Flying Site Assistance - 2009/09

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, and 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 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.
By November of last 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. And Mark
kept pressuring himself to identify any
potential site owner.
In March of this year, Mark e-mailed me,
asking for some examples of generic
agreements between clubs and land owners.
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, a 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’s the 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
is the recipe for success. Okay, Tokay!
In another “right stuff” development, 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 and perhaps “slide-together” balsa
aircraft. These individuals could then
introduce even the youngest of students to
model (and therefore full-scale) aviation.
This is a great educational and
recreational tool for the teachers and students,
an excellent opportunity to showcase our
hobby to the general public, and perhaps an
entrée to some nifty indoor or outdoor flying
venues. This plan is an incredibly strong
statement regarding the value of the model
airplane club to its local community.
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 the
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.
Additionally, 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, and 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 wingwalker
show, the vintage aircraft, and fire
truck displays, and 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 is demonstrating the
“value added” aspect that can garner the
support of local administrators.
AMA News
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
Flying Site Assistance Wes De Cou | [email protected]
Wes De Cou
Coordinator
Western Region
AMA Districts VIII - XI
AK, AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, LA,
MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX,
UT, WA, WY
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
AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY,
MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC,
NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN,
VA, VT, WI, WV
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281; E-mail:
[email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
160 MODEL AVIATION