Our Story

As a BMFA specialist body, the Association of Helicopter Aerosports (AHA) is a unique organisation dedicated exclusively to RC helicopter flying. We are proud to represent all disciplines of RC helicopter aerobatics, and to organise F3C and F3N competitions, selecting pilots to represent the UK at European and World Championships.

We are a non-profit organisation, run by passionate RC helicopter pilots who volunteer their time and expertise for the benefit of the wider helicopter community. Our aim is to support, develop, and promote the hobby at every level — and membership is open to everyone.

By joining the AHA, you help us grow and strengthen the RC helicopter community. Together, we can champion the interests of helicopter pilots, address the challenges facing the hobby, and ensure a thriving future for RC helicopter flying in the UK.

What We Do

We’re passionate about promoting our wonderful hobby of building, flying, and operating radio-controlled model helicopters.

  • We provide specialist advice and expert input to the BMFA, helping to improve safety and raise operating standards across the hobby.

  • We work with the BMFA to recommend updates to the model helicopter section of the Members’ Handbook, ensuring it reflects modern equipment, best practice, and the latest safety checks.

  • We organise and run the UK’s longest-running model helicopter flying event twice each year, held near the picturesque village of Charmouth on Dorset’s stunning Jurassic Coast.

  • We actively promote and run scale helicopter events.

  • We make sure the helicopter community has a strong voice and is properly represented within the BMFA through the RC Power Tech Committee.

  • We organise and run the BMFA Helicopter Nationals for Sportsman, Scale, F3C, and F3N competition classes.

  • We also organise and run team trial events to select F3C and F3N teams to represent Great Britain at FAI European and World Championships.

What We’ve Achieved

  • We’ve worked closely with the BMFA Achievement Scheme to update wording so that Flybarless (FBL) controllers can be used in Heli A and B tests.

  • We successfully lobbied for the approval of metal rotor blades within BMFA regulations.

Meet the Committee

Chair, Treasurer & CIAM Representative

Steve Roberts

Starting out in aero modelling at the age of 8 flying fixed wing aircraft, Steve progressed onto helicopters in his late teens and quickly took up Sportsman and then F3C. Steve is multi time National F3C champion and a multi time member of the British F3C Team.

Steve has been a member of the AHA for all of his competitive years and has been on the committee for many of them. Currently Steve is the Treasurer and CIAM rep, but he has also in the past been Secretary.

Secretary & Membership Secretary

Susan Rolland

I started flying RC Helicopters in 2022 when my partner Gary persuaded myself to come to one of his flying lessons and have a go!

I did not have a clue of what to expect let alone what a transmitter was, collective, aileron etc. and to have a fairly large helicopter in front of me was just the start of what was to come!

How exciting to be a female pilot having the fun of learning to fly and just being able to say this is an awesome hobby and I am encouraged by others in clubs and my flying instructor and my partner for showing me that you can achieve anything!

This is far different from my day job and most people think I am joking when I say I fly RC Helicopters as a hobby! What would we do without social media, seems I have become an Internet sensation in my local flying club!

I look forward to just may be one day being in a position to compete in a contest. Never say never you never know when you will see me at a field!

F3N & BMFA (RCPTC) Representative

Julie Fisher

I have been around the rc heli scene since 1998 when my husband, Dave Fisher, took up competition flying.  It was a case of if you can’t beat them, join them so I got involved with the AHA becoming its Secretary for a number of years, then Treasurer fund-raising for the GBR F3C team.  Since 2014 I have been the F3N Competition Secretary.  In 2018 I joined the BMFA Executive as the FAI Delegate.  Dave and I also run Flyin’ Fish RC Helicopter Flight Training School.

Media Representative

Bruce Naylor

Started with R/C boats and cars way back in the 1970's. Early '80 learnt to build and fly planks, but in my heart I wanted to fly a helicopter. As a young teen I worked weekends to buy the sheet metal and piano wire needed to build a Morley 2C from a plan and really never looked back. I've written columns for the magazines, been an F3C Team Manager for both European and World events, been an international F3C Judge and, just last year, a Team Pilot. My hero's from high school have become my friend in later life. I dabble with a YouTube channel dedicated to F3C which I guess is why I'm now typing this bio on the AHA website. Looking forward to producing video content for the AHA in 2026.

F3C Representative

Ian Emery

I have been flying helicopters since 2004 and after completing my BMFA A(H) and B(H) Certificates I started flying in competitions in 2010. After 4 years of flying in the Clubman’s and then Sportsman’s competition, I began flying in F3C. I have been on the AHA Committee for several years updating the website and social media feeds and have recently taken over as the F3C Representative.

I am the founder and organiser of the Euro Heli Series which began in 2014, which is a series of International F3C Competitions and forms part of the F3C World Cup. Whilst we often struggle for numbers at UK Competitions, F3C in mainland Europe is very popular and it’s a fantastic opportunity to meet & fly with lots of other pilots

I’m really passionate about F3C and enjoy talking to people at events. If you’d like more information from us, please get in touch.

Scale Representative

Denis Stretton

I started flying model helicopters back in 1984 while living in South Africa. I started with a Schluter Heliboy with no gyro as I couldn't afford one at the time. My heart must always have been in scale as within a year I had modified a Kavan Jetranger fuselage to fit the Heliboy in, and I could only just about hover. I progressed further and developed my skills to the point  I became South African National Champion in Scale, Sportsmans and F3C. I was the scale rep for the South African Model Aircraft Association for a number of years before moving back to England in 1995. I was lucky enough to meet a few very well known people, including Colin Bliss, Sean Brown and Jon Tanner, amongst others. I carried on with F3C and Sportsman, but I was now a little fish in a big pond so wasn't as successful so concentrated more on scale flying. I was instrumental, along with Pete Christy and the AHA (it was the Association of Helicopter Aerobatics back then)  in re-introducing Scale Helicopters to the Nationals flight line back in 2009, and we saw a good number turn up to spectate, although entry numbers were never high. I dropped out of flying from around 2014 as I became a professional drone pilot for 10 years, which was nice but fair weather always meant working so I missed a lot of events for those 10 years. I am now retired and am back on the helicopter scene. Scale has come a long way in those ten years but my interest never died. I am stepping in the the scale rep role after Glen Davies has stood down due to personal reasons. I hope I can be as good as an ammbassador as Glen has been over the years.