WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION of the
second round of Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) activities, many modelers
thought there would be a surplus of available
flying sites up for grabs. Closed military
airfields all over the country—what an
opportunity!
While there were indeed many closed
airfields, only a few became model-aviation
venues. Even then, those new model airfields
were in existence at the pleasure of the new
landowners. When the site was to be
developed—whether for residential or
commercial use—the modelers would be
looking for a new home.
But the sites are still there and with the
right amount of effort and an unwillingness to
take no for an answer, they can become your
next flying site. This is the story of such a
site: Naval Air Station (NAS), Alameda,
California.
Alameda Naval Air Station, which
became operational in the early 1940s, was
closed during the third round of BRAC
activity. Having grown up in the San
Francisco Bay area, I had developed an
affinity for NAS Alameda. I was born in
Alameda.
As a youngster I saw flight after flight of
World War II and Korean Conflict-era
aircraft fly over my family home to and from
the base. I knew that Jimmy Doolittle’s
Raiders and their B-25s took off from
Alameda on the USS Hornet for their historic
mission to Tokyo.
As a young Naval Aviation Cadet in the
early 1960s, I landed at NAS Alameda as part
of the Naval Aviation Cadet Choir, to
perform on the Tennessee Ernie Ford show,
filmed in San Francisco Bay aboard the
aircraft carrier USS Hancock.
On April 25, 1997, the curtain fell on 50-
plus years of Naval Aviation history at NAS
Alameda. Misty eyes!
Fast Forward to 2001: As AMA’s Western
Region Flying Site Assistance Coordinator, I
was excited when I got a telephone call from
a modeler who wanted to pursue a modelaviation
field on the now-closed NAS
property. Dang! What an ideal site for model
aviation!
I went to Alameda, met with the man and
some of his club members, toured the
prospective flying site, and came away with
the feeling that the quest could be successful
if we lined up the right supporters.
A week or so later, the fellow called to
ask what progress I had made. As easily as
possible, I let him know that the quest was his
and his club’s.
I am a resource. I can provide advice and
resource information, talk to governing
bodies, and outline and even deliver
presentations to various groups, but the nutsand-
bolts on-site activities belong to the local
people who are trying to secure a site.
Find out who the key contacts are. Who
owns/governs the property? What permits are
required? Who is the issuing authority?
No further contact. Failure to launch.
Fast forward again to January 2006. AMA
member Mike Simi called and E-mailed to
say he was actively pursuing a site on the old
NAS property. A glimmer of hope? Perhaps,
but as the saying goes, “I’ve seen this movie
before.”
As it turns out, Mike had been looking for
an alternative to his current flying site, one
plagued with high winds in the late summer
months. While he no longer lives in Alameda,
Mike grew up there, and was aware of the
potential for a site at the naval base.
He had gone as far as having
conversations with people involved with the
City of Alameda Planning Board to assess
what he would have to do to get the job
done. He was put in contact with the
property-management group that works on
the base for the city. The initial response
from the group was positive, but some of the
lessees along a proposed site on an 8,000-
foot runway were skeptical, and that site
was scrapped.
At the same time Mike was making his
initial contacts with the city, he started a
thread on RC Universe to see if anyone else
shared a passion for flying at the site.
Enter Dan Ayala: a computer-savvy
modeler. Dan volunteered to put up a Web
site and really get the ball rolling. Dan and
Mike began an intensive effort to get final
authority to fly on a great piece of what was a
taxiway and parking ramp in front of the old
NAS terminal building. At the same time,
they formed and chartered the Alameda
Hornet Squadron RC club.
There were plenty of obstacles along the
way. An unfortunate confrontation with a
headstrong tenant who spoke for no one but
himself yet claimed to speak for nearly
everyone on the base led to the statement that
model aviation wasn’t wanted on the base
and would never happen.
This was quite an unpleasant episode for a
modeler and his spouse, and the confrontation
led to a call from Dan’s wife Soraya to the
mayor of Alameda. Afterward the mayor
instructed the property-management group to
“make it happen!” I see a cloud with a silver
lining ...
There was an interminable permitting
process. There were (and still are) strange but
bearable restrictions regarding time of use on
the new site. There were delays because of
the requirement that the site-owner insurance
certificate be “letter perfect.” There were
boards and individuals to satisfy—quite a
stiff breeze!
Dan and Mike were not to be denied.
They complied with every request, whether
or not it seemed to make sense. Every
document was completed to everyone’s
satisfaction and the proposed site became a
reality.
In the time since the paperwork was
completed, the club has formed an alliance
with the Alameda NAS Museum, which is
housed in the old terminal building. In a
“one-hand-washes-the-other” scenario, the
club will participate in “work days” on behalf
of the museum, and has committed to making
Joe Beshar, Coordinator
Eastern Region
Districts I - VII
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281;
Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
September 2006 161
Flying Site Assistance Wes De Cou | [email protected]
AMA News
Wes De Cou, Coordinator
Western Region
Districts VIII - XI
Voice: (480) 460-9466;
Cell: (480) 296-9515;
Fax: (480) 460-9434;
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Need help getting or keeping a flying site?
We’d be happy to help. Contact AMA’s
Flying Site Coordinators at the following
addresses.
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
Continued on page 169
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/09
Page Numbers: 161