wojtek

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I am hoping 2015 is the year i get to do some more flying again, however it looks like the year is off to a bad start before even starting with the Farview field in Hamburg PA being now shut for jet flying until further notice, and possibly for good :\ .. The other option is Floyd Bennett field Brooklyn, but that location is more and more limiting, and with all the development in the area, it is to be seen how long it lasts also ...

What are other fields you guys are flying at ? I'm up for up to 2.5 hr an under for now from central NJ... I'm mostly looking for somewhere that is good for large jets and warbirds, with nice open space where the aircraft is not being risked unnecessarily.

so where do you fly ?



Voy

Ron Stahl

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Voy, I just read your post and looked at my email and I got Bob's email in my msn account overnight. Sad to hear the news to start the year off. They are a great group of people and things have gone very bad for them very quickly with having a place to fly let alone jets. I hope things work out for them in the end and they at least get to keep a place to fly and enjoy our hobby. My wife is in tears right now as she loves all those guys and has nothing but fond memories of our trips to the field and the friends she has there. Like a lot of flyers I dreamed of jet models from the first day I saw BV fly his then state of the art Skyhawk at the old PGRC field. I'm just about done a EDF Ziroli Panther and glad I went with EDF for power becasue at least I can fly that at my local field. Finding a Turbine friendly field is getting harder and harder to do and when my two engines finally bite the bullet i just might sell off my turbine planes.

TUMBLER

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I went through this same thing last year. Turbines are the only aspect of the hobby I enjoy these days but unfortunately they were banned at my field in South Jersey last yr so I sold my jets. I looked everywhere and Hamburg was the only decent option, but at 2.5hrs it was too far. There is Crosswinds in South Jersey, but the close tree line at both ends does not make it ideal in my opinion.

smchale

My Feedback: (67)

Voy,

The news yesterday was very disheartening and disappointing. I know a lot of people have poured a great amount of time and energy into a resolution to an issue that was surely avoidable. I was hopeful that a compromise would be reached, and still hold out (slim) hope it can.

These events impact so many people other than myself, and I'm sure we all share the same disappointment. It's taken me a lifetime of building and flying to realize my dream to enjoy turbine powered jets, not just the ability to enjoy it, but also to be able to afford to enjoy it. Beyond that it's the friendships that I've developed in recent years through jet flying that has really become fulfilling and rewarding that I feel is being jeopardized by these events. It's very upsetting.

Hopefully the local jet community will still be committed to resolving this situation, or finding an alternative location in our area where we can not only enjoy flying safely, but also be able to host our fellow jet friends from around the country at the events Hamburg has become so well known for.

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

Sean, very well said my friend ... Though the chances are slim, I'm not looking to bet on it, and will continue looking for other venues to fly. I think long and short term this is what needs to happen. Many of us have quite a bit of time, money, and most of all friendships that are vested into this hobby.

As for the events, i think that besides some other avoidable circumstances, they were a big cause of the problems and eventual demise to jets we are facing now. Farview grew from an awesome no politics, easy going, great place to fly, to un unmanageable nightmare with friendships burned, too much politics, and eventually just overwhelming the neighbors. . From a selfish perspective, so what about the events .. those can always be traveled to where there are no neighbors to be incurred upon. We don't need that at any other places that the local jet guys start to fly at. We just want a place where we can enjoy the hobby and little free time we have, and not be a bother to anyone in the area.

I have not had a chance to fly in the past 2 years much, but what i miss most was going to Farview, on any random weekend, with a few good guys there and having my family there to enjoy the out doors with me for some good carefree flying fun. Having lost Alan this year has been very hard. He was my wingman for as long as i have been flying jets. This has been very difficult this year. I really wanted to start flying more in 2015, and this just has been a disheartening blow also now losing palace to fly. Time goes to fast, and sometimes the time to enjoy what and who we Love just needs to be made before its gone..


Voy


Voy

Erik R

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Happy, safe, New Year, and God bless,

Erik

racer8297

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Happy and safe New Year to all.

rhklenke

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If you guys start a "Farview Legal Defense Fund," let me know. I'd contribute to help you keep that great field!

Bob

SkyKnight

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HollyWooooddd!!!!! Whatz up Tumbler!! Yo, Crosswinds was finally able to retract the tree line. Go check it out. As a matter of fact, The traditional Frosty Fingers Fun Fly tomorrow would be a good time. Shawneee has already certified the approaches and LT can certainly offer some guidance. Although I haven't seen it yet, it should be a lot more comfortable now. We still talk about the day ~Voy~ pushed the clouds out the way with his Preditor BobCat.!

Many of us from CrossWinds got started on turbines at CrossWinds back in the days of Ram engines and Boomerang Jets and then learned about Fraview at one of the Liberty Bell Jet Rallys. Both venues bring back a lot of fond memories of turnin & burnin', yankin & bankin' followed by Mountains o Meat and Blue Juice.

The Farview gang has done a lot for us in the jet community and I sincerely hope they weather this storm.

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Skynight,

Luv and miss u bro. This time last year u were here and I was wanting to house your fedora. Looking for another IAH layover, so we can go back to Mexico! :-)

Fact is, the Farview board is now 2 guys, and doesn't resemble anything like when you were there having fun. In the day, the Farview community was us, and you were an integral part of what made it rock. It's a new day, and we all have to look forward to what's next.

Happy New Year to you and Laura brother. Stay safe.

Erik

Jetkopter

My Feedback: (1)

I am grateful for have had having the privilege to have flown all these past years at Hamburg, but the reality of the situation is that even by some slim hope that model flying is allowed to continue at Farview I doubt that this will ever be a jet friendly club again. The club that started from a handful of guys looking to rent a field to play with there toys and grew to over a 100 plus members. The club had very few rules, mainly be safe and don't do anything stupid. I have been a member of a lot of clubs over the years and you know that all clubs have politics and such. This club had very little of that, the most relaxed I have ever seen. That as great as it sounds is part of the demise of the farview flyers and the problems we face now. The club never had meetings, only a select few who are board members had closed door discussions on the operation of the club. The members have zero knowledge of what is going on with the club. The only times you would here anything is when some one did something stupid or there was problem. Then we got out the eraser and wiped a clean spot on the chalk board and added by the way please don't do this to the short list of rules and regulations. The club over the last two years became reactive instead of proactive. The problems with the famers and the trailer park didn't just happen over night, its been on going and escalating for several years. This was kept from the members, the president thought he had it handled. At least that's what we where told us later on. When the first letters came from the town it was never shared with the club members because the board wanted to present the picture that all is well with the club. The president of the club has had several health problems and over the last several years has not flown much. He as done a lot of fishing and other things outside of the club. The president was our liaison to the farmers and all concerns and problems where dealt with directly by him. Do you think that when your fishing and you got one on the line you want to hear some farmer blowing up your phone complaining that some one just put one in on his property? The farmers where getting upset with us, be we the members didn't know it. The trailer park at the south end of our runway never was much of an issue until the owner became elected to the town board. Its also a fact that he is related to all the farmers.
Individual's in the farview club decided to build a hanger on the property that the club rents from the landowner. That hanger required a permit from the town. A residential use permit was issued by the town and later revoked by the town and the towns position was that this hanger needed a commercial permit. The president of the club went to a town zoning meeting with the attitude that he had the upper hand and told me how he made a fool out of this town official at the meeting. Again reinforcing his position that he has any club problems under control. That all happened this spring and summer. We already have a no fly zone at the end of our runway over the trailer park prior to this but now the complaint letters start coming from the town about over flights above the trailer park. That's what happens when you don't try to diffuse a bad situation early on because you think your smarter than them! The over flights continue and the culprit is a member of the board, and he is ejected from the club and told to resign. A decision I at first didn't agree with because I didn't have all the facts. I did not have all the facts because the board kept all the internal problems a secret. So now we are on thin ice with the town and we have our giant scale event coming up followed by our end of season world famous October jet rally. The giant scale event rolls around and its always a big turnout, The Pres, VP and the individual who invested in the new construction cost of the new hanger get the great idea to have a night flying demo with lights and commercial fire works display at the giant scale event. None of this is done with a permit, or vote. The police arrive and its another black eye for the club. This combined with the jet overflight by the board member is the straw that breaks the camels back. The board blames it all on the member who made the over flights. They take zero responsibility for the fire works or the night flying. To make a long story short its now time for the October event and the club is faced with a possible injunction to stop the event . No one on the board can make a decision because there like a deer in the headlights. They all thought they where in tight with the farmers, wrong. The club has to make major compromises to even have the event as far as flight restrictions and hours of operations and these facts are not disclosed until shortly before the event. The town was present and we had to be on our best behavior. A lot of pilots where upset that they travelled great distance to get there and its not like it use to be. The end result of all of this arrogance is that now the club is told it needs a permit to operate a model airplane club at 375 farview road and that's where we are at now with the zoning board. The town and the farmers position was stop flying jets and the problems with us will go away. We the club members know that we need to compromise with the surrounding land owners and we know that in the zoning hearing we are going to loose. The club board preached to members that we will band together and pool our funds and outspend the town in a legal court of law. No concessions now is what we all said! A lot of us live two to three hours away from the club and when the emails went out we where there at the zoning board meetings on a Monday night to support the club because we all are going in the same direction, wrong we are not going in the same direction. With the club now facing possible injunction on all model flying the board does a 180 just like the wind changes direction and bans jet flying to save there own skin and self serving agenda. We where supposed to be in this together as one, but the President and the VP now realize there not All That with the town or famers, the third board member who is the one who funded the hanger had a change of heart to because its expensive to move your personal hanger once you built it. I know its easy to say I am finger pointing or Monday morning quarterbacking and why didn't I do something about it sooner. I was never asked to be on the board and because they kept it all in I had no idea as to the depth of the problems. A group of us pledged to fund the legal defense of the club, but after seeing how this is not a club but a monarchy and we the peasant's don't matter I would advise everyone to keep there pennies in there pockets unless the club where to restructure and the membership is able to vote as a whole. I brought all of this up in private to the VP and got told I was out of line and didn't know what I was talking about here. A fellow member asked me today if all the jet pilots leave how will the club pay the rent if there allowed to continue? Answer is the guy with the hanger will write a check and this place will go back to being a few guys at most. So the whole point of all this is don't take for granted your flying sight and your neighbor's who may not share your love for model airplanes. Be more proactive in your club and promote the hobby in a positive light that makes the community respect you not despise you. I know on the next go around this course I will try to follow.
Regards,
Don

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Wow! The dirty laundry is hanging out.

Erik R

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You know what's really funny, for the past few years, many people lurking this thread, would be at my house for my New Years party. I truly miss all of you, and am saddened at the degradation of what I thought were good friendships. So I just want to say, Happy New Year to all my jet buds. God bless,Erik

Ron Stahl

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Wow, I was a member in 2013 and didn't renew in 2014 for several reasons none of which have any correlation to the demise of the clubs use of the field. I can tell you that lack of community support and bad relations with the neighbors will cost a club their field in the end no matter how much funding and lawyers you have if the government officials are against you. We lost a field we had for over thirty year because of one person who had a friend high in MD state government in the 80's. We did as well in the batle until the election time came and our friend lost his bid to be governor and the new state people took the position that we were bad users of the states property and had to go becuase our neighbors contact was now not able to be overruled by cooler heads higher up.

Ron Stahl

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deleted double post

Erik R

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Ron,

Happy New Year!

Erik

gunradd

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Our field buys a big turkey at thanks giving for the house that lives near the end of our runway and we have a strict no fly zone on that end near the house with big poles that say NO FLY ZONE. We also will never hold a all out jet rally at our field because of how many cant stay in a flying box. Its all about giving back to the community.

Ron Stahl

My Feedback: (12)

Erik, sad that the field is gone for a lot of us that came there to enjoy the place and people. Best to you and Robin in the coming year. I always enjoyed myself there and remember the September weekend when you allowed three of us to just come up and test fly Jimmies first turbine plane because we decided not to go to E-Jets. That weekend is when we all joined the club, we always felt welcomed there and will miss the place. I do have to say that I did more damage to planes there then any other place we have flown at over the years. I was starting to call it my jinx field after losing my Electra three years ago,the four dead sticks two years ago from bad UAT fittings and Jimmies broken axle causing an endo breaking the tail off his Facet 2300 ; then the tide changed with you handing me the "Pilots Choice" award for my 125% Turbinator at the Summer event last year.

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Ron,

That is what it's all about. We will burn kero together in the future. Happy New Year to you and yours, and God bless,

Erik

RickBoyer

My Feedback: (37)

Very sad, I'm sorry to read about this Erik, I know what loosing Farview meant to me personally. The best grass field for flying jets. Voy, you might try Quakertown, PA. I think you flew at Q-town with us many years ago with your black flamed Bobcat. I flew my Bandit out of there many times over the years. Nice grass runway with a long row of trees downwind, parallel to runway. Other than Q-town, not sure of any other jet-friendly sites in southeastern PA.

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Happy New Year Rick.



Erik

kberk222

this tread makes me sad, i belonged to the same field when it was tri county wingsnappers many years ago, when they lost the field i sold every thing and got out of the hobby,a friend of mine rick boyer called me years later and told me he and a couple other fellows had started a new club at the old site and i should come check it out. before long i had many planes again, i think there was about 12-16 members when i joined and i couldnt belive that we were lucky guys to have the field back again. i made many new friends over the last 7-8 years and had more fun flying than i ever had. well they say all good things must come to a end. i have moved on to my first love and got back in to motocross and a couple club members are also riding with use. so in closeing thanks to all the great guys that i have got to meet thru the hobby and the true friends i have made.

jofunk

Can you guys reorientate the runway to take the trailer park out of the picture? Instead of a legal fund I would invest in a half a dozen trainers to give to the local farmers kids, The politicians kids, the kids in the trailer park etc. Throw in a few free club memberships with the airplanes. Run an ad in the local paper for a learn to fly day to give everyone in the area an opportunity to try their hand at flying RC. Everyone men, women, boys, girls, from 9 to 90. Make the local flying field an asset to the community and not a perceived nuisance. When you have the jet event how much revenue comes to the local community, lodging, meals, entertainment, JET FUEL ? Just some rambling thoughts.

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Jofunk,

You should study the company you are keeping before you make such simplistic recommendations. I respectfully suggest you do a little research on the club before you bloviate such simplistic suggestions. A little research might humble you, if you're a man of sense. Farview has very much involved the community, children, and been a generous benefactor to many worthwhile causes. You have, probably unwittingly, denigrated yourself to the status of an uninformed ranter. We have served the local, and national community well. It would serve you best, to not speak about things you clearly know nothing about.

Erik

jofunk

Hi Erik,

You should have all those you speak of come to your defense to testify to the fact that your club and flying site is an asset and they should not go away……As for the reorientation, that idea can be put forward if you come to some negotiation……... I don't know much about the Farview flyers but I am on the board of my flying club and have been for many years. We as clubs all face similar challenges keeping a club viable and keeping our flying sites. I know these issues first hand. I guess we are lucky here…http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-j...-friendly.html But some say luck is the residue of design. I hope you keep your flying field for many years to come, for all types of aircraft to fly. I also hope that some day I can make the drive to participate in your Jet event. Good luck and happy new year!

Joe Felonk