I stated in the original post that I was made aware of something that happened at that field, not that I was there flying. I actually ceased to fly at that site four or five years ago after losing a plane to RF interference and having it end up in the parking lot of a golf course on the OTHER SIDE of the soccer fields! Nothing you can do when the radio link fails you; I never said that there was. Anyway, that was the first time I realized how close we were flying to all of these possible victims.

My plane ended up hitting a car low on the door, leaving a nice dent in the shape of the aluminum spinner in it. Never did find the engine, prop or spinner; figure a souvenier taker picked it up before the crash team could arrive. AMA never paid out anything on it, but boy did they require paperwork! My homeowner's paid it all without a whimper (although there was an awful lot of explaining the situation over & over to the uninitiated). I ceased flying at that time and started looking for a safer site to fly from. I don't mind stuffing a plane in the ground to keep from hurting someone if it's my only option, but I'd rather not be in that situation in the first place!

The field where I fly now is a full-scale grass strip out in the county that's surrounded by cornfields & hay; no likelyhood of hitting anything except a fencepost or the ground! I was talking with a friend about coming fly at this site with me when he informed me of the gas bird incident at the other place. Yep, I'd definitely have been checking out the plane if I'd been there & asking questions about it (haven't seen one up close yet), but I wasn't there! I don't even go near the place since it holds bad memories for me. The plane that I lost there was a 10 year old scratch-built Terrier (anyone remember it?) that flew like a dream & the 48 Surpass that was stolen from the crash was a fair chunk of my modeling budget at the time. Nope, they'll have to find another safety officer there; I don't even go there to watch folks fly anymore!

The way that site is set up you don't even see the soccer fields or golf course; it's on the top of a landfill. As the high point of the surrounding area with a fairly large flat area past the runway, you get the sense that there's nothing around there but you and the others there flying with you. It's not until something happens that you realize the close proximity of the other recreational users in the area. There's also a running track past a stand of trees behind the place that is a possible (but not likely) site for lost planes to end up. I understand it's hard to find suitable land in the city for flying R/C; but how much risk should you be willing to take before you decide you're better off to drive a while to get to a better place to fly?

Sorry to ramble; I'll crawl back into my hole & leave it with you. BTW, I loved some of the ideas you guys came up with (especially Extra 260 flyer's self destruct upon loss of radio contact! ) I need to get busy working on the replacement for my beloved Slowpoke .40 that bit the dust this weekend instead of sitting at the PC! Yes, it was my own fault; should have known better than to be flying it inverted 5' off the deck but I was having fun. I pulled it straight into the ground when some turbulence from the fence caught me off guard & it peeled itself like a banana! There's nothing left of the fuse from the back of the cockpit forward; wing's not too bad except at the front mounting point. Oh well, at least there wasn't any danger of hitting any soccer players or golfers!