Since its inception in April '93 when half a dozen modellers got together on a site just North of Ballymena, the Seven Towers Aeromodelling Club, as it was eventually to be named, has grown into potentially one of the best aeromodelling clubs in our Area. (No.13)
The Seven Towers Aeromodelling Club was formed properly in the Autumn of '93, and the search for a more suitable flying site commenced. Having agreed on the present field at Tully Road, approx. 3 miles from the town centre, flying commenced at the site in November '93.
In June '94 the club's first Newsheet was produced, and since then we have managed to publish once a month and post it to every member. With total co-operation from the landowners the pits area was constructed and by October '94 the club had a site hut, an electrically fenced runway, and in April '95 a ride-on lawnmower had been purchased.
Membership increased to 22 by August '95, and in April '96 our first Fun-Fly competition took place. Visiting members from Ballymoney and South Derry clubs were welcomed and the winner was Bill Ervine from the Ballymoney Club. In June '96 we held our first fly-in, and again the event was well attended with visitors from South Derry, Larne and Ballymoney Clubs in attendance. The South Derry boys put on an enlightening display of aerobatic flying, and the superb weather ensured another successful club event.
Our first splash-in took place at Quolie Reservoir in August. Several Nutts Corner and Ballymoney members, plus a few lads from the Larne club turned up, and again the favourable weather combined to make the event a very enjoyable experience.
Our club Newsheet has been steadily developed and each member is invited to contribute. The start of '96 saw the introduction of the first club video, and again this has been developed throughout the year and features extensive reports on other club events and competitions. Four videos have already been produced and loan copies of all videos are available for club members.
In 2002 the club moved from Tully Road to its present site at Dessie Turtle’s farm at 35 Buckna Road Broughshane. This move solved a lot of problems for our members the worst being that Tully Road was always very wet, and we had both cattle and sheep to contend with. In 2003 we were awarded a lottery grant of £5,000 to help purchase a new clubhouse/portacabin. This was finally installed on site in September of 2003 and proved a godsend for the members, who can now enjoy a gas heater, a ring for cooking/making tea and a place to sit out of the cold North Antrim winds.
We had a successful fly-in in September 2004 over two days, and although it was very windy visitors from South Derry, North Down and Ballymoney Clubs turned out for both days.
At the end of 2004 we stopped producing the club Newsletter in printed form and now all of the correspondence is done via e-mail. After 2005 Dessie kindly decided to have no more sheep on the site and since then we have been animal-free. One of our retired club members (Kyle Mulligan) cuts the grass diligently and we assist him in maintaining the mower, resulting in one of the best grass strips in the country. Membership has fluctuated throughout the years and is now limited to 30 adults. In august 2007 we dipped our toes into the world of indoor flying and this is now a regular fixture in Broughshane Community Centre most Thursday evenings.
This has proved to be a good social event for young and old and is starting to attract some younger members with two juniors joining for 2008. Our indoor flying activities has also help nurture our relationship with the Broughshane Community Association to which we are now affiliated (very useful when applying for grants) and our members have helped out at some of their events in the past year. Broughahane is the “Champion of Champions” in the “Best Small Town” awards for GB and has won numerous prizes in the “Best Kept” categories throughout the years.
In 2007 the club adopted a new logo and members can now purchase various items of clothing emblazoned with an embroidered version of the logo.
The Seven Towers Aeromodelling club caters for most modelling deciplines although Sport Flying, Aerobatics and Scale fixed wing predominates. There are also several helicopter enthusiasts within the club.
Our aims for the future are to raise the standard of flying at our club and continue to promote aeromodelling through our own events and interaction with other modelling clubs.
Model flyers from all clubs will be warmly welcomed at our flying site(s) and events. Contact John Smyth (hon secretary) .
ANTRIM / BELFAST
