Flying Site Assistance
Joe Beshar | [email protected]
Doing more than talk
DON'T BE SURPRISED if your club is contacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or AMA and offered the use of landfill property for a model flying site.
Yes, believe it! As a result of communication with the EPA in Washington, I am pleased to advise that the agency has issued a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a partnership between the EPA and AMA for the reuse of Superfund landfill sites for flying fields.
What does this mean? It means AMA clubs will be at the forefront when landfills become available and will encourage stakeholders to use them for flying sites. The plan is to promote AMA when a landfill is turned over to a stakeholder and to bring attention to the accepted use by the EPA.
In the past we have experienced questions, reluctance, and resistance by stakeholders to landfill use for our purpose. This memorandum will serve to remove that doubt.
In addition, the availability of the memorandum will be helpful for reference in the field and at meetings as a support item to convince people of the suitability of all sorts of properties for model flying sites.
Academy of Model Aeronautics Memorandum of Understanding with EPA and Superfund Communities
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to set forth certain understandings between the Academy of Model Aeronautics ("Academy"), an organization exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), an agency of the United States government. The Academy's mission is to make aeromodeling the foremost sport and hobby in the world through promotion, development, education about, and general advancement of modeling activities. The Academy's priorities include:
- Representing more than 170,000 members nationwide from every walk of life, economic background, and age group. The Academy is open to anyone interested in building and flying model airplanes.
- Chartering more than 2,500 model airplane clubs across the country. The Academy offers its chartered clubs official contest sanction, insurance, and assistance in getting and keeping flying sites.
- Organizing the annual National Aeromodeling Championships in Muncie, Indiana, the world's largest model airplane competition.
- Sanctioning more than 3,000 model airplane competitions nationwide each year, and certifying official model flying records on a national and international level.
- Providing liaison between local chartered clubs and the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and other government agencies, in addition to local governments, zoning boards, and parks departments.
The partnership between the Academy and EPA is an alliance linking Superfund communities interested in hosting aeromodeling activities on their Superfund sites with the expertise and resources of the Academy. The Superfund sites should be open environments, have very few obstacles for model aircraft, and are normally surrounded by an uninhabited buffer zone (e.g., closed or capped landfills). The Academy will offer services to participating Superfund communities to examine and facilitate the integration of Superfund sites with aeromodeling activities. Those services are as follows:
- Mowing and maintaining the landscape surfaces on the portions of Superfund sites that the Academy is utilizing.
- Maintaining fences located on the portions of Superfund sites that the Academy is utilizing.
EPA agrees to provide the Academy with appropriate information about the Superfund cleanup process and the Superfund Redevelopment Initiative that the Academy may use to facilitate interaction with communities at identified sites, and will consider aeromodeling activities as a possible suitable future use at appropriate points in the remedy selection process. EPA will provide information to the Academy about Superfund sites that have physical characteristics identified by the Academy as suitable for aeromodeling and will provide appropriate contact information for EPA, State, and local representatives for the sites.
It is understood and agreed by the Academy that neither the EPA nor any of the respective communities have any obligation to host aeromodeling activities and/or utilize the Academy services cited above. It is also understood and agreed by the Academy that any other sport or recreational entity may offer similar types of programs to EPA and/or the Superfund communities.
Register as an FSA Volunteer!
The Flying Site Assistance (FSA) Program consists of a network of volunteers who serve as the AMA's eyes and ears. These volunteers read newspapers and listen to and watch news programs to be aware of any activities that could impact an existing or potential flying site. The work involves collecting information regarding flying sites, advising local modelers and AMA clubs in the area, and passing it on to one of the AMA Flying Site Assistance Coordinators.
Join this ambitious program as a service to your fellow modelers. Anyone interested, contact one of the coordinators below.
Joe Beshar Coordinator, Eastern Region AMA Districts I–VII 198 Merritt Dr., Oradell, NJ 07649 Tel: (201) 261-1281 | Fax: (201) 261-0223 E-mail: [email protected]
Wes De Cou Coordinator, Western Region AMA Districts VIII–XI 202 W. Desert Flower Ln., Phoenix, AZ 85045 Voice: (480) 460-9466 | Cell: (480) 296-9515 | Fax: (480) 460-9434 E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
