The year 2003 is the 68th birthday of the DMFC

Founded in 1935, the DMPFC is the sole remaining signatory to the MACI (Model Aeronautics Council of Ireland) constitution of 1939, the club has been active ever since then.

The early members were pioneers with free flight power models during the pre-war years in Dublin’s Phoenix Park and later with control line flying.

Many competitions were organised by the club, and most of these were won by DMFC members!

“The club owed its reputation primarily to the efforts of the doyen of Irish aeromodelling, the late Dr. “Doc” Charles. he had been one of the first to participate at competitions abroad.” (J. Carroll, DMFC Secretary, 1989).

Doc Charles continued winning competitions well beyond the day he won events at the first Irish Nationals organized by the DMFC at Baldonnel in 1945. He led the club in to the new era – Radio Controlled Model Flying ( RC Flying ). The Irish Nationals 1963 were again hosted and organized by the DMFC. This was the first Irish National RC event.

The DMFC through its active members was famous for its competitiveness in Irish and international competitions.

In Aerobatics, F3A Capt. John Dible represented Ireland at a number of World Championships, first as competitor and later as a highly regarded judge. Paul Brennan and Robert Kemp followed as F3A competitors in his footsteps. The team manager for the 1979 aerobatics W.C. was Fred Harno.

Johnny Carroll was well placed in the Scale World Championships in Cranfield and later judged many scale World Chanps. The FAI awarded Johnny the Tissandier Diploma, for his work in international scale competitions and the formulation of rules.

Capt. J.J. Sullivan flies the DH 84 Dragon under the Aer Lingus Irish Airlines flag at shows in Europe, having been involved as one of the leaders in the restoration of this Biplane. (See AVF video “A flight with the DH 84).

The first minutes of the DMFC Meetings in the secretary’s files are from 1940. They reflect the activities, enthusiasm and success of our members throughout the years. Understandably, not everybody can be mentioned here.

Once loosing our longstanding flying site at Baldonnel airfield near Dublin, where the junkers “BREMEN” took off for the first successful East – West crossing of the Atlantic, the flying activities where transferred to the field beside the Sugarloaf near Bray Co. Wicklow, the home of the SRFC.

All our members are still flying and scoring well at competitions!. The club will continue to go from strength to strength.

To day we are looking to find a site again and we would welcome any suggestions or ideas.

By: Capt. J. Dible, President MACI and Fred Harno.