AMA News: Flying Site Assistance
In my last article I described the incredible good fortune of the Sun Lakes Model Airplane Club. For months, president Tom Tilley had been working every angle he could think of to acquire a new flying site for his club. A chance comment at a 2006 Halloween party resulted in the acquisition of a world-class flying facility, just as urban sprawl chased them from their previous flying site. Hard work, good luck. The new field, situated on private property, is located within the town of Florence, Arizona.
Nearly a year before that Halloween party, Lyle Bohn, an AMA member who lives in Florence, called to request my help in convincing the town to build a model-aviation facility on some of its park land. Lyle and I met with city council members, Parks and Recreation staffers, local landowners — everyone we could think of who might help in the site-acquisition effort. At the same time, Lyle gathered the requisite members and chartered the Florence Aero Modelers with the Academy. He was making some progress. He was working hard.
After Lyle floated various ideas past the local officials, and in cooperation with some recreational land users on an adjacent parcel, a workable plan was constructed. But, as is often the case, the wheels of progress turned ever so slowly.
As you will recall from the article on the Sun Lakes Model Airplane Club, Tom Rankin, the mayor of Florence, attended the dedication ceremony. While I was talking with the mayor, he mentioned how nice the facility was. He commented that there was a request for a flying site on town park property, and that he would be making sure that consideration for the development of the site received some quick attention. I sensed some good luck for Lyle.
A mere two months later — last night, in fact, as I write this — I attended a meeting of the Florence City Council and witnessed the approval of an agenda item giving authorization for a five-year permit for the Florence Aero Modelers to use a yet-to-be-constructed model-aviation facility in the city. Construction on the 600-foot asphalt runway is scheduled to begin before this issue hits the mailbox! During the same city council meeting, the park’s master plan was approved. It was that master plan that will provide funding for the model-aviation facility.
For both clubs, plenty of hard work netted a load of good luck. I read it somewhere, and I’ve heard it repeatedly: “Gee, the harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Flying Site Assistance
- 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]
- 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]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
