Flying Site Assistance - 2003/05

May 2003 143
Parks Director Jim Slaughter has
graciously offered to contact park officials
to help secure park property for use as
chartered flying sites. Welcome, Jim.
I HAD the opportunity to attend the 2002
National Recreation and Parks Association
annual meeting held in Tampa, Florida,
October 16-20, 2002. The convention has an
attendance of approximately 10,000 people
consisting of parks and recreation officials
from all over the United States. They
scheduled us for an on-site seminar. Jim
Slaughter organized and coordinated the
program admirably.
I thank the Sarasota R/C Squadron for
hosting the activity at their wonderful flying
site. I commend Jim Slaughter for his
administrating ability. See “Finding and
Keeping Flying Sites,” page 48 of this issue
for his feature article.
I have been working with an AMA member,
Sherwin Borden of DeLand, Florida, toward
the development of a very ambitious
recreational park project—writing the
following article entitled “Mission: A
Vision.”
“There are over 170,000 of us AMA guys
spread across the nation. We come in all
sizes, shapes, and ages. How many of us are
aware of the complexities members
encounter when they look for a suitable
flying field?
“Over the past three years, I have
knocked on many doors in my search for a
place to do our thing. Swamps, landfills,
private land—the works! No luck. Zoning
regulations; urban sprawl; endangered
species; et. al. I was seriously thinking about
hopping onto my samurai sword or taking up
basket weaving. But lo! It happened out of
the clear blue sky on a mild December
afternoon.
“Twenty miles east of DeLand (home) is
that tourist haven, Daytona Beach. Driving
15 miles east of here on SR 17, I noticed a
sign by the roadside, Tiger Bay State Forest,
North Entrance. I punched a 180 and drove
up the loveliest narrow brick road
imaginable. It was all tree shrouded and
pretty—for the first 1,000 feet, that is.
“A turn to the left revealed the most
awesome sight I’ve seen in years. To the
right of this now dirt road was a lush forest.
To the left was a vast expanse of barren
wasteland, leveled by the disastrous
firestorms of 1998. I mean, it was as flat as a
pancake with just a small clump of dead trees
sticking out of the ground.
“Like a bolt of lightning it hit me.
Eureka! What a dandy place to fly planes of
all types, all sizes, and all genders! Images
quickly flashed across my brain. ‘We’ve
gotta look into this,’ I told myself.
“A trip to the Volusia County office
building was step #1 on my dance card: the
Appraiser’s Office. A look at the huge plat
maps and consequential examination of the
paperwork revealed the State of Florida
bought this acreage in 1994 for $4.5 million.
The Tiger Bay State Forest was formed to
include 12,557 acres. I licked my chops and
muttered, ‘I want 500 of these acres.’
“Step #2 was to check out the abutters.
My eyes swelled with tears of joy when I
found out the Georgia Pacific lumber
company owned miles upon miles of acreage
all around this park.
“Step #3 was to pay a visit to the DEP
and to look at their topographical maps.
Resource corridor and wetlands! No chance
of developers gobbling up any real estate in
this area. Indeed, I had stumbled into the
perfect site for an RC field.
“The Golden Hawks were putting on their
annual Jets Over Deland a few months later.
This event attracted former AMA president
Don Lowe, our District Vice President (VP)
Jim McNeill, and the maestro of turbine jets,
Bob Violett. Bob knew I was onto something
because a few weeks earlier I had asked him
if he’d be willing to help me design the ideal
‘one-size-fits-all’ model airplane field. His
response was one word, ‘Sure!’
“It started to rain so Bob said to this
entourage, ‘Let’s go take a look at what Buzz
has been so excited about.’ We all hopped
into Bob’s SUV, but only after I threw some
artist’s renditions in the trunk.
“They looked at the desolation and then
cast their peepers on the crude proposed site
sketch. They looked up again, smiled, and
said ‘this place could be a first class RC site.’
They too shared the same vision. Yes, it was
time to ‘go for the gold.’
“After a few labor-intensive months, the
public relations and soft-sell campaign
started to pay dividends. Warm
endorsements came in from the Daytona
Beach tourism personnel. Moreover, Volusia
County officials wanted to find out more
about our plans.
“I was invited to meet with them. Todd
Witkoff, VP of the newly-chartered
Squadron Five Associates, assisted. A scale
CADCAM drawing of the proposed RC park
was taped on the wall (Bob Violett’s design).
We were proposing a world-class RC
recreational park, perhaps a one-of-a-kind
pearl that could be located right here in their
county. This crown jewel could be theirs
with no strings attached.
“After a fruitful one-hour discussion, they
volunteered to approach the State Forest
Commissioner on our behalf. It is now a
waiting game to see if a 20-year lease could
be in the stars.
“Why don’t you look beyond these stars
with me? Envision yourself taking a trip to
the Daytona Beach area to visit this unusual
new RC facility you read about in the Model
Aviation magazine.
“You wake up in your beachside motel
room and flip on the television. Gadzooks!
Those poor, hapless blokes up north are
getting pelted with freezing rain, sleet, and
snow. You slide your balcony door open and
breathe in that mild salt air. (It’s like this
year round.)
“After tossing down a breakfast at any
one of a zillion local beaneries, you hop into
your steel stallion and drive west on famed
International Speedway. Five miles later, you
see the entryway to the Central Florida
Recreational RC Park. Turn right onto this
two-lane road and go straight for 3/4 of a
mile.
“To your left is a parking lot capable of
handling 3,000 vehicles. To your right is a
1,500-foot stretch of planted palm trees.
Pensacola bahia grass watered with an inground
sprinkler system surrounds these
trees as you approach the main pedestrian
walkway.
“You are attracted by the shrubbery and
flowers that accentuate the landscape. To
your left and to your right are shade
pavilions and rows of bleacher seats for
throngs of spectators. A few auxiliary
buildings house the riding mower, a crash car
equipped with fire extinguishers, the PIN
board, and other necessary goodies.
“Look to the north and your eyeballs will
pop out of their sockets. Envision if you will,
an east-west 80-foot by 800-foot paved
runway. Look to the east and see a second
80-foot by 800-foot runway to the right
heading east southeast diagonally across the
first runway.
“Paved tarmacs and taxiways guide pilots
to their flight boxes. The bright yellow wind
sock helps you decide which runway you’ll
Flying Site Assistance
Joe Beshar
Coordinator,
Eastern Region,
Districts I - VI
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281
Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
Wes De Cou, Coordinator
Western Region
Districts VII - XI
Voice: (480) 460-9466
Cell: (480) 540 3368
Fax: (480) 460-9434
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Continued on page 144
want to use. And yes, all of these paved
surfaces are surrounded by lush, manicured
bahia grass.
“These runways will accommodate all
forms of RC aircraft, from gliders right up to
the twin-burner turbines. But you’ve heard
this park has it all. You take a walk. Off to
the southwest corner, four acres of graded
land have been earmarked for an obstacle
course and an oval race track for RC car
enthusiasts (covered by AMA). They hold
nonflying club membership cards.
“Shaded work tables and a safety fence
surround the center stage. If a car club in
Marion County can have 187 guys
participate in a meet up there, why not have a
place like this for Volusia County residents?
“To the west of the parking lot, you see a
72-inch Piper J-3C coming in for a landing—
with floats! A water retention pond
measuring 75 feet by 300 feet has been
excavated for this purpose.
“Two RC boating enthusiasts (covered by
AMA) keep their Chris Crafts moored at the
dock until the yellow bird has landed. A few
sailboats await launching.
“To the northwest corner of the parking
lot, two Control Line pilots are making use
of the paved 75-foot diameter pads installed
for their use (once has an aircraft carrier
deck).
“In the middle of the massive parking lot,
a Free Flight plane soars around in circles.
Helicopter pilots can do their thing after
checking in with the range safety officer.
“A week later, a promoter has reserved
one of the six weeks allocated by Squadron
Five for special events. Jet pilots from across
the nation and around the globe will be
amazed to see this facility was created for
them, and not be forced to fly off of an
airport runway loaded with cracks and
weeds. Their turbine jet planes shall know no
restraints.
“Manufacturers and vendors will be
setting up their booths and tents to sell their
products, adding a carnival-like atmosphere
to this park. Balloons, popcorn, hot dogs, and
souvenir T-shirts will make this week a
memorable event for the many spectators
who will flock into Daytona Beach.
“What a great recreational facility for the
county’s residents, and what a showcase for
AMA hobbyists. It’s in use 365 days a year,
so come on down again and again.
“Is this all a vision? It can happen if the
state lets us develop 1.4% of the acreage in
Tiger Bay State Forest, grading 176 acres
with fill and grass, and putting down two
acres of asphalt. And it will happen if we can
get the support of promoters and RC
enthusiasts.
“This park could be a mini-tourist
attraction unto itself, and it will be used 365
days a year.”