Organising an On Station Event

Over the past couple of years, the RAFMAA committee have strived to spread the good word of RAFMAA amongst the nation’s modellers.

Events such as Pylon racing and Aerobatics events at RAF Cottesmore and Wittering, and the recent Jet Modellers Association meets and Warbirds, Past & Present event here at RAF Coningsby, publicise us greatly.

So the aim of this article is to let you into what is actually involved in putting together such an event should you wish to organise one for your unit.

Firstly, you need to decide on what sort of event you want to host, as this will then give you a direction in which to head with regards to requirements.

As an example, I shall refer to the recent JMA meet here at RAF Coningsby throughout this article.

Date??

Having checked for a suitable date that won’t clash with any other station events (especially those which involve air movements to and from the unit) the first port of call is to seek permission from the Station Commander.

Once they have allowed you to host your event, you will need to contact OC Ops, OC ATC, Prov & Sys Flight, and any other important figure heads that will need to know of your event, including Sqn commanders on your unit.

It is always a good idea at this point to make contact with MT control and make them aware of your event with regards to getting a sweeper to sanitise your area before and after each day.

It is now time to start writing your admin order. For an example of an admin order, email me and I can send you one. These need to be to of a set standard and copies sent out to all personnel involved.

The next step is to liaise with your area controller at Defence Estates Offices.  Explain what sort of event you are staging and possible numbers attending, and they will draw up a relevant DEO Land license.

These licenses generally cost between £200 and £300. This may sound a lot, but divided by each attendee or billed directly to the organisation you are hosting, this will equate to around £5 per head (dependant on the number of attendees).

Once the DEO license is in place and you have the necessary permissions, it is time to start advertising the event both on and off station. I personally tend to advertise the event on WWW.BMFA.ORG in the classifieds section and WWW.Flyingsites.co.uk on the forum section. This way it reaches a broad spectrum of aero modellers.

As the interest levels start to grow, I usually design a spreadsheet listing names, car makes and models, car colours and registrations, and any passenger’s details.

Once this list is complete you will need to submit it to the guardroom in time for the passes to be drawn up.

All visitors will need to be informed before hand, to bring relevant I‘d to allow them to gain access to the unit for the event.

You will also need to decide on what sort of hospitality features you will need to provide. Although not essential, it will add that ‘personal’ touch to the whole event.

For the latest JMA meet I provided a 12x12 tent along with 5 folding tables and chairs to act as a point for TX control.

I also provided the following:

Cones - used for marking out the pilots’ flight line, starting box crowd line etc.

Fire extinguishers x 4 - Co2.

Suitable first aid kits from the med centre along with eye wash.

FOD bins.

Brooms and black bags for any crashes.

SMRE radios to keep in contact with ATC throughout the event.

Also useful to give ATC a mobile number as we all know what SMRE batteries are like!!!

As an extra for this event, I laid on catering in the form of a BBQ which I managed to ‘borrow’ from one of the sqn’s and Tea and Coffee facilities. Although this isn’t really necessary, it added a more personal touch to the whole event and was greatly appreciated. In total I spent around £150 on food and drink from Tesco’s, which then sold for £1.50 a burger and £1 per head, per day, for unlimited tea and coffee.

By the end of the 2^nd day I was ‘in the black’ with a profit of £40.00, which I shared with my partner in crime, Capt Paul Miller.

On other events we have hosted in the past, we have opted for a burger van to be on site to cater for everyone. This option is a lot less hassle but I feel it is worth it in the end for all participants in the pocket stakes. Back to the event….

Having done most of the hard work already, you will now need to draw up a relevant safety brief (I have a good one you could butcher if anyone wants).  This must cover all aspects of flight line safety from first aid to low passes.

A word of advice from experience. Get an email address from all attendees so that you can send them regular update right up until the night before the event. Advise them to be at the guardroom as early as you can. I tend to do my flight safety brief to all pilots at 10am, which means I try to insist on my guests arriving at the main guardroom no later than 9am in order to get the passes issued.

The big day!!

Early start! Passes issued and it’s off to the flight line.

Gather round the pilots and brief them on do’s and don’ts of the event as the average civvy doesn’t think like service personnel.

Let the flying commence and ……….Enjoy.

Paul Bellingham