Flying Site Assistance
Coordinators
- Wes DeCou
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
Frequently I get requests for information pertaining to "real‑world" flying sites. Modelers with actual or potential site problems want something more than anecdotal accounts of historical successes or failures. They want to see examples of who's doing what and how it's working today.
I have one such example this month. A site within 25 miles of my home in Arizona is located in what is known as Usery Mountain Park. The flying site is a small portion of the park, which also hosts equine activity, off‑road activity, biking, and hiking—a truly multiuse facility.
During my infrequent visits to the flying site, I have seen the usual assortment of senior modelers as well as some up‑and‑coming younger people—men, women, boys, and girls. Some are in family groups and some are by themselves. The precise mix of people would gladden the heart of a county recreation director!
Usually I visit the flying site as the result of some publicity in the local newspaper or on the local television station. I typically see quite a few nonmodelers at the site—people who are there because they saw the same publicity piece that I saw.
The Usery Mountain flying site itself is maintained by the AMA—not the national AMA you know, but by the Arizona Model Aviators, one of our chartered clubs.
Signage at the site is beneficial to the public as well as to the modelers, and attests to the fact that the club and the county had a good dialogue during the development of the field. The first sign you see when entering the property lets you know you're entering a Radio Control (RC) flying site. The next sign reminds modelers to be sure their transmitters are off before proceeding to the field.
Once at the flying site, one finds the club flying rules as well as a park department sign listing the fees for park use.
At a recent .25‑size Pylon event I discovered part of the reason Maricopa County supports this flying site. Two of the club members, Tom Curtiss and Larry Peterson, had come to the event from Payson, Arizona, anticipating some tough competition.
They brought with them a young man, Evan Morton, to whom they had been teaching the fine art of RC in general—Pylon Racing in particular. Evan's mother and father were also in attendance. With less than a year of RC experience, Evan was about to become a Pylon Racing veteran.
After watching a few heats and getting some instruction on calling turns, Evan flew his first round. As I recall, he came in third. That's not bad for a start and Evan got the attention of the other competitors.
After two more well‑flown heats, Evan's airplane was involved in an unplanned, high‑velocity meeting with terra firma. The crash totaled the aircraft. So that Evan could continue in his first‑ever competition, Larry offered to let him use his model, thus pulling himself out of the competition.
A few minutes of frantic radio swapping and Evan was back in the race! While the races were being completed, a hat was passed through the crowd.
At the end of the day there was one young competitor with a middle‑of‑the‑pack performance under his belt, a grin from ear to ear, and the funds necessary to replace his lost airplane. Of course, mom and dad could not have been more proud!
Great people being great to other people are common at this particular flying site, and that's part of the recipe for an outstanding relationship with the site owner. When good stuff happens at your field, get some publicity!
Got a good story? Get it to me!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
