Flying for Fun
D.B. Mathews 909 N. Maize Rd., Townhouse 734, Wichita KS 67212
A Problem Defined
In part of last month’s column I discussed some social and economic factors that lie beneath the nationwide shortage of flying sites for model airplanes. My thesis was essentially that because of the exploding population of the U.S., more and more utilization pressure has been created for the diminishing quantity of suitable land.
Not mentioned last month, but germane to the subject, is the rapidly expanding number of modelers who are flying RC. All too often I read about flying clubs that have become so large that they have crowded their fields to the point where they have closed themselves to new members. When this happens, newer modelers must locate and secure alternate flying sites. And then, most tragically, there are also those who have lost their sites to urban sprawl in all its manifestations.
There is a constant pressure to secure new flying venues for modelers' use. This month I’ll look at some of the solutions that have been devised across the country and some of my thoughts on the subject.
Solutions
Join organized modeling
Don’t be a single, faint voice in the wilderness; join organized modeling. Join AMA and strongly encourage others to do so. Be a part of our only national voice with enough size, expertise, experience, and resources to help us nationally and locally. If you don’t understand the impact of lobbying by large groups, political action committees, and campaign contributions, you’re naive.
Work locally
Join a local club for many of the same reasons. If your city has multiple clubs, see what can be done to form a council for negotiating with local governments. A large, well-organized group will certainly be more likely to get some attention at a city council meeting.
Public or Private?
When CL flying experienced its explosive growth spurt in the late 1940s, many communities built circles in parks for the fliers. As a consequence, most CL facilities are found in parks or on other public land, such as fairgrounds. This may well have set a damaging precedent in that some modelers expect such easily obtained largesse from municipalities today. Remember that we are no longer a large group of returning war veterans!
RC fliers started out sharing facilities that FFers originally found and used. As the sport has grown, more and more elaborate facilities have been developed. Initially most sites were on public or industrial land. However, we are slowly seeing a shift toward RC flying sites on private property that is purpose-built and modeler-owned. This shift of site ownership is directly connected to the advent of fliers with more disposable income, or at least a willingness to pay for a place to fly.
Notable private facilities
- Joe Nall / Triple Tree, Woodruff, South Carolina — a stupendous RC-only flying/convention facility; privately owned and maintained (Pat Harkness).
- Lost Hills, California — a modeler-owned and -operated facility for free flight; owned and maintained by a group of FFers and rented to contest groups.
- AMA National Flying Site, Muncie, Indiana — a magnificent, privately owned model-event facility for all outdoor modeling disciplines; after decades of seeking locations for major meets, AMA members now have a place to call home.
Ownership and investment options
You may be thinking, “Those sorts of players involve investing big money, and modelers would never put any of their investment dollars in a flying site.” Haven’t many of you thought that the large returns investors make owning raw land look inviting?
Consider these possibilities:
- Form an LLC or limited partnership and issue shares to members to buy raw farmland, then lease it to the group to cover taxes and interest.
- Collect annual dues or rent to cover property costs, mower upkeep, and liability insurance for the landowner.
- Allow shares to be purchased back by present members or sold to newcomers if someone wants to withdraw.
This is not just theoretical. I’ve used a site for the last 17 years that 20 of us lease from a landowner: we keep it mowed, carefully control numbers to satisfy him, and pay rent that the farmer could not have matched with cattle. The rent is not high; we collect enough each year to cover it and our expenses. This approach is well within most modelers’ means, and I highly recommend it.
Urban sprawl is about to crowd us out of our “special place,” but we have found a replacement farther out of the city. Some of us wish we had purchased our site years ago by merely adding to the annual dues. The value of that little piece of land has increased to the point where we could sell it now for a nice gain and invest in property farther out, while having profits to distribute.
Free Flight and Unusual Sites
Long before CL came along, those with an interest in free flight usually obtained permission to fly on private farmland or occasionally on grass-strip airports. Because of the large spaces required to safely fly competition free flight, it is rare to find a public park large enough. FF is generally flown on private property that is far removed from the edges of most cities.
However, there are several exceptions. FFers have used military facilities, ordnance ranges, and buffer zones for many years. I have flown contests at:
- an abandoned Nike missile site,
- buffer zones around nuclear plants,
- range land belonging to a state agriculture farm,
- undeveloped land awaiting park development,
- Bureau of Land Management sites on floodplains,
- areas around public works,
- capped sanitary landfills.
One of the strangest FF sites was a place in Fort Worth, Texas, many years ago called Pyramid Acres. It was a housing development in which the streets, curbs and gutters, underground utilities, and even street signs had been erected, but not a single house had been built because the developer had gone broke. Can you imagine retrieving a model by driving down a street to an address such as 12th and Plum?
With ingenuity, persistence, determination, and AMA’s help, there are still many potential flying sites.
Kansas Speedway — a creative example
A beautiful example: in the last several years the Heart of America Free Flight Association has been holding contests in the parking lot of the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Hardly a common venue, yet well suited for this use: large area, paved, unused except for racing a few weekends per year, and essentially unobstructed by buildings or trees.
Sure, they will charge rent; pass it through the entry fees. Only a few modelers will be unwilling to pay their share to use a top-notch facility (like golfers do). Because of noise issues (except for electrics), this venue is probably not suitable for RC or CL use, but what a dynamite location for FF contests.
Contact for more information: Ed Wiley, 2503 Atchison Ave., Lawrence KS 66047; Tel.: (785) 842-1308.
Noise and Electric Flight
As I was completing this column, by coincidence I learned about three cities in which modelers are flying small electric-powered RC models in parks that were previously closed to internal-combustion-powered flying, with no complaints. Like it or not, noise is our problem and electric power is our answer.
Be Proactive
Don’t wait for some government agency or someone else to find you a flying site; take care of it yourself. Organize, negotiate, pool resources, and be willing to adapt — electric flight and creative use of unconventional venues can keep our pastime alive and accessible.
D.B. Mathews
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
