General control line discussion > Open Forum

LOA betwixt LA Area RC Club and FAA helps CL flyers

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Paul Wescott:
Los Angeles:

The Valley Circle Burners Control Line Club flies at a site called Sepulveda Basin. Just like Whittier Narrows it is a large-acreage catch basin uphill of a wide dam and is owned and operated Federally by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Sepulveda Basin is perhaps the only relatively flat and  open recreational space within several miles of Downtown Los Angeles, all of the rest having been developed with a plethora of residences or built-up into sports stadiums and off-limits parking lots.  Sepulveda Basin also happens to be located about a mile away from Van Nuys Airport, about 7 miles from Burbank Airport, and about 15 miles from the 800-pound Gorilla LAX or Los Angeles International Airport.  As a result our meager control line flying site, shared with the Valley Flyers RC site, has been the subject of much scrutiny as of late by a different 800-pound Gorilla: the FAA.  However…

Everything below copied & pasted straight from Al Heiger’s wonderful weekly control line newsletter The Nag:

“Some Unexpected Good News

Since RC activities at the Basin came under microscopic scrutiny by the FAA a few years ago, resulting temporarily in the closure of the field, the Valley Flyers have been operating under a slew of restrictions.  Although the AMA has repeatedly proclaimed CL flying to be exempt from such limitations, the FAA has been far more circumspect, and we have been operating ever since under a cloud of ambiguity.

Now, however, the Valley Flyers have concluded a formal Letter of Agreement, or LOA, with the FAA, which lays out in detail the limits of operation at the Basin.

Of particular interest to our club is that the FAA has agreed to keep flight below 100 feet of altitude completely free of restrictions, which effectively greenlights virtually everything we do.

We owe a big vote of thanks to the Valley Flyers, who did the heavy lifting in assuring our right to continue operations at the Basin.”  - Al Hieger

.

Ken Culbertson:
Way to go!

Ken

Tim Wescott:
So, no jumbo planes on 140' lines?

bill bischoff:
Now that you're safe from being shut down, the next step is to find a sugar daddy to pay for fresh asphalt. When you find one, be sure to tell us all how you did it. We need it in Dallas, too.

Trostle:

--- Quote from: Tim Wescott on June 20, 2022, 01:26:25 PM ---So, no jumbo planes on 140' lines?

--- End quote ---

A number of years ago at the Supulveda basin, I watched several people fly a profile (I do not know what) on 150' lines, at least that is what they said.  Hand launched with one person holding the lines between the airplane and the pilot for the launch.  Interesting to watch with the lap times somewhere between 15 and 20 seconds.  I do not think it got any higher than 30 or 40 feet.

Kudos to Al Heiger for making the agreement happen.  He has done a lot for control line in the Southwest.  He was recognized several years ago at VSC by awarding him the Keeper of the Flame annual award which was richly deserved.

Keith

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