Flying Site Assistance - 2003/10

FROM THE MAILBAG: I have some great
stories this month from clubs across the
country. In each case, proactive, out-of-thebox
thinking has or will pay dividends to the
clubs involved.
First is an article from Dave Hable,
president of the Winnebago Radio Control
Flyers in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This is an
excellent example of a club addressing a
potential field-loss situation well in advance
of the actual loss. I’ll let you know how this
plays out.
“I want to bring everyone up-to-date on
the flying field situation.
“Our current ‘active lease’ with
Winnebago County is set to expire May 1,
2005, however, in January 2003, the county
informed the club that it intended to terminate
the lease effective April 30, 2004, a year
earlier. The county has every legal right to do
so. Our lease stipulates that either party could
terminate with a 90-day notice at any time.
“The ultimate decision-making authority
for Winnebago County Parks land is the
citizen’s advisory Winnebago County Parks
Board. The board oversees all decisions and
activities on parks land. The decision to
terminate our lease was made by this board,
principally for economic reasons. They want
the land for Expo Center event parking and
camping. They need the money; it’s as simple
as that.
“What is the club’s approach to the
problem? We’ve known for some time that
our days at the Expo Center were numbered,
and we already started looking for a
replacement field last fall. All along, we have
tried, and will continue to try to follow two
important courses of action: keep flying and
keep looking.
“Moving a flying field is no easy task.
Those of you who moved from 4th Street to
Highway Y, then from the Highway Y
location north to our current site, know
exactly what I mean. It’s a task which we
have to face, but there’s no doubt that we
want to face it only once. If and when we
move, we want to move to a location that will
allow us to stay for some time. We don’t
want to move again three or four years later.
“Keep flying: In February, the club wrote
NOTE: District XI Vice President (VP)
Bruce Nelson and NAA Representative Don
Koranda were not in attendance at the July 12,
2003, Executive Council meeting.
The following were approved by acclamation:
It was moved and seconded to approve the
minutes of the April 26, 2003, Executive
Council meeting as presented.
It was moved and seconded to accept the
report of the Nominating Committee as
amended by mail vote. (The following names
will be appear on the 2003 ballot: District II,
Dave Mathewson; District IV, Bliss Teague;
District VI, Charlie Bauer; District VIII,
Sandy Frank, Horrace Cain, Mike Moss;
District X, Rich Hanson).
It was moved and seconded to approve the
report of the ad hoc Committee for Chartered
Club Bylaws with changes as noted.
Headquarters will make the changes to the
document located on the Web site and mailed
out to clubs for reference. (HQ note: sample
bylaws and outline of bylaws should contain
the same information, in the same order.
Dollar amounts should be left blank in the
sample document so not to suggest they use
the same amounts.)
Following is the result of the E-mail vote of
June 16, 2003, re: the proposal EC-05-02.
Vote was 7 no; 2 yes; two districts did not
vote, and there was one abstention.
Motion I: Moved by B. Brown (III),
seconded by B. Teague (IV), to accept the
definition of model aircraft and its operation,
as revised. This will replace the current
definition in the Official AMA National Model
Aircraft Safety Code, General section, item 7.
Motion passed unanimously.
Motion II: Moved by D. Mathewson (II),
seconded by B. Teague (IV), to add as the
first sentence in Safety Code, Radio Control
item 5, “I will not knowingly operate my
model within three miles of any pre-existing
flying site except in accordance with the
frequency-sharing agreement listed below in
this paragraph.”
Motion passed unanimously.
Motion III: Moved by C. Bauer (VI),
seconded by B. Brown (III), to announce that
the General Membership Meetings for 2004
will be held at the AMA Show in Ontario,
California; the WRAM Show in New York;
AMA Homecoming in Muncie, Indiana; the
Weak Signals’ Show in Toledo, Ohio; and
Chicago, Illinois. The meetings in Toledo and
Chicago are dependent on venue availability.
Motion passed unanimously.
Motion IV: Moved by R. Miller (IX),
seconded by C. Bauer (VI), to accept the
recommendations of the Scholarship
Committee for its 2003 awards.
Motion passed unanimously.
Motion V: Moved by R. Hanson (X),
seconded by J. McNeill (V), to receive a site
insurance certificate in those situations
where there are multiple clubs using the
same site. There are two options: the first
being each club shall submit an application
for a certificate of insurance; the second
option is the clubs shall choose to form a
Chapter and submit an application for a
single certificate of insurance in the name of
the Chapter.
Motion passed unanimously.
158
AMA News
Academy of Model Aeronautics 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
View from HQ
See page 192
Executive Council Meeting Highlights
Motions made at the July 12, 2003, Executive Council Meeting in Muncie, Indiana
The motions below are part of the unofficial minutes of the meeting. Minutes from a given meeting are not official until they are
approved at the next quarterly Council meeting. Questions or comments on the motions should be addressed to your District Vice
President.
Flying Site Assistance
Wes De Cou
Coordinator,
Western Region
Districts VII-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]
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]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
a letter to the Parks Board, asking it to
reconsider its decision to terminate our lease
altogether. We told the board that we have
not yet been successful in our search to find a
new site, though we are still looking. We
asked to stay at our current location with
whatever restrictions the county decides,
which includes allowing events to use our
field for parking and camping.
“We contacted Hobbytown USA, and
Dymond Modelsports to ask that they too
write letters to the board on our behalf, which
they gladly agreed to do for us.
“The board agreed in principle not to
terminate our lease and to allow us to
continue to fly with restrictions, which will
include allowing parking and camping on our
field. The county is in the process of writing
the ‘legalese’ for a new lease. As of this point
in time, I don’t know what the specifics will
be.
“I thought it important to ask for
reconsideration and to agree to any
restrictions that they may place on us so that
we can continue to fly while we look for a
new location. Without the reconsideration,
2003 would be our last year at our current
location with no new field in sight. We had
everything to lose had we not agreed to the
board’s restrictions. At least we have bought
some time.
“I am aware that event camping and
parking could be detrimental to the field’s
condition. The county has agreed to include
the field in any repair functions necessary
after the events.
“I am also aware that there has been talk
of canceling our fly-ins because of damage
that we think will happen. I believe talk of
cancellation of either of our fly-ins is
premature at best. We have no idea what will
happen at the events, and we will pursue with
the county any and all repair requirements
diligently should they arise.
“Keep looking: We continue to look for a
new location. We have looked at three
landfill sites in the county:
“• Georgia Pacific North (closed) landfill,
US Highway 41 and Highway 45.
“• Georgia Pacific South (active) landfill,
County Highway G south of Hwy 45.
“• Town of Black Wolf (closed) landfill,
Lone Elm Road, west of US Highway 45
(near Wendt’s on the Lake).
“We ruled out number one as unsuitable
for a flying field. Georgia Pacific won’t let us
use the second site (yet) because it’s an active
landfill. (It was perfect!)
“Bruce and I toured the third site last fall.
It looks promising, but we will need to make
a presentation to the Town of Black Wolf
Board. We don’t yet know whether they will
allow us to use the land. We would need to
level a 50-75-foot mound of earth in its
center. This location is on the extreme
southern edge of Winnebago County, about
15 miles south of our current location.
“Some other, smaller locations were
brought up at a recent meeting. Bruce and I
checked them out but they are far too small or
too close to development.
“I have written to AMA to ask for
whatever assistance in our search they can
provide and I have placed an advertisement in
the Oshkosh Northwestern.
“What can members do? We all need to
look at this experience with rational
judgment. We could say that the Parks Board
is not being fair to our club. We could write
letters of protest. We could involve the
media. We could do a lot of negative things,
none of which would help our cause—and in
fact could backfire.
“We could win a battle and create some
public sympathy but lose the war and the
field before we are ready to move. Parks
Board members are human and the Parks
Board is in control of this situation no matter
what we do or say.
“Instead, watch for parcels of land big
enough to support our need. When you see
such a parcel, don’t just talk about it at a
meeting or among yourselves. Be proactive.
Try to find out who owns the land. Try to get
some information about it to pass along to the
officers to make a contact.
“This search is too big and important to
place only on the shoulders of the club
officers. We need every member’s help. With
everyone’s help and patience, we will come
through this as a club, intact, and in a new
location. It just won’t happen overnight.”
The next story comes from Don Fajen of the
Guymon Flying Tigers Radio Control (RC)
Club in Guymon, Oklahoma. You’ll see that
the Flying Tigers used some inventive
approaches to get their field prepared and
covered. Note that this club opted to use
relatively inexpensive geotextile as a flying
surface. Once the surface is prepared, this
material is something your own members can
apply without too many sore muscles.
“We are the Guymon Flying Tigers RC
Club located in Guymon, Oklahoma, in the
middle of the Oklahoma Panhandle. The
pictures are not in order, but depict the
before, during, and after stages.
“This project started after viewing
pictures of your field and the one in Elk City,
Oklahoma. We started the project by
establishing a field-improvement fund with
two $100 contributions. A raffle and fun-fly
added roughly $1,000. An anonymous pledge
of $1,000 was offered on the premise that we
could raise the balance needed.
“Members and others contributed
amounts from $25 to $250 and we soon had
the necessary funds. We were able to get the
dirt work done by the county at no charge.
We ordered geotextile from Maxwell Supply
in Oklahoma City—four rolls of #2019 (15 x
300) and one roll of #2006 (15 x 250). The
sheriff furnished us with work crews to help
lay the material and put the spikes in.
Club members rolling out the geotextile.
Geotextile complete except for the
shrinking process. Leave it to the sun!
“We will stripe the runway, taxiway, and
ramp when the runway finishes shrinking. It is
still a work in progress as we have plans to
put a chain link fence in front of the spectator
area and some painting and signs, but we are
well along to a great flying field.”
Got a potential flying site problem? Get
involved! Get Joe or me involved. We’re here
to help!