Crisis in model aircraft volunteers

In the Case Against Vetting report on model aircraft clubs, we noted enthusiasts’ concerns that the child protection bureaucracy would stamp out adult volunteering.

A recent thread on a model flying discussion forum gives a couple of examples of how, unfortunately, this is happening – with a number of model flyers reporting that regular events have been cancelled this year. One poster commented ‘with all the terrifying Health & Safety regulations, and Risk Assessments, and the legal ramifications if there is the slightest hiccup during the day, and all parent helpers having to be CRB checked…it isn’t any wonder that teachers are now reluctant to set foot off the school premises.’

Model flying clubs are places where skills are passed down informally between the generations – model flying is difficult to master, and there is little formal coaching, so young flyers have been brought on purely by the good will and enthusiasm of adult hobbyists. Informal coaching should be celebrated and nurtured, not treated as a potential hazard requiring reams of red tape.