Flying Site Assistance - 2009/09
Wes De Cou | [email protected]
The Right Stuff
It's not what you need to have to be an astronaut, but what you need to do to get or save your flying site.
In June 2007 I received an e-mail from member Mark Sherrill, president of the Tokay Radio Control Modelers in the Sacramento, California area, asking for help in finding a new flying site. Two of the four local flying sites had already been lost because of residential encroachment, and the remaining two were in jeopardy.
Mark made two astute observations:
- The existing Flying Site Assistance materials were becoming somewhat dated.
- The reason we flourish at the local level is because we have flying sites—without them we fade away.
AMA Headquarters' Erin Dobbs has been instrumental in getting the FSA resource material updated or deleted as appropriate. Most materials are now available electronically, obviating the need for a significant amount of "snail-mail" expense.
Mark had begun to attack the problem of keeping his club's current flying site, trying to satisfy local requirements related to the use of county-owned property. Environmental issues—most notably noise—consumed hours and dollars as he attempted to save the existing field. The effort was in vain and Mark made a quick transition from the "save the field" to the "find a new field" mode.
Tokay Radio Control Modelers — Site Search
By November of that year, Mark had been looking for a field for nearly a year. He asked for advice about the strategies used by other clubs in successful field searches. He also said, "I want to read about us in the AMA magazine in 2009."
We spoke at length on the telephone, discussing networking, newspaper ads, door‑pounding — anything successful clubs do when trying to get a new home. Mark kept pressing himself to identify any potential site owner.
In March of the following year, Mark e-mailed me asking for some examples of generic agreements between clubs and landowners. Mark's club had been able to find not one, but two potential flying sites. In each case, networking was the key to finding the sites.
A friend of a club member was instrumental in providing the site ultimately chosen (it was already level), and a contact Mark's wife had made in a local political club was the source of the second site, which is now firmly in the club's "potential site inventory" should urban sprawl or any other factor render the current site unusable.
Here is Mark's July 2009 e-mail:
"Just wanted to let you know that we were successful in finding a new flying site—finally. After two years we ended up with two locations to choose from and [I've included] a picture of where we decided to build. Right now it is covered with Petromat but it works great. A lot of hard work went into just locating two potential sites and then the members gelled and out came a new site.
"It is really great seeing the smiles on the faces of the guys who hung in there and were rewarded by their hard work. We just added four new members to the club and I am sure there will be more to come now that we have another flying site. Thanks for your support during our hunt!"
Dedication, perseverance, and persistence are the recipe for success. Okay, Tokay!
Mentoring Initiative — Bay Area Collaboration
Two AMA clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area are considering a collaborative effort to get local teachers and other mentors involved in introducing youngsters to model aviation.
Gary Hinze and Lou Young of the Oakland Cloud Dusters (OCD) already conduct a successful — and time-consuming — workshop for youngsters on Sunday evenings in the San Jose area. Noel Eberhardt of the South Bay Soaring Society (SBSS) has proposed a collaborative effort to bring model aviation to youngsters across the Bay Area. The concept under review is to form a group of mentors consisting of members of the OCD, the SBSS, and perhaps other local clubs.
These mentors would teach teachers, coaches, recreation supervisors, and others about model aviation using:
- AMA Cubs
- FPG-9s
- "Slide-together" balsa aircraft
Those individuals could then introduce even the youngest students to model (and therefore full-scale) aviation. This is a strong educational and recreational tool for teachers and students, an excellent opportunity to showcase our hobby to the general public, and perhaps an entrée to some indoor or outdoor flying venues. The plan is an incredibly strong statement regarding the value of the model airplane club to its local community.
Orange County Great Park — OCRCC involvement
Farther south in California, the Orange County Radio Control Club (OCRCC) is negotiating to have a flying site in the Orange County Great Park. The Great Park, currently under development, is the site of the old El Toro Marine base.
While the club now uses a portion of Great Park property as a flying site, there is no assurance that model aviation will be included in the final park development plan, so OCRCC is getting busy. Within the past month, club members have instructed 13 successful Scouts in their quest for their aviation merit badges.
On Saturday, July 11, the Great Park marked its fourth anniversary with Growing the Park, a day-long family fun festival. The event marked the past, present, and future of the Great Park at three themed areas:
- The Back Forty
- The Runway
- Sky's the Limit
The day was scheduled to include a special fly-in by two rare and historically significant aircraft that will become part of the Great Park Aviation Heritage Museum. The Runway venue showcased:
- The wing-walker show
- Vintage aircraft
- Fire truck displays
- RC airplane demonstrations
Again, this is a club doing the right stuff by getting involved in local civic affairs and supporting the organization responsible for its current flying site. It demonstrates the "value added" aspect that can garner the support of local administrators.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
