PACIFIC AVIATION DATABASE
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Manchester Barton Aerodrome
Sunday 10th September 2023
Members Present:
Bob Clarke (BC), Jim Bavin (JB), Peter Clarke,
Alan Darby, Robert Milroy, Steve Leach,
Steve Hambleton (SH), Stefan Streluk, Shirley Hughes,
Kevin Jacomb, Terry Thompson, Doug Tillie.
Guests Present:
Mrs Hambleton, Mrs Jacomb and Mr Hughes
The meeting commenced at midday. Apologies were received from:
| Kevin Evans | Leon Loberman | John Hutchins |
| Andrew Cupitt | Richard Lowis | Kevin Brace |
| Andrew Williams | Nick Selby | Lindsay McCulloch |
| Colin Roger Sharples | David Sharpe | Ian Russell |
| Hugh Dangerfield | Steve Sutcliffe | Jon Saunders |
| Ian Warnott | Stu Telford | Trevor Barnes |
Jim Bavin read the minutes from the 2022 AGM which were positively received by the meeting and proposed by Peter Clarke and seconded by Steve Leach.
Chairman’s Report (BC):
Bob thanked everyone who attended and introduced the new members who were joining us for the first time. All members present then briefly introduced themselves.
Bob confirmed the current membership at 55 and this has been achieved without specific / direct advertising. The Group relies upon word of mouth and Bob encouraged everyone to mention Pacific whenever possible. Bob then posed a question…. should we be offering a trial version of the database to encourage potential new members to “try before they buy” …? A suitable release for this is being worked on by Steve H. which will be available soon.
Bob thanked Steve Hambleton for all his time and hard work he had put into the database specifically with regard to the major improvements that have been introduced during the last couple of years and those imminent improvements to be announced after the formal part of the meeting has been completed. Bob also stated that while there has been much improved use of the database in the last year there is more work to be done which would ensure that the database continues to evolve.
Financial Report (JB):
Jim reported that the group remains in a comfortable financial position and was showing in the black, this despite and overspend during the year. A small deficit of £138.94 was recorded during the FY2022 which was easily covered from Group reserves. Jim also stated that there were some larger bills to pay this year e.g., the decision to renew our web hosting for two years rather than just one and that last year’s AGM costs were twice those to be paid at Barton this year, as well as some larger IT costs this year.
New Membership:
Any persons wishing to join the group would pay a joining fee of £25.00 and then an annual subscription due on 1st April each year of £25.00. Pete Clarke asked if the subscription fees should be increased, however, Jim advised that at the present moment there was no need for an increase as the group had sufficient funds.
Jim also thanked Kevin Jacomb for raising our profile with LAAS and the featured article in the Airport Spotting Database. The review of available aviation databases, ours included, has led to some new members. Jim also mentioned that the Group has a Flickr page so if you’d like join and upload some of your own photos feel free to contact Jim directly.
Election of Office Bearers:
Bob asked if any of the members had an interest in standing for election. As there were no volunteers, Bob asked if the present committee who were in the room would continue in their present roles and all were in agreement. As Vice Chairman Richard Lowis wasn’t in attendance Bob agreed to check with Richard that he’d be happy to continue on the committee as he would with Leon Loberman. The re-election of office bearers was proposed by Shirley Hughes and seconded by Kevin Jacomb. – (RL and LL have now both agreed to stand as elected officers for another year 14-09-23)
Updating:
Bob took the opportunity to thank the updating team for the work they have done and acknowledged the colossal amount of data which was updated each week. The level of change each week is huge, as can be seen in the front page of the weekly update. Furthermore, the reserved registration section of the database highlighted the significant number of new frames which will soon be in existence. Whilst updating is not for everyone, it is not as arduous and daunting as users may think. The routines in the database which Steve designed, make the whole procedure quite simple and straight forward. If anyone has any interest in contributing to the updating of the database, please let Bob know.
Bob’s final comments:
Bob mentioned that the historical integrity of the database still needs work but that is an ongoing task and with 11 updaters from the membership the work continues. The continuous improvement of the dataset is great to see. Those members present also appear to be happy with the direct comms protocol which encourages members to email the relevant updater directly.
Finally, ideas our next venue for the 2024 AGM should be directed to Kevin Evans.
Suggestions tabled during the meeting included:
The Helicopter Museum – Weston-Super-Mare, Doncaster Aviation Museum, Aberdeen, Sherburn, Dumfries and Galloway, North Weald, Kemble, Cirencester and South Wales Aircraft Museum
AOB:
Kevin Jacomb mentioned that as he has access to the LAAS database he would be glad to hear from any member who has a query, so please contact him directly. Kevin asked if our other flight trackers could be considered for interaction with our database, this was taken under consideration by the committee. Kevin also mentioned that the Group’s Wiki needs updating and tidying which he will do in time in conjunction with Steve H.
Steve Leach our military updater asked if any members had any historical military unit information to email him directly.
Finally, Bob introduced Steve Hambleton who gave a presentation on the latest developments in the database that will launch soon. The roll out of the new version will be undertaken in the coming weeks.
Whilst reviewing the changes and new features, several members raised queries about the possibility of increased functionality in reporting and queries:
For example:
- Do we have a way to import photographs “en-bloc” into the database – KJ
- Required Frames Listing – Can this be set to include paint scrapes in the output – JB
- Search by Line No. – SL
- Can we have a “Lazy Log” for museums – KJ
These examples and others suggested during the review will be included on the Development List for review by Steve H.
Thanks were also given to the catering staff at Barton for the buffet provided and also to Steve Petter who kindly gave the Group a full hangar and airfield tour after the meeting.
The meeting ended at 2pm.
The minutes were prepared by Doug Tillie.
Bob Clarke
Chairman
Pacific Aviation Group
14th September 2023
