178 MODEL AVIATION
NEARLY THREE YEARS ago a modeler
in Mesa, Arizona, called to say that he was
dealing with the city’s Parks and
Recreation people to try to get model
aviation approved as a recreational activity
in city parks. He had made initial inquiries,
and was ready to have some face-to-face
meetings with town officials to see if the
plan would work.
Jeremy Turner was the modeler, and he
was looking for a flying site on behalf of
the Superstition Radio Control Helicopter
Association (SRCHA).
As is often the case, we had to describe
to the town officials what we meant by
model aviation. How big are the airplanes?
How heavy? How fast? What kind of space
do we need? What is the AMA? How
about insurance?
There was much trepidation on the part
of the city. The city’s risk manager was
particularly wary of the idea of citysanctioned
model aviation facilities.
An actual demonstration, using small to
mid-size models, is the best way to
demonstrate what the hobby entails. In the
case at hand, the modelers were looking
for space to fly helicopters … generally
much less space than what is required for
fixed-wing operations.
After a flight demonstration, an
insurance chat with the city’s risk
manager, including pertinent facts about
the history of the AMA, the size of its
membership, and the features of its siteowner
liability insurance, we had
eliminated the major hurdles. We just
needed a flying site!
After the modelers made some
recommendations and the city did some
research on available real estate, a waterretention
basin was identified as an
appropriate site. Wow! That was easy!
Actually, the process took a few months
and many meetings, but the proverbial foot
was firmly in the door.
Thus far, perseverance and education
had paid off.
Now all of that RC helicopter activity
on a fairly busy road was bound to attract
attention, and it did. In May of 2006, I
received an E-mail from another Mesa
modeler, Patrick Gagnon, asking for help
in securing a flying site for his club.
The Arizona WingNutz had just been
chartered as an electric RC club. Pat had
also contacted city officials, and knew that
RC was “on the table” as a legitimate
recreational activity. He was looking for a
place for his club members to fly.
The city’s first (easy) response was
“Yep, we already have a flying field. Go
fly with the helicopter group.” The city let
SRCHA know that other modelers might
be using “their” field. Neither club was
keen on the idea of putting fixed- and
rotary-wing aircraft in the same airspace in
high-density situations.
The initial reaction from the city was
somewhat intransigent. The city officials
couldn’t understand the difference between
the two types of aircraft and the flight
dynamics that were the result. They saw no
reason the two groups couldn’t share the
airspace.
Ahh! Time for a bit more education …
More meetings took place, including
representatives from the helicopter group,
the fixed-wing group, and the city
officials. Ideas such as “time of use” plans,
“days of use” plans, and “weeks of use”
plans were put on the table by the city,
with the idea being that a single flying site
should be able to serve all of the modelers.
To the enduring credit of the clubs
involved in this issue, all of the meetings
resulted in a focus on the problem rather
than in a club-versus-club brawl. Believe
me, I’ve seen the brawls!
Reasonable members making
reasonable requests finally convinced the
officials that two separate flying sites were
needed. Another water-retention basin was
identified, roughly half a mile from the
helicopter site!
Now the issue became one of frequency
sharing. Two flying sites can only be this
close together if the involved clubs agree
to share the frequency spectrum, thus
guarding against inadvertent shoot-downs.
Such an agreement was worked out with a
minimum of difficulty, in large measure
because of the advent of spread spectrum
technology.
It seems almost all of the helicopter
pilots have switched to spread spectrum as
a way to further ensure that they don’t fall
victim to frequency clashes. Not a bad
idea, given the expense involved with the
larger helicopters.
The net effect of the persistence of the
modelers, their willingness to focus on
educating the town officials on the
intricacies of model aviation, and their
willingness to cooperate with each other to
develop a frequency plan, was two great
flying fields in a town that had none. Both
fields are visible to passing traffic, and
might well serve as catalysts for the
development of other such flying sites in
the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
Congratulations to the SRCHA club
members and the Arizona WingNutz for
making it happen!
Flying Site Assistance Wes De Cou | [email protected]
(L-R) WingNutz Pat Gagnon, Thomas
Murray, and Adam Bradley monitor
action at the fixed-wing facility.
(L-R) SRCHA members Mark Larson, Dave
Strunk, and Steve Devitt enjoy the
helicopter action.
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]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Two Great Fields Less Than a Mile Apart … How Can That Be?
01amanews.qxp 11/25/2008 9:31 AM Page 178
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/01
Page Numbers: 178