OTOW RC Flyers Construct a New Site
by Lester LeBlanc
Background
In early 2002 the On Top of the World (OTOW) RC Flyers club was faced with the need to build a new flying site at its home community of On Top of the World Central in southwest Ocala, Florida. Because of this active adult housing community's rapid growth, we were given roughly two years to move to a new location.
The existing flying site was within our gated community and until that time had been almost perfect in its location and layout. In Photo 1 (and in Photo 2a), the old OTOW RC Flyers site is shown during its first invitational: the spring 2003 fly-in.
The original runway was located on a small hilltop, and pilots were able to fly facing north without going near homes and people on the community's two golf courses. During an approximate 10-year period, club members had planted, rolled, and maintained the runway to provide a smooth, grassy strip that measured 150 feet wide and 450 feet in length.
As the community gained popularity and grew rapidly, homes started encroaching on the south of the field, and a new golf course was under construction approximately 1,000 feet to the north of the flightline. I had just become club president, and I saw this as an excellent opportunity to plan well in advance to build an even better flying site. There was ample time to locate a new spot, and On Top of the World Communities, Inc. President Kenneth Colen provided our club with a location that was distanced from homes and people.
Site selection and preparation
Kenneth offered a 14-acre parcel located at the edge of a large cattle-grazing pasture on his Circle Square Ranch. On Top of the World Central occupies a small portion of the 21-square-mile Circle Square Ranch that Sidney Colen acquired in 1975. After much discussion regarding field access, model-flying safety, and noise issues, Kenneth directed his ranch hands to fence off the 14-acre parcel for the new flying site.
The pasture area at the ranch is so large that cattle are rarely seen near the flying site, but the fence is necessary to keep them from damaging the runway and structures. Kenneth also provided us with a 1,500-foot single-lane asphalt road so we could access the site with our cars and golf carts.
In our discussions, the recommended field layout on the AMA website was helpful in explaining the safety considerations for locating the new flying site.
Safety was the primary concern in the new field's layout. There is plenty of cleared overfly area (pasture) where model aircraft may inadvertently—but safely—go down and be easily recovered. Pilots can face north to avoid being blinded by the sun, and people can safely access the field from the rear entrance. There are gates at the east and west corners of the north side of the cattle fence that surrounds the 14-acre flying site to allow golf carts to recover downed models.
Runway dimensions and layout
The new runway is:
- 150 feet wide
- 600 feet in length
- Positioned east to west
There is 150 feet of space between the runway and the fence on the east, west, and north sides to allow aircraft that overrun it to stop before reaching the cattle fence. The south portion of the flying site, to the rear of the runway, is approximately 400 feet wide and will be used for pits, setup area, parking, and event operations.
The runway was leveled by a farm tractor before the photo was taken.
Grass selection and seeding
Gaining approval for land use was a big step, but there was a lot of work before the field was ready for use. Foremost was planting grass on the runway.
The runway we had been using was mostly covered with Pensacola Bahia grass, which is native to Florida. It is resistant to drought and requires no irrigation. According to Bahiagrass.com, the Pensacola variety has a root system that extends downward to a depth of eight feet.
There was only one drawback to Pensacola Bahia: in summertime it grew tall seed heads between weekly mowings. These seed heads have been known to tear the covering on the bottom of a model's wing during landing.
We decided to use Argentine Bahia grass, which is as robust as Pensacola but without most of the seed-head problem. The seed heads from Argentine Bahia are much shorter and do not need to be mowed as frequently.
Preparing the runway for seeding posed a challenge. The area had been tilled, disked, and leveled, but that did not destroy the existing pasture grass. Pasture covering in Central Florida is mainly Pensacola Bahia, and because of its deep root system it will grow back even after it is turned over to bare ground. Obtaining a new grass cover required us to kill the root system with herbicide.
All of this was completed in the fall of 2003, and we missed a good part of the growing season for new grass. The best time for growing new grass is June through September, when rain is abundant and the ground is warm enough to germinate seed. The peak of the rainy season occurs in mid-August in Central Florida.
Almost 1,000 pounds of Argentine Bahia grass seed were spread in November, but it did not germinate because the ground temperature was too low and there was not enough rain. More research revealed that the new Bahia grass seed has a built-in mechanism that will hold off germination until the right conditions exist. Despite our skepticism, we believed the seeds on the new runway would eventually germinate.
When weeds grew on the runway during the winter, we were concerned about their crowding the new grass and depleting soil nutrients. Club members came out in force on many occasions to hand-pull weeds so they wouldn't damage the dormant seed.
The Argentine Bahia didn't start to grow until early July 2004. Although we were finally having some success, we found patches where seed had washed and blown away during the winter. We decided to reseed with a small, fresh batch of Argentine Bahia, but our group was alarmed to learn there was a seed shortage because of weather conditions and reduced planting by growers. The price had risen to nearly $8 per pound, and we needed 500 pounds.
One of the club members noticed Argentine Bahia seed at Lowe's for $2.75 per pound; it was from a shipment delivered under a contract made nearly 12 months earlier. Lowe's policy was to mark it up only by its usual amount, so we were able to purchase 500 pounds.
Club Field Marshal Bob Vance and Safety Officer Howard Rutkowski prepared our new two-acre runway for overseeding by mowing the new grass with the club's lawn tractor. Bob then rolled the runway with a spiked roller to make holes for the seed while Howard planted it with a borrowed spreader and golf-course work vehicle. We later learned that this worked out very well.
In Photo 3, taken in early September 2004, the runway and pit area are shown growing new grass, which had filled in nearly all the bare spots. Also shown is Bob Vance rolling the runway with a rented compacting roller. The grass was established enough in early September for us to use a roller to smooth depressions in the runway and obtain a smoother surface for landing models.
Membership and volunteer effort
Throughout this process, many of the able members of our 105-member club were actively involved in building the new field. Most members are experienced RC fliers eager to help, and many have chosen this community for their Florida retirement because of the ready access to flying facilities for their models.
Pavilion and structures
Another major issue was construction of a sunshade pavilion. During the previous two years, the club had held two fund-raising events and saved a good portion of dues for the expenses related to constructing the new field. We voted to have a contractor build the sun pavilion rather than do it ourselves.
In the background of Photo 3 is a 20-foot-wide, 48-foot-long, 10-foot-high pole barn installed by Robert W. Sullivan Construction of Trenton, Florida, at a modest cost of $4,800. The structure is built to withstand the sudden windstorms that occur in Central Florida.
At the old field we experienced several instances of the wind tearing up our sun shelter and turning over the lawn shed. In September 2004 we endured two hurricanes with winds of at least 70 mph that resulted in no damage to our structures on the flying site.
The hip roof of the new pavilion was constructed from pressure-treated lumber and covered with heavy 29-gauge steel sheeting marketed as Galvalume Plus. It is coated with an aluminum-and-zinc mixture and then sealed with a clear plastic coating. The poles are 6 x 6-inch pressure-treated wood and are anchored in concrete footings that are separate from the floor that was poured later.
We are grateful to Kenneth Colen for providing his contractors to float the pavilion's concrete floor for the club. He supports at least 100 clubs and other activities within On Top of the World communities in Ocala, and we appreciate his generosity in helping with our project.
Field layout and safety features
The remainder of the field, including the flightline, pilots' stations, pit area, and aircraft-assembly area, are laid out according to AMA recommendations, as shown in Figure 4.
Key features:
- Flightline is 25 feet in front of the four flight stations.
- Four flight stations are grouped in the center to allow pilots to communicate easily.
- Airplanes enter and exit the runway on each side of the row of flight stations, depending on wind direction.
- A 3-foot-high chain-link barrier is in front of the pilots' stations.
- A 2-foot-high chain-link barrier was constructed on each side of the pilots' stations to prevent returning models from heading into the pit and spectator areas.
This spring we planned to top-dress any small surface depressions in the runway, reseed, fertilize, and roll to make the grass runway as smooth as possible. Our objective is to make this flying site a safe and fun place for our members to enjoy.
Completion and dedication
On November 13, 2004, the club held its third invitational fly-in and field-dedication ceremony at the new site. It was well attended by 44 pilots and nearly 300 spectators.
This great new site would not have been possible without the work of our membership, manager of golf-course maintenance Jim Murphy, and especially Bonnie Walters, who appreciated the value of the enjoyment this great hobby brings to the community.
MA
Lester LeBlanc 9490 SW 90th St. Ocala, FL 34481 [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
