WHEN I JOINED the Modesto Radio
Control Club in 1997, it was an established
group focused on flying RC gliders and
starting to expand to RC Electric airplanes.
It had one flying site—Beyer High School
in Modesto—with official access to the
field on Sunday mornings only.
Although the permit gave us
“exclusive” use for that time period,
several Sundays a year the field was filled
with young soccer players, and we knew
better than to get in a war with them over
field access at a school site. If that weren’t
enough, we had to deal with unauthorized
use of the baseball field that conflicted
with our use in the spring and early
summer.
It was clear that we needed an
additional site where we would have
access seven days a week, all year.
Problems associated with attaining that
goal were numerous, and the purchase of
land would be impossible without winning
the state lottery.
62 MODEL AVIATION
Modesto RC Club
Secures a Site
by Michael Heer
The site during the club’s search
phase, in 1999. The fire department had
burned it for practice, and a fence cut
through the middle of the field.
In early March 2002, club members used a line to position flags to mark the area for the
new runway. The runway from 2001 was allowed to return to grass.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:36 pm Page 62
Some of the club members went out to
explore possible sites and tried to fly at
them to see if they were suitable. One such
location approximately 20 miles east of
Modesto was the Modesto Reservoir: a
park run by the Stanislaus County Parks
Department.
Initially we had trouble finding an area
big enough to set up a full-size hi-start. On
the east side of the reservoir we would
anchor it on a hilltop and walk down and
across a small bowl to launch from the
slope of an adjacent hill. This was hardly
ideal.
However, in the process of doing this,
we learned that on a number of occasions
we were catching some large-diameter
thermals only a few hundred feet above the
ground. These lift conditions made the
area worth pursuing for a potential site. An
ideal site would be large enough to allow
us to set up and launch in any direction of
the compass. No such area existed at the
reservoir.
We learned that a field on the west side
of the park could be large enough to use
hi-starts and winches facing the prevailing
wind and storm wind directions. That
would make the field usable under the
majority of weather conditions roughly
85% of the time, but there were problems.
The first was that the field had a
barbwire fence going through it, cutting it
somewhat in half—and neither side was
big enough to use by itself. Second, cows
were allowed to graze on the field during
the winter. They made hoofprints in the
soft, wet soil which became rock-hard,
ankle-spraining holes in the dry summer
months. The third problem was that the
rural fire department was in the habit of
using the field as a training site for
handling summer grass fires.
Many club members were ready to give
up on the site at that time, but two
members kept pursuing it: club president
Jeff Hunter and Michael Leedy. They
received some assistance from me, Dave
Darling, Bob Hoffman, and Lloyd Bridge
as they met with the local park supervisor
and staff, and Jeff Hunter attended
meetings with the county park supervisors
to explore what might be possible.
Jeff and Mike learned that the park staff
and the county supervisors were interested
in seeing increased use of the park by
humans and decreased use as a pasture.
They said that if we were interested in
using the area, they would remove the
barbwire fence in the middle of the
proposed field and replace it with one
going around the perimeter.
They did that in late summer 1999, and
we had some work parties out there to
remove rocks from the field’s surface. Boy
Scout Troop 141 helped us remove the
rocks for a service project and the
opportunity to fly on buddy boxes during a
campout at the park.
Using the field at that time showed that
the site had potential, but a runway and
glider landing area needed to be built; this
was where a split developed among the
members. Some wanted to stay at Beyer
June 2004 63
Sacramento Valley Soaring Society members Joan Nolte and
Paul Myers at the open house glider fun-fly in March 2000.
Park employee John Lamella with a grader behind him. John has
since become a Modesto RC Club member!
The club rented a small roller and used it to make the dirt runway
as smooth as possible. Gene Dias is driving.
This is a view of the runway and the field from the parking area
on the south side of the field looking north.
Photos courtesy the author
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:40 pm Page 63
64 MODEL AVIATION
Our Field at the Modesto Reservoir
This aerial photo was taken from a Wingo. It is labeled to show key areas of the club’s flying site.
High School, with a level field, no rocks,
and mowed grass that the school district
maintained. It was only minutes from
where they lived, and it was free. Others
wanted to work toward making the field a
flying site despite the problems to be
overcome.
This was the biggest problem our club
(and many clubs) had when looking for a
new site when we had an existing place to
fly, even if it was only available a few
hours a week. It is a problem we are still
dealing with to some extent and will be
for a while. We are maintaining our right
to use Beyer High School on the same
terms as in the past. Those pursuing the
reservoir site adopted the philosophy “If
we build it, they will come.” That remains
the philosophy.
We held an open-house event in March
2000 to show off the field’s glider
potential. We had built a runway for
Electrics on top of an adjacent hill.
Approximately 25 pilots from Northern
California showed up, and a majority of
the club members and their families came
out for the day. It was well attended and
showed the park’s staff that we could
draw a crowd.
In the summer of 2000 Jeff Hunter
negotiated a one-year formal agreement
for our club to use the park site, and we
drew up some site-specific safety rules for
the park that incorporated the AMA safety
rules. The first-year agreement had no fee
for the club, but those who enter the park
must pay an annual fee or daily use fee
per vehicle, and that generates additional
revenue for the park.
In 2001 we held an Electrics fun-fly
with a World War I theme, and that
generated 100 visitors for the weekend.
We made a crude dirt runway for the
event on the main field.
During that year, the park got a new
on-site supervisor and the person in the
county parks department who oversaw the
park left. The club has continued to use
the site, and the cows were banned from
the site after the spring of 2001.
The park staff has worked with us to
grade an area roughly 40 x 270 feet for a
permanent runway and has graded an area
for us to use as a landing zone for our
gliders. The club members have removed
several more tons of rocks by hand, and
we hope to finish that task soon.
We have agreed to assume the
maintenance of our field and will be
responsible for mowing and maintaining
the runway. We have increased club
members’ and spectators’ use of the park.
The physical changes we have generated
to improve the field for our use has no
negative effect on the park wildlife or the
topography of the land.
To the eye, our changes to date would
seem to disappear in a single growing
season. We plan to enter a long-term
arrangement with the parks department
this spring. The park staff has been
encouraging, helpful, and terrific with
which to work. The county park system
supervisors have also been helpful and
supportive of our efforts.
Improvements planned for the
near future include planting shade
trees that we will water and
installing a barbecue and some picnic
tables in what will be our pit area. This
change in one small corner of the field fits
in with the parks department’s plan for
more trees in the park, but it won’t
interfere with our flying. Long-term goals
are small shade shelters and water to the
site.
The real story here is the club
members’ willingness to work with an
open-minded parks department that was
interested in increasing the use of its rural
facility. The relationship started with
moving a fence and developed from there.
The park and club leaders have changed
during this process. Bob Hoffman, the
club’s current president, has been open to
working with the park staff and having
the club take over maintenance of the
field as outlined by the current park
supervisor.
The field is open to any AMA member
for flying RC gliders and Electrics. The
daily use fee is $5 in the winter and $6
per vehicle the rest of the year. Annual
passes are available.
This site is at the Modesto Reservoir,
just off highway 132, roughly five miles
east of the town of Waterford. Our club
motto is “Come fly with us.” MA
Michael Heer
3775 Hatchers Cir.
Stockton CA 95219
[email protected]
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:41 pm Page 64
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/06
Page Numbers: 62,63,64
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/06
Page Numbers: 62,63,64
WHEN I JOINED the Modesto Radio
Control Club in 1997, it was an established
group focused on flying RC gliders and
starting to expand to RC Electric airplanes.
It had one flying site—Beyer High School
in Modesto—with official access to the
field on Sunday mornings only.
Although the permit gave us
“exclusive” use for that time period,
several Sundays a year the field was filled
with young soccer players, and we knew
better than to get in a war with them over
field access at a school site. If that weren’t
enough, we had to deal with unauthorized
use of the baseball field that conflicted
with our use in the spring and early
summer.
It was clear that we needed an
additional site where we would have
access seven days a week, all year.
Problems associated with attaining that
goal were numerous, and the purchase of
land would be impossible without winning
the state lottery.
62 MODEL AVIATION
Modesto RC Club
Secures a Site
by Michael Heer
The site during the club’s search
phase, in 1999. The fire department had
burned it for practice, and a fence cut
through the middle of the field.
In early March 2002, club members used a line to position flags to mark the area for the
new runway. The runway from 2001 was allowed to return to grass.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:36 pm Page 62
Some of the club members went out to
explore possible sites and tried to fly at
them to see if they were suitable. One such
location approximately 20 miles east of
Modesto was the Modesto Reservoir: a
park run by the Stanislaus County Parks
Department.
Initially we had trouble finding an area
big enough to set up a full-size hi-start. On
the east side of the reservoir we would
anchor it on a hilltop and walk down and
across a small bowl to launch from the
slope of an adjacent hill. This was hardly
ideal.
However, in the process of doing this,
we learned that on a number of occasions
we were catching some large-diameter
thermals only a few hundred feet above the
ground. These lift conditions made the
area worth pursuing for a potential site. An
ideal site would be large enough to allow
us to set up and launch in any direction of
the compass. No such area existed at the
reservoir.
We learned that a field on the west side
of the park could be large enough to use
hi-starts and winches facing the prevailing
wind and storm wind directions. That
would make the field usable under the
majority of weather conditions roughly
85% of the time, but there were problems.
The first was that the field had a
barbwire fence going through it, cutting it
somewhat in half—and neither side was
big enough to use by itself. Second, cows
were allowed to graze on the field during
the winter. They made hoofprints in the
soft, wet soil which became rock-hard,
ankle-spraining holes in the dry summer
months. The third problem was that the
rural fire department was in the habit of
using the field as a training site for
handling summer grass fires.
Many club members were ready to give
up on the site at that time, but two
members kept pursuing it: club president
Jeff Hunter and Michael Leedy. They
received some assistance from me, Dave
Darling, Bob Hoffman, and Lloyd Bridge
as they met with the local park supervisor
and staff, and Jeff Hunter attended
meetings with the county park supervisors
to explore what might be possible.
Jeff and Mike learned that the park staff
and the county supervisors were interested
in seeing increased use of the park by
humans and decreased use as a pasture.
They said that if we were interested in
using the area, they would remove the
barbwire fence in the middle of the
proposed field and replace it with one
going around the perimeter.
They did that in late summer 1999, and
we had some work parties out there to
remove rocks from the field’s surface. Boy
Scout Troop 141 helped us remove the
rocks for a service project and the
opportunity to fly on buddy boxes during a
campout at the park.
Using the field at that time showed that
the site had potential, but a runway and
glider landing area needed to be built; this
was where a split developed among the
members. Some wanted to stay at Beyer
June 2004 63
Sacramento Valley Soaring Society members Joan Nolte and
Paul Myers at the open house glider fun-fly in March 2000.
Park employee John Lamella with a grader behind him. John has
since become a Modesto RC Club member!
The club rented a small roller and used it to make the dirt runway
as smooth as possible. Gene Dias is driving.
This is a view of the runway and the field from the parking area
on the south side of the field looking north.
Photos courtesy the author
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:40 pm Page 63
64 MODEL AVIATION
Our Field at the Modesto Reservoir
This aerial photo was taken from a Wingo. It is labeled to show key areas of the club’s flying site.
High School, with a level field, no rocks,
and mowed grass that the school district
maintained. It was only minutes from
where they lived, and it was free. Others
wanted to work toward making the field a
flying site despite the problems to be
overcome.
This was the biggest problem our club
(and many clubs) had when looking for a
new site when we had an existing place to
fly, even if it was only available a few
hours a week. It is a problem we are still
dealing with to some extent and will be
for a while. We are maintaining our right
to use Beyer High School on the same
terms as in the past. Those pursuing the
reservoir site adopted the philosophy “If
we build it, they will come.” That remains
the philosophy.
We held an open-house event in March
2000 to show off the field’s glider
potential. We had built a runway for
Electrics on top of an adjacent hill.
Approximately 25 pilots from Northern
California showed up, and a majority of
the club members and their families came
out for the day. It was well attended and
showed the park’s staff that we could
draw a crowd.
In the summer of 2000 Jeff Hunter
negotiated a one-year formal agreement
for our club to use the park site, and we
drew up some site-specific safety rules for
the park that incorporated the AMA safety
rules. The first-year agreement had no fee
for the club, but those who enter the park
must pay an annual fee or daily use fee
per vehicle, and that generates additional
revenue for the park.
In 2001 we held an Electrics fun-fly
with a World War I theme, and that
generated 100 visitors for the weekend.
We made a crude dirt runway for the
event on the main field.
During that year, the park got a new
on-site supervisor and the person in the
county parks department who oversaw the
park left. The club has continued to use
the site, and the cows were banned from
the site after the spring of 2001.
The park staff has worked with us to
grade an area roughly 40 x 270 feet for a
permanent runway and has graded an area
for us to use as a landing zone for our
gliders. The club members have removed
several more tons of rocks by hand, and
we hope to finish that task soon.
We have agreed to assume the
maintenance of our field and will be
responsible for mowing and maintaining
the runway. We have increased club
members’ and spectators’ use of the park.
The physical changes we have generated
to improve the field for our use has no
negative effect on the park wildlife or the
topography of the land.
To the eye, our changes to date would
seem to disappear in a single growing
season. We plan to enter a long-term
arrangement with the parks department
this spring. The park staff has been
encouraging, helpful, and terrific with
which to work. The county park system
supervisors have also been helpful and
supportive of our efforts.
Improvements planned for the
near future include planting shade
trees that we will water and
installing a barbecue and some picnic
tables in what will be our pit area. This
change in one small corner of the field fits
in with the parks department’s plan for
more trees in the park, but it won’t
interfere with our flying. Long-term goals
are small shade shelters and water to the
site.
The real story here is the club
members’ willingness to work with an
open-minded parks department that was
interested in increasing the use of its rural
facility. The relationship started with
moving a fence and developed from there.
The park and club leaders have changed
during this process. Bob Hoffman, the
club’s current president, has been open to
working with the park staff and having
the club take over maintenance of the
field as outlined by the current park
supervisor.
The field is open to any AMA member
for flying RC gliders and Electrics. The
daily use fee is $5 in the winter and $6
per vehicle the rest of the year. Annual
passes are available.
This site is at the Modesto Reservoir,
just off highway 132, roughly five miles
east of the town of Waterford. Our club
motto is “Come fly with us.” MA
Michael Heer
3775 Hatchers Cir.
Stockton CA 95219
[email protected]
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:41 pm Page 64
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/06
Page Numbers: 62,63,64
WHEN I JOINED the Modesto Radio
Control Club in 1997, it was an established
group focused on flying RC gliders and
starting to expand to RC Electric airplanes.
It had one flying site—Beyer High School
in Modesto—with official access to the
field on Sunday mornings only.
Although the permit gave us
“exclusive” use for that time period,
several Sundays a year the field was filled
with young soccer players, and we knew
better than to get in a war with them over
field access at a school site. If that weren’t
enough, we had to deal with unauthorized
use of the baseball field that conflicted
with our use in the spring and early
summer.
It was clear that we needed an
additional site where we would have
access seven days a week, all year.
Problems associated with attaining that
goal were numerous, and the purchase of
land would be impossible without winning
the state lottery.
62 MODEL AVIATION
Modesto RC Club
Secures a Site
by Michael Heer
The site during the club’s search
phase, in 1999. The fire department had
burned it for practice, and a fence cut
through the middle of the field.
In early March 2002, club members used a line to position flags to mark the area for the
new runway. The runway from 2001 was allowed to return to grass.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:36 pm Page 62
Some of the club members went out to
explore possible sites and tried to fly at
them to see if they were suitable. One such
location approximately 20 miles east of
Modesto was the Modesto Reservoir: a
park run by the Stanislaus County Parks
Department.
Initially we had trouble finding an area
big enough to set up a full-size hi-start. On
the east side of the reservoir we would
anchor it on a hilltop and walk down and
across a small bowl to launch from the
slope of an adjacent hill. This was hardly
ideal.
However, in the process of doing this,
we learned that on a number of occasions
we were catching some large-diameter
thermals only a few hundred feet above the
ground. These lift conditions made the
area worth pursuing for a potential site. An
ideal site would be large enough to allow
us to set up and launch in any direction of
the compass. No such area existed at the
reservoir.
We learned that a field on the west side
of the park could be large enough to use
hi-starts and winches facing the prevailing
wind and storm wind directions. That
would make the field usable under the
majority of weather conditions roughly
85% of the time, but there were problems.
The first was that the field had a
barbwire fence going through it, cutting it
somewhat in half—and neither side was
big enough to use by itself. Second, cows
were allowed to graze on the field during
the winter. They made hoofprints in the
soft, wet soil which became rock-hard,
ankle-spraining holes in the dry summer
months. The third problem was that the
rural fire department was in the habit of
using the field as a training site for
handling summer grass fires.
Many club members were ready to give
up on the site at that time, but two
members kept pursuing it: club president
Jeff Hunter and Michael Leedy. They
received some assistance from me, Dave
Darling, Bob Hoffman, and Lloyd Bridge
as they met with the local park supervisor
and staff, and Jeff Hunter attended
meetings with the county park supervisors
to explore what might be possible.
Jeff and Mike learned that the park staff
and the county supervisors were interested
in seeing increased use of the park by
humans and decreased use as a pasture.
They said that if we were interested in
using the area, they would remove the
barbwire fence in the middle of the
proposed field and replace it with one
going around the perimeter.
They did that in late summer 1999, and
we had some work parties out there to
remove rocks from the field’s surface. Boy
Scout Troop 141 helped us remove the
rocks for a service project and the
opportunity to fly on buddy boxes during a
campout at the park.
Using the field at that time showed that
the site had potential, but a runway and
glider landing area needed to be built; this
was where a split developed among the
members. Some wanted to stay at Beyer
June 2004 63
Sacramento Valley Soaring Society members Joan Nolte and
Paul Myers at the open house glider fun-fly in March 2000.
Park employee John Lamella with a grader behind him. John has
since become a Modesto RC Club member!
The club rented a small roller and used it to make the dirt runway
as smooth as possible. Gene Dias is driving.
This is a view of the runway and the field from the parking area
on the south side of the field looking north.
Photos courtesy the author
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:40 pm Page 63
64 MODEL AVIATION
Our Field at the Modesto Reservoir
This aerial photo was taken from a Wingo. It is labeled to show key areas of the club’s flying site.
High School, with a level field, no rocks,
and mowed grass that the school district
maintained. It was only minutes from
where they lived, and it was free. Others
wanted to work toward making the field a
flying site despite the problems to be
overcome.
This was the biggest problem our club
(and many clubs) had when looking for a
new site when we had an existing place to
fly, even if it was only available a few
hours a week. It is a problem we are still
dealing with to some extent and will be
for a while. We are maintaining our right
to use Beyer High School on the same
terms as in the past. Those pursuing the
reservoir site adopted the philosophy “If
we build it, they will come.” That remains
the philosophy.
We held an open-house event in March
2000 to show off the field’s glider
potential. We had built a runway for
Electrics on top of an adjacent hill.
Approximately 25 pilots from Northern
California showed up, and a majority of
the club members and their families came
out for the day. It was well attended and
showed the park’s staff that we could
draw a crowd.
In the summer of 2000 Jeff Hunter
negotiated a one-year formal agreement
for our club to use the park site, and we
drew up some site-specific safety rules for
the park that incorporated the AMA safety
rules. The first-year agreement had no fee
for the club, but those who enter the park
must pay an annual fee or daily use fee
per vehicle, and that generates additional
revenue for the park.
In 2001 we held an Electrics fun-fly
with a World War I theme, and that
generated 100 visitors for the weekend.
We made a crude dirt runway for the
event on the main field.
During that year, the park got a new
on-site supervisor and the person in the
county parks department who oversaw the
park left. The club has continued to use
the site, and the cows were banned from
the site after the spring of 2001.
The park staff has worked with us to
grade an area roughly 40 x 270 feet for a
permanent runway and has graded an area
for us to use as a landing zone for our
gliders. The club members have removed
several more tons of rocks by hand, and
we hope to finish that task soon.
We have agreed to assume the
maintenance of our field and will be
responsible for mowing and maintaining
the runway. We have increased club
members’ and spectators’ use of the park.
The physical changes we have generated
to improve the field for our use has no
negative effect on the park wildlife or the
topography of the land.
To the eye, our changes to date would
seem to disappear in a single growing
season. We plan to enter a long-term
arrangement with the parks department
this spring. The park staff has been
encouraging, helpful, and terrific with
which to work. The county park system
supervisors have also been helpful and
supportive of our efforts.
Improvements planned for the
near future include planting shade
trees that we will water and
installing a barbecue and some picnic
tables in what will be our pit area. This
change in one small corner of the field fits
in with the parks department’s plan for
more trees in the park, but it won’t
interfere with our flying. Long-term goals
are small shade shelters and water to the
site.
The real story here is the club
members’ willingness to work with an
open-minded parks department that was
interested in increasing the use of its rural
facility. The relationship started with
moving a fence and developed from there.
The park and club leaders have changed
during this process. Bob Hoffman, the
club’s current president, has been open to
working with the park staff and having
the club take over maintenance of the
field as outlined by the current park
supervisor.
The field is open to any AMA member
for flying RC gliders and Electrics. The
daily use fee is $5 in the winter and $6
per vehicle the rest of the year. Annual
passes are available.
This site is at the Modesto Reservoir,
just off highway 132, roughly five miles
east of the town of Waterford. Our club
motto is “Come fly with us.” MA
Michael Heer
3775 Hatchers Cir.
Stockton CA 95219
[email protected]
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:41 pm Page 64
