Treasurer for deposit against Club expenditures.
2.Expenditures over $200 must be approved by a motion passed at a regular Club meeting. Expenditures less than $200 may be made without motion, by Club Officers only, to be reimbursed by the Treasurer, so long as they pertain to Club business, and are of Club benefit, and made in good faith; excepting Club Donations, which must have Membership approval. The treasurer shall report all such expenditures at the following Regular meeting.
3.No part of the Club earnings shall inure to the benefit or be distributed to its members, trustees, or officers, except to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purpose in Art. II, 1, and Art. V, 2.
ARTICLE VI (Board of Directors and Officers)
1.The Board of Directors shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Safety Officer, or other Offices, and these Directors shall preside over and manage the Club business and affairs, also functioning as the Club Officers in those capacities. An individual may hold only one Office, with the exception of the Secretary and Treasurer (those Offices may be combined). Junior members may not hold office.
2.The Board of Directors/Officers shall be nominated from the membership at large, and elected by simple majority to those positions at each September Annual Meeting for a one-year term. Officers may be re-elected on an annual basis.
3.Resignation or incapacitation of a Board Member will result in a special election for that Office at the next advertised Club meeting. Under these conditions, a Board Member may temporarily act in multiple capacities until that meeting.
4.Official Duties
President
Shall preside at all meetings, appoint and chair all special committees, have the power to call special meetings, may act as Club Spokesman and correspondent, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and in general, shall have the powers and duties generally incumbent upon a President.
Vice President
Shall act in the President’s place at the President’s request; main duties are to act as flying site manager.
Secretary
Shall record and archive all Club meeting minutes, including voting and membership records, is the custodian of all other non-financial records, is in charge of Club correspondence, may edit and publish the monthly Newsletter, and will give all notice required by the Club. Proper Notice is given through the Newsletter, special letter or advertisement, or some other reasonable means of alerting the membership at least 24 hours in advance.
Treasurer
Shall receive all applications and fees for membership, collects and accounts for all Club income and expenses, is responsible for keeping accurate records of all Club financial transactions, and maintains the Club AMA Charter. He shall report current Club balance at meetings, and upon reasonable notice, present all Club financial records and books to the full membership. He will make no disbursements over $200 without a membership motion and approval at a regular meeting.
Safety Officer
Shall be concerned primarily with the well being and safety of individual members, spectators, and other users related to OMAC site flight operations. He, or those acting in his capacity, is empowered to ground any pilot/model not in compliance immediately upon violation until that cause has been corrected.
ARTICLE VII (Meetings)
1.The Club membership shall hold an Annual Meeting, the third Wednesday of September each year, for the election of Club Board of Directors, for transaction of business that may properly come before the meeting, for permanent amending of Club bylaws, etc.
2.Regular meetings shall take place on the third Wednesdays of October, March, April, May and June. Regular and Annual Meetings are held at 7:30 PM at a location determined at the Annual Meeting, but may be relocated through Proper Notice.
3.Special Meetings may be called by the President or by petition of 5 or more Members to any Club Officer through Proper Notice.
4.Generally, meetings will be presided over by the President, with a Treasurer’s report, a reading of the previous meeting’s minutes, old and new business discussed, and motions made and voted upon.
5.Motions, by any current open member, may be offered and approved by majority vote. Official Club business may be conducted only if a quorum of at least two (2) Officers plus six (6) members, all in good standing, is present. Amending of Club Bylaws is permitted at Regular Meetings by 2/3rds vote, including two affirmative Officer votes, but only if a 24-hour written notice is given to all Members via Newsletter. These changes must be then approved at the next Annual Meeting for permanent inclusion within the Bylaws, or they are voided. At all meetings, written proxies presented in writing shall be accepted. Junior members are not permitted to advance a motion, or vote, though are encouraged to otherwise participate.
ARTICLE VIII (Membership Suspension/Termination)
1.Termination of membership, and all rights and privileges that accompany it, is automatic when any renewing Member’s dues are not paid by March 1. After that, and with $75 payment, a former member can be re-instated that year, or join as a new member the following calendar year after Jan 1.
2.Termination may result for a member whose actions are disorderly or prejudicial to the welfare of the Club or its good name, specifically but not limited to: jeopardizing Club flying site privileges; placing other members, the public at large and/or their property in danger; willful and continued non-compliance with Club By- Laws, the AMA Safety Code and other applicable safety practices.
3.The Club President and/or Safety Officer/other designated Officer shall record events and notify violators in writing. Continued violations mandate immediate temporary suspension of all Club rights and privileges upon recommendation by both the Safety Officer and President, until a full Proper Notice hearing at the next meeting. A subsequent affirmative vote, by at least 2/3rds quorum, dictates suspension of all Club rights and privileges.
4.Upon a violator’s written request, a full review of the suspension circumstances may be heard again, to determine by similar vote if termination is justified, or suspension lifted.
ARTICLE IX (Dissolution)
1.In the event of dissolution of the Club, the Officers shall, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all liabilities and debt, dispose of all Club assets equally spit and distributed among the membership, should no other agreeable plan be put forth. In this instance only, Membership is defined as being a paid member, in good standing, in both the years of dissolution, and the one prior.
APPENDIX A
OTIS MODEL AERO CLUB, INC FIELD REGULATIONS
10/01/2009
The primary interest of OMAC, Inc is the flying of radio control miniature aircraft of all types. To further that interest, the Club has secured and maintains a flying site on the grounds of the Crane Wildlife Management Area, North Falmouth, MA, under exclusive License Agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. That local office is in Bournedale, MA. Crane comes under the police protection of the Massachusetts Environmental Police, Manomet, MA, and the police forces of the Town of Falmouth. In exchange, OMAC, Inc contributes annually to the Land Acquisition Fund, maintains the parking areas and access road in passable condition, respects the property and its users, and assists in keeping the passage and parking areas free of litter.
It is important to understand OMAC, Inc is a secondary user of that land, and that various Field Trials and hunting groups have first priority under the operating charter of that property. For that reason, OMAC, Inc stands down for those scheduled Trials weekends throughout the year, and complies with the various hunting seasonal restrictions. These schedules are generally posted at the field, in the Newsletter, and available at R/C Hobbies. Members should observe the Notice Board each day before flying.
It is the pilot’s obligation to observe his surroundings before flight and during, and take proper measures to ensure safe operations. This assumes efforts at all times to avoid even a perception to the general public, that flight operations present any danger to them or their property. Therefore, flight operations must cease as soon as practical and safe, should ever the above be in doubt. The following rules are always in effect to be OBSERVED and ENFORCED by all Members, which will ensure the continuance of OMAC, Inc’s flying privileges at Crane:
1.Without exception: All pilots must have a current Academy of Aeronautics (AMA) membership and be OMAC, Inc Members, or operate per AMA Charter Club Site Student Restrictions. Flying privileges are restricted to OMAC, Inc members and their explicit guests.
2.The AMA and OMAC, Inc Membership cards must be prominently displayed on a pilot’s person whenever operating RC equipment.
3.Additional to these Field Regulations and those defined in the DFW License Agreement for Crane WMA, all pilots must abide by the AMA Safety Code, and those temporarily required by a CD or designated Safety Officer/Field Marshall.
4.Pilots will provide a ‘frequency stick’ with identifying colors, channel number, and owner information, for each channel used. This identifier will be placed upright in the appropriate ground location BEFORE the R/C Transmitter (Tx) is turned on. (See “OMAC Field and Frequency Pin”, Appendix B). Only one Tx of a given frequency (channel number) can be in operation at any given time. The Tx shall be shut-off BEFORE stick removal; the only sticks permitted in the ‘stick
pit’ will be for channels actually in use. After Tx turn-off, sticks should be laid down behind the pit. Additionally, all Tx must have the channel number affixed and visible in 3/4" high (min) contrasting numerals.
5.All aircraft must have a non-elastic restraint system, or be secured by personnel other than the pilot, during start and engine operation in the pits. High throttle run-ups must be done safely remote from other personnel.
6.Children under six (6) years old are only allowed on a flightline or in a flight area as a pilot or while under flight instruction. All non-members, should generally remain outside of pit and flight operation areas, unless invited.
7.General flying in a racetrack pattern should take place NW of an extended line bordering the pit-side runway border; 3D flying areas are north and east of the NE runway corner, and well beyond the NW runway edge. Flying is expressly prohibited over the pit and parking areas. See Notice Board diagram. . At all flying sites a safety line or lines must be established, in front of which all flying takes place. Only personnel associated with flying the model aircraft are allowed at or in front of the safety line. In the case of airshows or demonstrations a straight safety line must be established. An area away from the safety line must be maintained for spectators. Intentional flying behind the safety line is prohibited.
8.Pilots should generally remain within the field “Operating Area” to facilitate communication, and use a spotter whenever safety dictates (as during competitions, whenever an Officer or CD requires it, etc.).
9.No more than three models may be in the air at a given time; except a fourth model may be flown in the NE 3D area.
10.Pilots may not consume alcohol, or be impaired in any manner that might be detrimental to the safety of flight operations.
11.Maximum flight altitude is 400’, exceeded only momentarily for single maneuvers and only when a spotter is present. All flight operations shall remain below 200’, or cease whenever full-scale aircraft are in the area. Crane is within the Otis TCA, so this rule must be strictly observed to ensure our flying privileges.
12.There is no flying before 8:30 AM, or as posted.
13.Engines above .06 must have mufflers; rockets, pulsejets, Hi-Start, and free-flight models are not permitted.
14.A fire extinguisher must be on-hand for operation with other than glo fuel or electric power; turbine model pilots must be current Waiver holders an have a five-gallon water pump-type extinguisher on hand.
15.Fuel spillage must be minimized or completely contained within an overflow system.\
16.There shall be no littering. If you bring it in, take it out when you leave.
APPENDIX B
OMAC, INC Frequency Stick
OMAC, Inc will follow the AMA frequency stick identifier guidelines, as follows:
Sticks shall be paint-paddle size (approx 12” high by 1-1/4” wide), painted white with a 2” red band at the top. Below the band, in black, bold channel numbers should be a minimum of 1-3/4” high by 1” wide, one numeral over the other in descending order (Channel 40 would have the ‘4’ on top of the ‘0’…). The pilot’s name, phone number, and AMA number must be included somewhere below the numbers. Both sides must be identical (painted white, red band, channel number, identification). It’s advised the stick be pointed / tapered at the bottom for ease of placement in the stick pit.
Note; change at the October meeting 2009 the requirement of a frequency stick for the 2.4
GHz was rescinded.
