????? I don't follow where 2.4 has anything to do with your field existing . Help an old man here, lol . ENJOY !!! RED


Red What occurred started about three years ago and could have happened anywhere in the country. One disgruntled person from down at one of our neiboring clubs who hated everything Ama, clubs or anyone. He was not a member down there either and certainly not an AMA member.

Anyway he is one of these fellows who try to make a living by cruzing the neiborhoods and scanvanging anything he can turn around and sell on the internet. It was not long before he cobbled together a airplane of some sort and started flying it on 72 in a park 100 yard away from the organized flying field and of course the inevitable happened. And he continued to fly there well since I don,t know all the details I will leave it at that only to say some months later I got a heads up he was headed our way from a friend down there.

Sure enough several months later when my shop door was only partially open a large fellow yelled something about airplanes a literally did the limbo under the door, scared the hell out of me and I headed for my weapon (being in a wheelchair you think about things like that). Totally startled by this he said I saw your airplanes and wanted to know if I would sell him an old tranys and Rx. cheap. When asked what he did with them he said I fix them up and sell them at the swap meet. What he was doing was selling old junk and wideband stuff to unsuspecting newbies and selling them a complete package with instructor airplane and all. It was obvious about all he could handel himself was some foamies and gliders.

Sure enough he turns up flying at a bald spot in the desert along the hiway and this was where he was"teaching' his customers which was seven tenths of a mile from our field as the crow flys. He did not care about frequencys or anything. The victems were his Customers
over a period of time I had two of my students airplane shot right out of our hands. Looking down at the scanner showed their channels had gone hot and we could see the miscriants through goggles.

AMA could do nothing simply because he was not an ama club or member and local police were not of much help so to prevent out and out range war I suggested we all go 2.4 timing was perfect. I also suggested none of us would sell our old dead Conquest and Vanguards instead we had hammer partys before fellows like this get ahold of them.

I think several years after the fact now that we virtually are a hundred percent 2.4. His supply of old radios has dried up now and not nearly as much activity there any more.

If we would have been unable go 2.4 at the time the only option would have been to close the field down.


John