COMMUNICATING with Ken Becker, I
found him informative and enthusiastic
about the Carolina Fun Flyers club’s
replacement flying site story and its Grand
Opening on September 12, 2006. Ken
chronicled the club’s experiences which I
will share. I hope you will find it as
interesting as I did.
We’ve Lost the Field: Your wife called
and said the car has a flat and she’s double
parked and your reaction is “no problem,
just get it fixed.” Junior gets three Fs on his
report card and your reaction is “no
problem.”
Then you get the call. The owner of the
flying field says, “I’m sorry but I can’t
renew the lease.” Your reaction is No!
Why? What? When? Panic sets in as your
head starts spinning. You get queasy and
you wonder how you’re going to break this
life-altering news to the club.
You call an emergency meeting. You’ve
gnawed your nails to shreds worrying about
how and where you are going to find
suitable property. You hear about this
happening to other clubs, but when it
happens to your club it’s like a Louisville
Slugger right between the eyes!
We started getting organized and the
plan was to ask anyone and everyone if
they knew of property we could use. We
went to the various county governments
and asked about landfills, future landfills,
and abandoned airfields.
After the telephone calls, letters,
meetings, and lobbying, the results were all
the same. “We’d like to help but …” It
seems liability has become the catch
phrase. We heard many times that “if we
allow one group we would have to allow
everyone to use the land.” Here in South
Carolina there are many farmers and largeproperty
owners who have become
speculators for future building projects, etc.
Unless you are connected, you realize
that it’s time to search for property the oldfashioned
way—door to door. Yikes! What
a thought! When you ask the members to
please, please, please dig into this project,
the groans and moans (including your own)
permeate this gathering of capable but
clipped-wing pilots.
But dig in and dig in hard is what we
did. We all realized this wasn’t just another
flying club; this
group was formed
because we were
friends first. It just
happened that we
were pilots (using the
term loosely for
some of us) wanting
a friendly, organized
club we could be
proud to be a part of
with an incredible
place to fly!
Field searching
today is a challenge
and not for the faint
of heart. Part of our
plan included
bringing the
prospective decision
makers to the field to
let them see how
well we maintained the property, showcase
our safety features, and explain in depth
how the AMA insurance programs work.
We gave those who were excited enough to
try, a trip on the buddy box. Nothing like
hands on! Above all we were honest—no
sugar coating. Every question was
answered concisely and accurately.
We drafted a letter with the answers to a
compilation of all the questions we had
been asked to hand to the next prospective
landlords. This helped them to better
understand the details after the initial
approach.
I advise you to write down everything
you want to tell the new landlords. Make
sure it’s organized. Show them existing
lease agreements, insurance papers, and
pictures of your fly-ins. If you have a
DVD, it’ll be worth its weight in fuel!
If you and your present landlord are
parting ways on a positive note, ask for a
letter of recommendation. Show any
awards your club has received; this is not a
time to be bashful. Contact other clubs
around the country and at least consider
what made their searches successful.
We started our search in March 2005
and received a promising lead in June.
After several meetings and a few follow-up
calls, we struck a deal in December.
One afternoon we went to the
prospective landlords’ house for a meeting.
The club secretary and I talked with the
future landlords for more than two hours
about everything but the flying field. Oh, it
was sort of mentioned occasionally but we
had more enjoyment actually meeting with
these people.
They let us know that they were both
crazy about airplanes! Can you believe it?
We had something in common. We were
with two of the most honest,
straightforward people I have ever had the
pleasure of knowing.
They are farmers who have endured the
rigors of that occupation and had several
fields that had been used for growing hay,
corn, and various other crops. We got in the
pickup and went around each field. When
we completed the tour they said, “Pick any
field you want.” In stunned disbelief I said,
“Any of them?”
Then they gave us the pros and cons of
The Carolina Fun Flyer Club’s new flying site took hard work and a
little luck but the club members never gave up!
each field. They recommended the highest
one because it had the best drainage. When
you are looking at several fields, each
roughly a mile long and four hundred feet
wide, when the previous day you would
almost consider a tennis court with
minimum flyover, we were speechless.
Within our club we vote on nearly every
decision that has to be made because as
mentioned before, we are all friends and
the club is based on what’s best for all of
us. On a cold, brisk Saturday morning in
January, standing in this huge field, all the
club members gathered looking over the
area in disbelief. How could we have come
upon such a fantastic location after so many
searches were disappointing dead ends?
The answer is: don’t ever give up your
search. With each possibility that went
negative we learned more about how to
approach people and to read between the
lines.
Some of the local and state agencies in
our part of the country were the most
difficult to deal with because of the layers
of bureaucracy. The second most difficult
were larger companies that owned
thousands of acres of land, some of it being
held for development 12 years down the
road. We could never figure out why
several positive meetings were held and
when we were led to believe we were ready
to sign a lease—gone.
The bottom line is to keep following
leads no matter how odd they may seem
because none of us is a mind reader. You
never know what a prospective landlord is
thinking and as the old saying goes: it’s not
over til the fat pilot screams dead stick!
We will soon be into our second year at
this fabulous location. We have done
everything we told the landlords we would
do and they have done more than anyone
could have ever expected to help us. They
disc-harrowed the field and made the soil
ready for grass seed. They prepared the rest
of the property by dragging the entrance
road and helping to take down and dispose
of trees. They used their heavy equipment
and never asked for a dime. They were out
in the field with us getting cold and dirty.
Now that’s good people.
The Grand Opening at the Carolina Fun
Flyer’s field was September 12, 2006.
As you may have guessed by now, we
managed to keep the club together but we
were practically broke. We agreed to raise
the dues. We laid out our construction plan
and we all did our parts. Rejuvenated with
the thought of having an opportunity to
build a true premier flying site, we worked
nonstop until it was done.
We know we were lucky but we also
know by never giving up our search and by
working our tail feathers off until they
showed hangar rash, we have a flying field
anyone would be proud of. It doesn’t get
any better than this. It seems that we no
longer have landlords; we have friends who
are club members, love airplanes, and just
happen to have the perfect property for an
RC flying field with a cost-effective lease
arrangement.
We now have a full membership and in
Moncks Corner, South Carolina, we enjoy
year-round flying. Best of all, through all
the adversity, we still have all our friends
plus 15 new members who want the same
things—a place to hang out and fly when
the urge hits.
—Ken Becker
The Grand Opening at the Carolina Fun
Flyer’s field was September 12, 2006.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 158,159
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 158,159
COMMUNICATING with Ken Becker, I
found him informative and enthusiastic
about the Carolina Fun Flyers club’s
replacement flying site story and its Grand
Opening on September 12, 2006. Ken
chronicled the club’s experiences which I
will share. I hope you will find it as
interesting as I did.
We’ve Lost the Field: Your wife called
and said the car has a flat and she’s double
parked and your reaction is “no problem,
just get it fixed.” Junior gets three Fs on his
report card and your reaction is “no
problem.”
Then you get the call. The owner of the
flying field says, “I’m sorry but I can’t
renew the lease.” Your reaction is No!
Why? What? When? Panic sets in as your
head starts spinning. You get queasy and
you wonder how you’re going to break this
life-altering news to the club.
You call an emergency meeting. You’ve
gnawed your nails to shreds worrying about
how and where you are going to find
suitable property. You hear about this
happening to other clubs, but when it
happens to your club it’s like a Louisville
Slugger right between the eyes!
We started getting organized and the
plan was to ask anyone and everyone if
they knew of property we could use. We
went to the various county governments
and asked about landfills, future landfills,
and abandoned airfields.
After the telephone calls, letters,
meetings, and lobbying, the results were all
the same. “We’d like to help but …” It
seems liability has become the catch
phrase. We heard many times that “if we
allow one group we would have to allow
everyone to use the land.” Here in South
Carolina there are many farmers and largeproperty
owners who have become
speculators for future building projects, etc.
Unless you are connected, you realize
that it’s time to search for property the oldfashioned
way—door to door. Yikes! What
a thought! When you ask the members to
please, please, please dig into this project,
the groans and moans (including your own)
permeate this gathering of capable but
clipped-wing pilots.
But dig in and dig in hard is what we
did. We all realized this wasn’t just another
flying club; this
group was formed
because we were
friends first. It just
happened that we
were pilots (using the
term loosely for
some of us) wanting
a friendly, organized
club we could be
proud to be a part of
with an incredible
place to fly!
Field searching
today is a challenge
and not for the faint
of heart. Part of our
plan included
bringing the
prospective decision
makers to the field to
let them see how
well we maintained the property, showcase
our safety features, and explain in depth
how the AMA insurance programs work.
We gave those who were excited enough to
try, a trip on the buddy box. Nothing like
hands on! Above all we were honest—no
sugar coating. Every question was
answered concisely and accurately.
We drafted a letter with the answers to a
compilation of all the questions we had
been asked to hand to the next prospective
landlords. This helped them to better
understand the details after the initial
approach.
I advise you to write down everything
you want to tell the new landlords. Make
sure it’s organized. Show them existing
lease agreements, insurance papers, and
pictures of your fly-ins. If you have a
DVD, it’ll be worth its weight in fuel!
If you and your present landlord are
parting ways on a positive note, ask for a
letter of recommendation. Show any
awards your club has received; this is not a
time to be bashful. Contact other clubs
around the country and at least consider
what made their searches successful.
We started our search in March 2005
and received a promising lead in June.
After several meetings and a few follow-up
calls, we struck a deal in December.
One afternoon we went to the
prospective landlords’ house for a meeting.
The club secretary and I talked with the
future landlords for more than two hours
about everything but the flying field. Oh, it
was sort of mentioned occasionally but we
had more enjoyment actually meeting with
these people.
They let us know that they were both
crazy about airplanes! Can you believe it?
We had something in common. We were
with two of the most honest,
straightforward people I have ever had the
pleasure of knowing.
They are farmers who have endured the
rigors of that occupation and had several
fields that had been used for growing hay,
corn, and various other crops. We got in the
pickup and went around each field. When
we completed the tour they said, “Pick any
field you want.” In stunned disbelief I said,
“Any of them?”
Then they gave us the pros and cons of
The Carolina Fun Flyer Club’s new flying site took hard work and a
little luck but the club members never gave up!
each field. They recommended the highest
one because it had the best drainage. When
you are looking at several fields, each
roughly a mile long and four hundred feet
wide, when the previous day you would
almost consider a tennis court with
minimum flyover, we were speechless.
Within our club we vote on nearly every
decision that has to be made because as
mentioned before, we are all friends and
the club is based on what’s best for all of
us. On a cold, brisk Saturday morning in
January, standing in this huge field, all the
club members gathered looking over the
area in disbelief. How could we have come
upon such a fantastic location after so many
searches were disappointing dead ends?
The answer is: don’t ever give up your
search. With each possibility that went
negative we learned more about how to
approach people and to read between the
lines.
Some of the local and state agencies in
our part of the country were the most
difficult to deal with because of the layers
of bureaucracy. The second most difficult
were larger companies that owned
thousands of acres of land, some of it being
held for development 12 years down the
road. We could never figure out why
several positive meetings were held and
when we were led to believe we were ready
to sign a lease—gone.
The bottom line is to keep following
leads no matter how odd they may seem
because none of us is a mind reader. You
never know what a prospective landlord is
thinking and as the old saying goes: it’s not
over til the fat pilot screams dead stick!
We will soon be into our second year at
this fabulous location. We have done
everything we told the landlords we would
do and they have done more than anyone
could have ever expected to help us. They
disc-harrowed the field and made the soil
ready for grass seed. They prepared the rest
of the property by dragging the entrance
road and helping to take down and dispose
of trees. They used their heavy equipment
and never asked for a dime. They were out
in the field with us getting cold and dirty.
Now that’s good people.
The Grand Opening at the Carolina Fun
Flyer’s field was September 12, 2006.
As you may have guessed by now, we
managed to keep the club together but we
were practically broke. We agreed to raise
the dues. We laid out our construction plan
and we all did our parts. Rejuvenated with
the thought of having an opportunity to
build a true premier flying site, we worked
nonstop until it was done.
We know we were lucky but we also
know by never giving up our search and by
working our tail feathers off until they
showed hangar rash, we have a flying field
anyone would be proud of. It doesn’t get
any better than this. It seems that we no
longer have landlords; we have friends who
are club members, love airplanes, and just
happen to have the perfect property for an
RC flying field with a cost-effective lease
arrangement.
We now have a full membership and in
Moncks Corner, South Carolina, we enjoy
year-round flying. Best of all, through all
the adversity, we still have all our friends
plus 15 new members who want the same
things—a place to hang out and fly when
the urge hits.
—Ken Becker
The Grand Opening at the Carolina Fun
Flyer’s field was September 12, 2006.