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Here's my reply, published here because it may be just the question YOU are asking!

Many thanks for your e-mail, Mark - nice to know you're interested in the hobby!

First of all, the club thing. You do not HAVE to join a club and it is perfectly possible to go into an empty field (given the permission of the owner!) and have a bash BUT it is dangerous and likely to lead to disappointment and disaster and I would never recommend it! You do not need any formal permits either, but you should certainly have third-party insurance because a model out of control can do a lot of damage (there was a tragic case of a young lad who was killed by an out-of-control aircraft just a couple of years ago). Depending on where your empty field is, you could also be in breach of air traffic regulations or endangering people or other aircraft (models or full-size), so it is not really that simple!

Flying radio-controlled aircraft is not so very easy that you are likely to succeed without some instruction. On the other hand, it is not so difficult that you would not soon be flying confidently once you have received that instruction. Every club I know welcomes beginners and they all have a qualified instructor or two who give instruction free of charge. Usually, you fly on a buddy lead - that is, your transmitter is linked to the instructor's and he/she can take over from you at any time, if it looks as though you are in trouble. Initially, the instructor will take off and land your aircraft and let you fly around under instruction to get used to the controls, etc., and then move on to teach you take-off and landing techniques. You can then proceed to obtain qualifications of your own, if you wish. Most people aim for the BMFA (see below) 'A' certificate (or its equivalent outside the UK) which allows you to fly solo without someone keeping an eye on you, and others then also go on for their 'B' certificate which covers aerobatics, etc. Beyond that, there is also an instructors certificate.

The best idea is to find a local club and go along one afternoon and watch the lads at play! You can find out what radio gear the club can offer buddy-lead instruction on before you buy your own (often it is for Futaba radios, but sometimes other radio gear can be catered for) and you might also see a suitable trainer aircraft that would appeal to you. You might even be lucky enough to be able to have a go and see what you think of it - a few clubs have a club trainer aircraft for that purpose. You definitely need to start with a trainer aircraft, as they are designed to be comparatively stable - there are scores of makes and models available. You can buy trainers that are Almost Ready To Fly (ARTF models) requiring a minimum of construction or conventional kits to construct from balsa and ply, often with a pre-built wing that might need covering. An ARTF like the Thunder Tiger Trainer Mk II pictured here is very popular and basically only needs fitting out with servos and radio gear and almost snapping together! An ARTF is probably the best way to start, unless model making is definitely your thing!

Most clubs in the UK are affiliated to the British Model Flying Association and you can often join the BMFA through the club as part of the joining process, otherwise you can join by making direct contact with the Association. BMFA membership is currently £22 per year and club fees start from around another £25 a year. Membership includes the all-important insurance and provides cover of up to five million pounds on any one accident. You should never fly until you have that insurance cover. You get a Handbook from the BMFA on joining and that sets out the various regulations that do exist in respect of flying model aircraft which, beyond a certain size, actually fall into the light aircraft category for flight regulations, etc.

Another great source of help and advice is a decent model shop - these guys are usually enthusiasts themselves and they will also know about clubs in the vicinity. You can also see a nice variety of trainers, etc., and most of the small shops will do their best to match the prices in the magazines and/or give a discount if you belong to a local club.

I have only been flying fixed wing models for a couple of years or so, and I have found it to be the most enjoyable hobby I have ever taken up. The blokes at the club are great - they will always give you help and advice and you learn a tremendous amount from them about setting up your aircraft, transmitter controls, engines, etc., etc., and this seems to be a common factor of the hobby, wherever you are!

I hope this has been of help. I would urge you to make contact with a local club and would also again strongly recommend that you do not try to go it alone!

Remember this comment that I quoted from Ripmax Battery Division concerning the so-called 'memory effect' in NiCad batteries?

"Probably the greatest myth is the legendary MEMORY EFFECT which is supposedly caused by repeated shallow charging/discharging. In practice this is very difficult to produce, even under laboratory conditions. In general it should be TOTALLY DISREGARDED."

Following up on a suggestion made to me by Terry Pollock from Australia, I asked Sanyo what they might have to say about the subject. As a major manufacturer of NiCads, I found their reply most interesting. Here it is:

"Sanyo Energy is fully supportive of  Ripmax's statement that the 'memory effect' is an over-exaggerated problem and one that is ever truly noticeable to only a handful of battery users. If you do think that, by a very small chance, you are among this handful then a complete discharge cycle will clear the 'problem'. However, there is no need to ensure a complete cycle every time, as some suggest."

When I was looking over Phil Hayward's nice little personal website in order to review it on this issue (see site seeing) I found a page carrying two very interesting articles on this very subject, both supporting the view that 'memory effect' is a myth. However, according to authors James Zaun and Graham Stoney, it is the tendency of most consumer chargers to overcharge the cell that produces an artificially induced drop in capacity (Graham Stoney calls it a voltage depression) and which is mistakenly labelled as 'memory effect'; it is mostly reversible by a deep discharge/charge cycle. It is not true 'memory' because it is not the result of some sort of memory developed by the cell following repeated shallow charge/discharge cycles as usually propounded. As Graham Stoney puts it, "If you don't ever overcharge a NiCd cell, there's no need to discharge it before charging it again". If you would like to read these articles - and they really are worth reading - then go straight to them by clicking this link.

My conclusion? The way that some of us recharge our batteries means that an occasional deep discharge/recharge cycle may be beneficial, but don't call it 'memory effect', 'cause it's nothing of the sort - it seems that batteries don't have memories after all! Top-notch chargers properly used should avoid these problems altogether and some, like the Smart Fastcharger featured on the last issue, reckon to be able to redeem some batteries that might already have suffered from abuse! 

However, of course, I could be wrong!