Originally Posted by Telemaster Sales UK

A few years ago we had a break-in at our club hut during which the door was destroyed. It was only a half-glazed house door which must have been at least eighty years old, built at a time when burglaries were less common because no-one had anything worth stealing! Its lightweight construction was no match for a determined blow from an axe or sledge hammer. The man who was the treasurer at the time donated a ledge and brace door which was surplus to requirements. For reasons which need not concern us, this member has decided to cut his involvement with our club and has demanded his door back. Rather childish I thought!

A local builder has contributed a steel door complete with frame but as it's taller and narrower than the other door there was a certain amount of carpentry involved to make it fit. A working party was organised over the past weekend and we also welded up and erected a mast for a solar panel while we were at it. We stopped for luch. This is France so that doesn't mean a sandwich or burger with a tea or coffee, this means an aperitif, entré of cold potatoes and salted herring, ham casserole with pasta on the Saturday, omlette with sautéed potatoes on the Sunday, cheese, desert, red wine and coffee!

While we were getting all of this down our necks conversation naturally flowed. Last summer we held an open day which attracted several new members including a man who spent the Northern Hemisphere winters in South Africa. This man flies control-line models exclusively. Last year the French Government through the FFAM, the national aeromodelling organisation, forced us to register each model we own, heavier than 800 grammes or about 28 ounces. This is aimed mainly at people who want to use a drone illegally but it forces us law-abiding aeromodellers to comply. Picture of the registration number on my foamy trainer below.

So we're sitting around feeling replete and mellow when the club's president announced that this man's control-line models heavier than 800 grammes will also have to be registered even though they're only capable of flying round in circles! I ask you! Have you ever heard of anything so daft?

Of course if I wanted to drop a small bomb on a barracks or photograph my neighbour's teenage daughters sunbathing, I'd be sure to register the model wouldn't I?