Flying on airports

[peabody]

Years ago (1989?) I spent a few hours at the FAA facility at JFK airport researching the FAA's position about control line flying.

In 1947, the CAA (forerunner to the FAA) encouraged air modeling. While Free Flight was discouraged from airport grounds, and RC was not mentioned, control line was. The CAA actually encouraged airports to construct control line circles on airport grounds! The recommendation was that the circle center be 250' from runway centerline. 250' is interesting, because some military runways (Floyd Bennett in Brooklyn for example) had 30-0' wide runways. Control line fliers around that time frequently flew on 100' lines according to John Miske. That would be very little separation.

The CAA actually had a program to fund the construction of airmodeling facilities at the time!

The FAA had a poor quality copy machine, and the copy of the piece that I made deteriorated quickly and was lost in moves....

Around the same time (1989) I was visiting a pilot friend on Marco Island, FL and we took an air tour of the area in a 172...the Marco airport had a NOTAM saying, essentially, to watch for radio controlled models operating from the field. Marco had a fleet of DC 3's for mosquito work and seemed fairly active.

I believe that the eight control line circles in Cleveland were initially on airport property?
I believe that the NW Regionals are held on an airport...

Is anyone else flying on and airport? Its the site insured by the AMA?

Thanks

[Brian Massey]

The NW Regional, along with the Eugene Propspinners lost the Eugene airport. Not because of the FAA, but because a new Airport Manager that wants to generate revenue by renting the space.

The Golden State Stunt Championships moved from a high school athletic field to the Madera City Airport four years ago. The Airport Manager and the city have been extremely co-operative in letting us have the event there. We get the site for four days, Thursday through Sunday. Our only cost to use the site is an application fee, which just this year increased to $78.00.

The only negative to the site we fly on (700x250 foot smooth asphalt) is that it is open for hanger expansion. When that happens we will lose the tarmac. The bad will be going back to some bumpy athletic field.

I would encourage others to check out local airports.

Brian

[Wayne J. Buran]

Cleveland Circles were built in 1965 and were adjacent (very closely) to Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The circles were built by City of Cleveland Parks and Recreation Department. The land and circles were sold in 1998 to an industrial developer and were replaced by warehousing. The City of Cleveland started a program of no maintenance and the finally declared abandoned for lack of use which is totally untrue. We have flown at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds since the year 2000 on a grass parking area thru the good graces of the Fairgrounds which can be terminated at any time. We mow our own grass, suffer invasion constantly from rogue R/C flyers and 4X4 surfers. But we still exist.
Thanks
Wayne

[Sean McEntee]

We fly kids at Kidveture every year up at Oshkosh.  The circles butt up right against the departure path of the Bell 47s giving rides, and are only a couple hundred or so feet away from us.  Incursions are nonexistant.  However, when the wind is blowing the right way, and pushes the rotorwash into the circles, snap rolls and knife-edge passes, and other maneuvers become doable!

[Michael Boucher]

I remember a 747 being pushed out of Hangar 19 at JFK so a supervisor could fly his Banshee model. He said he almost lost it in from looking into the ceiling lights. The old timers said it was a common thing to fly control line in the hangar back in the day. This was back in the eighties .

[Phil Krankowski]

Cleveland Circles were built in 1965 and were adjacent (very closely) to Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The circles were built by City of Cleveland Parks and Recreation Department. The land and circles were sold in 1998 to an industrial developer and were replaced by warehousing. The City of Cleveland started a program of no maintenance and the finally declared abandoned for lack of use which is totally untrue. We have flown at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds since the year 2000 on a grass parking area thru the good graces of the Fairgrounds which can be terminated at any time. We mow our own grass, suffer invasion constantly from rogue R/C flyers and 4X4 surfers. But we still exist.
Thanks
Wayne

I flew on those circles growing up quite a bit.  They were public access so we flew there when there were no events.  I was very sad when they were eliminated.  I agree, the circles were used up till they were being tore out!

Phil

[Steve Helmick]

NW Skyraiders (currently) fly on the South Ramp of Dick Scobee Memorial Airport, aka Auburn Municipal, in Auburn, WA. You may recall that Scobee was commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia.  He was from Auburn and flew controline models as a teen. We pay a reduced rental fee to use the ramp, which is otherwise unrented tie-downs. NJ's own Pete Ferguson played a major role in negotiating our use of the site. Being a chartered club and paying the site insurance are key factors, as is our self-imposed muffler rule and curfew hours.

For a couple of decades, CL modelers have been flying at a site just west of the end of Arlington Airport (Smokey Point). The land is not airport property, but the airport manages it for the city of Arlington. I'm not sure who, if anybody, pays the site insurance.

Western Oregon Line Fliers (WOLF) have their paved circle in front of the Administration building at Salem's municipal airport. I have no knowledge of the arrangement they have with the airport or city, but I'm certain they pay site insurance.
  Steve

[johnt4051]

Also, a little more on the Oregon airport flying fields.  The Eugene club is again flying at the Eugene Airport, but can no longer hold contests there.   The club pays a daily rate for the field, and has to reserve it in advance.  It's a shame to lose the nice site for contests, but we have been glad to have a place for our club flying sessions.  We fly about four times a month, and could fly more if we want to pay the $30 daily fee.
  The Northwest Regionals, in the past held at the Eugene Airport, will be at the Roseburg, Ore., airport this year.  It was held there for a few years previously, and also was at the airport in Albany, Ore., for a few years.
  Airports make the best CL sites, because they have wide open spaces and no noise restrictions -- if the airport is manage by people friendly to model aviation and public uses of their property other than full-scale aviation.  Some are, some aren't.
  --jt