scooterinvegas

My Feedback: (1)

I too am a member of the "unofficial" Eldorado Dry Lake Club (EDLC <- just made that up :-)

Have gone to two "club" sites, and got a uneasy vibe. I like both of the local dry lakes and have been very happy with the crowd / group of guys out there. Scoot

Oh ya, Sense I fly till I run out of fuel, I like the fact that if the wind is blowing, I can ALWAYS land into the wind!

sportrider_fz6

I've been flying for about 4 years the last with a club, I've just moved from CA. to CO. and have already went to the new local field to check it out. tomorrow I plan on going to the field early and see how I like the guys there. for me when I first started flying it was just about flying. now days I still like to fly, but it has also been a social thing too. I've learned more at a faster pace then I would have on my own. not to mention the smoking deals I've gotten on used aircraft.

ES CONTROL

I am waiting for someone to drop membership and I think I am #5 in line. 

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

After letting this run for a while it looks like over 80% report being members of clubs of some kind.

Oberst

Proud member of the Radio Aero Modelers Club in Pulaski, NY. Been with the Club for about 8 or 9 years.


Pete

lopflyers

My Feedback: (12)

I am an AMA member, being flying for one yr now.
I belong to two clubs one is very close to my house but is little both in space and members ~50. It's convenient since it takes me about 10 mins to get there. East Orlando R/C Association.
The other one(Remote Control Association of Central Florida)  is big, both in space and membership, ~150 a long paved runway, and all amenities, but it takes me 45 mins to get there.
I like the socialization and looking at others fly and crash so I guess I will never fly alone.

goirish

Proud member of 2 clubs. Balsa Butcher's is my home club. Small club about 14 members of whom 8 or 9 fly.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

I did vote on this thread early on but did not post as I was afraid it would become another nonsensical anti club thread. Delighted that did not happen.

I am the pres of our local club, forty members and am a member of another club on the river that is floats only club with a permanent and beautiful water site within a parks system (unlimited glow or gasser too) and year round recovery boat on site, 20 members.

That club is probably the only permanent site in the country with concrete wheelchair access down the beach and all the way to a pilots station. That is wonderful and keeps me still flying off the water.

John

goirish

Hey good for you John. I always enjoy reading your post. thanks for the post on towing my Aspire.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks[8D]

John

lopflyers

My Feedback: (12)

OMG, I saw the pics. Heaven for RC, lots of runways.

Tarasdad

Found a great club in the city we are moving to and joined.

DGUY

My Feedback: (9)

I am a member of a club in Williamson Ga. I hope to stay a member but our dues went from a $100 to $250. which seems a little steep to me but it is a nice site.

378

My Feedback: (4)

I'm not flying yet, but sometime in the next couple of years I will get a trainer. As such I will be in a club, but only long enough to learn how to fly properly. Once I'm comfortable with the sticks I'll let my memberships expire and fly out of my yard. My nearest human neighbors are a quarter mile away and three of the four yards around my home are enormous cow pastures, so it's not like I have to worry about damaging anything, and the road out front is laser straight. Perfect runway.

Packing a plane into my truck and driving forty miles to a field is a bit of a faff when I have a near perfect one right outside my house

BEAR-AvHistory

Raleigh Durham Radio Control an AMA Chartered Club #733, and IMAA Charter #724. Members fly Giant Scale, Sport Scale, Sail Planes, Electric Flight, Helicopters, Turbines and Sport Flying.

I have been flying about 2 years & was taught at the club.

http://www.rd-rc.org/

Hossfly

I belong to 4 clubs: Primary is Jetero RC Club, Inc. northeast of Houston, TX. I also belong to ARF (Always ready to fly) in Livingston, TX about 60 miles north, to Bomber Field, some 85 miles west of my home town, and Scobee Field, Bayou City Fliers, (public) on west side of Houston. Since I attend events at these last 3 fields, I belong just to support them.

Almost all fields/clubs have the same problems along the way, mostly the typical "same old - same old" clique stuff. Either live with it or don't belong. IMO, most current day members just want all the goodies of a club without having to invest much money, time, or labor in the clubs. That makes it easy for the control freaks to do their thing.
I have served as an officer in a large Association of Clubs, (Chicago area) several different clubs, been an appointed AMA official, Contest Coordinator, twice elected as an AMA Dist. Vice President, and was the Manpower Director at the 1972 Nats (Glenview NAS, Navy hosted, AMA Manpower) and the 1973 Nats (Oshkosh WI AMA on its own) during the time of the transition between the Navy Hosted Nats and AMA going on its own.

I have built and flown some kind of models for as long as I can remember. I am 75 years old. CL and some FF until 1971 when radios became reliable enough for me to step into RC. At that time I owned a side business Hobby Shop in Mt. Prospect, IL and if I was going to sell them, I needed to fly them. From 1971 to 1985, I belonged to the Skylarks RC Club where I served two terms of Secretary and one term as President. I will never forget the Skylarks. That club, at my time, was the best orchestrated
club that I have ever been associated with. I think they still exist. In those days everyone pitched in to do the chores.

My first love in aeromodeling was CL Stunt, then along with that was Class C Free Flight, and the RC came along. I tend to the Scale and semi-Scale more than anything else plus just boring holes in the sky with a sport-type model. I like Competition Fun-Flys, Scale Warbird Racing, Plain old Fly-Ins, and instructing. OTOH I am drifting back to CL Stunt.

Edited to add: Along the way, I picked up some 1:1 Scale flying time: 13 years USAF active, and 28 years with UAL. I like models better.

Have a great whatever of your choice and join AMA if not already.

Augie11

I belong to 2 clubs here in Northern Colorado for the past 12 years (since we moved here). Longmont Aeromodelers and Boulder Aeromodelers Society...of which I am VP and past president. Each club has a field (one geotex, one paved) and the BAS Club has access to a reservoir once per week so we float fly every Monday AM pretty much March through November. I'm priviledged to have 3 other major clubs in the area....Arvada, Love-Air and Jefco so there are many events being held covering almost all aspects of aeromodeling. Yes, I do fly alone sometimes and find it relaxing but you just come to enjoy the cameraderie so much you really look forward to being in the 'group'. It's also informational (even if I have to put up with electric aircraft) and, shall we say, 'challenging" putting up with the 'Peanut Gallery'....... NO MISTAKE IS EVER FORGOTTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TimBle

I am a member of 2 Rc clubs in my area.

I've been flying for 53weeks now and have my Gold rating (Just below Instructors rating) now for 20weeks.

the area I live in is on the shores a large bay so the wind patterns can be quite different on either end. the clubs are situated on either end ofthe bay so I always have a choice of club with the least wind to fly at on any particular weekend.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I am still tracking this poll if anyone else would care to vote or comment on the topic?

Mr67Stang

Well, I threw mine in. I have been a member of Davis Bridge Aeromodlers (AMA 4488) in Raeford/Parkton, NC since 2006. We are a reletively small club that ranges from 20-30 members this being my favorite aspect of the club is that we all know eachother. We probably spend more time running our mouths than we do our engines but it's the people in this hobby that makes the hobby what it is for me. I will never understand the "I fly alone" croud but to each his own as they say. I'm not saying they are wrong, just that I enjoy the social aspect as much as the flying.

Gooseman240

I like failing with out a support group.... or audience you can say

StevL

I’m a member of 4 clubs and have been flying about 6 years. The clubs range in price (renewal fees, some also have initiation fees) from $50 a year to $100 a year. The nearest is 30 minutes away (and my least used), the longest drive is about 2 hours. Smallest club (also has lowest fees) about 40 members, largest two have about 80 members and in the best of times have had over 100. All four clubs fly from small electrics to giant scale, 3d, IMAC, fun flyers, gas, glow, and a couple turbines. All four clubs have heli pilots; two clubs have specific heli areas when the field is busy.

I have always felt a need to support my hobby, at this time it is RC flying. I’m very heavily involved in one of the clubs, moderately involved in two more, the fourth club I simply pay dues and fly there about once a year. I’ve been thinking of dropping my membership at this club, they also have the fewest members... must be a reason?


Steve

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Are electrics taking over  in your club?

SBOT

I am not a member of a club and probably never will be. Most people are a pain in the butt and I don't like being around them. I love myself, I always agree with everything I say; and if I'm wrong I never have to admit it to anyone.
Most of the above was in jest. I've been in RC just over 10 yrs, but I've been involved in model aviation most of my life, FF, and CL. I work in the oil field so I'm never home, but that's not all bad. I always work in remote areas and sometimes in the middle of a pasture or flood plain with lots of room and private roads to use as runways. If the job is an open area I bring a plane to fly, if not I bring a kit to build. I'm also teaching a couple of the other guys to fly so I don't have to fly alone.

Oscar

oliveDrab

Oops. I voted.....then saw the comment in the OPs post that said: "This poll is directed to pilots who primarily fly FUEL planes of some kind" But I fly only .60 - 1.60 sized electric planes. Sorry.

I belong to the LMAC club in Lexington, Ky and plan to join the Clark County Barnstormers which is west of Winchester, Kentucky. The LMAC club has the nicest field I have ever flown at (paved asphalt), has 140 - 150 members.

The Clark County Barnstormers field is a nicely mowed grass strip surrounded by soy beans. The farmer who owns the field might plant corn next year. (Soybeans are better for us if a plane goes down). Dues are $15/year - not sure how many members. The field is used by a few RC pilots mostly on Saturday. When you fly there you're required to fly with a spotter just in case a full size plane comes in to land which does happen.

Kentucky seems to be a hotbed of RC airplane activity. (Jets over Kentucky? )