Campgems

Our club field has been at it's current location for over 10 years, and within 1/4 mile of it first location which it used for close to 20 years. Yesterday, we heard a plane engine and at first thought it was a motorcycle going down the hwy near our field. Soon we heard it again. Well as I was pulling out of our field, I saw the plane, just across the hwy from us. A couple of us guys went over and located the guys, there were two guys flying next to the hwy, inside the locked gates of a side campus of a local college. We couldn't get in the gates to have a talk whith them, but we saw one of the guys comming out to the locked gate. We found that they had been using this ad hoc field for some time. He said one of the guys flying with him used to belong to our club, so they knew we were just over the hill. By the way, just over the hill is 2500 feet away. That sure explained at lot of the Hits and lost planes we have had in the last couple months.

Today, I made contact with the Cheif of the college police department and explained the issues, loss of planes and the good chance we might shoot down one of their's and result in it falling onto the hwy and potential causing a traffic accident. He vowed to put an end to it and told me to call them if we found anyone else out there flying. That will work after he catches them, but untill, we still have a problem.

We can't see the field unless we go up in the hills behind it, and from our flight line, we can't see any planes in the air. This is really a bad situation. To be totally safe, we would have to put a lookout up in the hills whenever we are flying. This isn't a good option.

I'm sure some other clubs have run into this problem and I am wondering how how you handled it.

Don

Deadeye

If it were me, I would tackle this problem proactivley. Switch over to Spread Spektrum.

Campgems

Randy, having 70 guys buy new radios for a couple hunderd planes doesn't sound like much of solution to me.

Don

Deadeye

I had no idea it was that many.

BillyGoat

Did you ask about frequencies they are using? I would think the hits you guys have been getting would be reciprocated on there end too, subsequently putting an end to their flying real quick.

First thing would be to spread the word to the membership ASAP by email, postcard, in the newsletter, maybe even a notice on the frequency board; to put everybody on alert.

Second these guys surely have their favorite time and days to fly. I’d say if you discovered them flying on a Saturday morning they are very likely to return next Saturday.

chashint

Try inviting them to fly with your club.
Give them just a little time and then get them joined up as members.

Campgems

Charlie, that was my first thought. Keep them close so we know where they are

Hopefully theywill join.

It kind of funny, just a couple days before we discovered them, we were talking about there not being very many flyers and I made the comment that the LHS seemed to sell a lot of fuel, way more than our club or the other near by club would use. I made the comment that there were guys out there flying somewhere. Then we found one site.

We know of two other ad hoc fields, but both are several miles from our field and from the other clubs field. We have one member that flys gliders at a friends ranch about two miles from our field and when he does, he will put his card on our frequency board and a note where he is flying. Him I trust. That and he has the combanation to our gate.

Hopefully, we will get three or four new members and all will be happy. Time will tell.

Don