Gents,
Looking to get an idea as to how many flying fields have been lost, what areas they were in, how many members or pilots have been affected and the reason or reasons why the field was lost...

Thanks in advance.
Hooked.

Every field that I know that has been lost was due to encroachment of population. They start off in the boondocks and as houses, etc. move closer eventually they are lost.

Two things:

1 - the general public does not want to listen to toy airplanes buzzing around

2 - the general public does not want toy airplane buzzing around over their heads/homes/land

A very small number of fields are lost due to changed land use, i.e. the farmer decides to plant the land, etc.

numbers man...numbers....how many do you know of and where were they?

OCMA field - 2006 - 450 members. Lost due to landlord issues and complaints from neighbors about overflying stables, roads, etc. Fortunately found a new field, with no issues and a better landlord!!

Soaring field in West Covina - 20 plus year history lost in 2007 due to neighbor complaints of overflying homes, and finally a power outage caused by hitting wires. They found a new field, but not nearly as nice as what they had.

North Las Vegas field - not lost but in jeopardy due to homes being built across the street from their field. Same with the other Vegas field. Homes moving in. Combined perhaps 200 members. Not sure on the count.

Field at former Tustin Marine helicopter base - late 1998 - 400 members, lost due to change in landowner (City) no interest in model field.

Field in Mesa, AZ, lost years ago due to homes moving in. Unsure of numbers of members.

Field in Gilbert, AZ area, same thing, new construction forced the field to close.

CASL - glider field, Gilbert, AZ. Longtime glider field lost to soaring due to homes and complaints of over flight. Now a small electric only field.

I'll mention two central Illinois club field moves within the last 4 years...

One was in existence for about 10 years (new club) and the landlord's boy grew up & started a family - the location of choice to build a house was on the field. About 35 families in the club.

Another was an established club, in residence at the field for about 14 years. That property has valuable gravel beneath the surface, and a speculator bought it in anticipation of a roadbuilding project nearby. About 30 families in the club.

Best wishes,
Dave Olson

Wasnt there one shut down (by encroachment) in California out by Corona/Elsinore a couple years back?

And what happened to the (county fairgrounds?) vs parks dept land situation we read about here last year?
( Goliathman )

If you are into piecing together mysteries,
check the [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8299827/tm.htm]thread by Phjoker[/link] about club closing / kicked out by internal politics

Could be, I don't get out there much. SOCL has it tough, lots of people and lots of homes, easy to find unhappy neighbors.

Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, 2000. County of Orange decided that they could make more revenue from a golf course.

Triangle off Linda Vista Dr. in San Marcos CA is now a strip mall.

Fallbrook R/C flyers (my field) will close in a couple of months because of the widening and realignment of a state highway.

City of Carlsbad CA passed new ordinace banning all R/C activity except for one slope site. (We are fighting it).

Jacksonville Florida, Gateway RC is moving soon, city sold land (at the far end of a prison farm) to the feds and they built a VA cemetary, when the cemetary expands the field is going to go.

Since the beginning of time ? You are funny !!

The first field that I can remember being lost was in Kingsport Tn. It was an old drag strip. The property was sold to a radio station. 3 huge antennas went up along with about 100 guide wires. So much for flying there. That was either 1979 or 1980.

But Eastman Kodak came to the rescue. Gave the club a 100 hundred year lease , ( for one dollar ) for a very nice field. They paved a runway and built a shelter and a gravel road. So things worked out OK for that club.

I have seen many parking lots, (3),( used with permission ) become out of bounds as soccer fields and round ball games encroached the areas.

Here in Humble, our AMA club was actually kicked out of the landfill for a softball field. We had been there for years before the ball players came along. That was in 1991 or 1992.

So that is 5 that I have had experience with during the past 30 years. Nationally, it must be thousands.

Dreadnaut-

Especially sorry to hear about your Fallbrook site (hits close to home). Bad news for you modelers, and bad for the nice communities of Fallbrook and Bonsall, too. Tragic scene having a freeway built through the center of your town, but I guess the Indian casinos to the E need better access, and they can afford the influence to get it done. CA is bankrupt, but can find the $$$$ to pave the countryside over. Go figure.

Good luck in your fight to keep flying in Carlsbad.

Abel

We just recieved a draft agreement for Waymer field, Some of my favorite highlights from the contract between the county and the two clubs (contractor) that use the field:

I. DUTIES OF THE CONTRACTOR:

A. The CONTRACTOR shall operate Waymer Flying Field for aeromodelor events including races, practices, open flying and other aeromodelor related activities. CONTRACTOR shall operate the facility per Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) guidelines;

B. The CONTRACTOR shall be responsible for and entitled to the use of Waymer Flying Field during all normal operating hours of David B. Waymer Park and at other times which may be approved by COUNTY. CONTRACTOR is responsible for determining and posting hours the Waymer Aeromodelors Field will be open for public use. CONTRACTOR is responsible for opening and closing the park gates per the posted hours.

III. LIMITATIONS:

A. CONTRACTOR may assess program participant fees as may be required for aeromodelor related activities;

IV. DUTIES OF THE COUNTY:

The COUNTY, in consideration of the above, agrees to:

A. Allow CONTRACTOR exclusive operation of Waymer Aeromodelor Flying Field at David B. Waymer Park;

B. Insure the facilities and grounds are clean and safe to include mowing of the turf;

The Fort Worth Thunderbirds are having to give up their field in a US Army Corps of Engineers park area at Benbrook Lake, due to a safety issue about local overflights of a lake perimeter road, especially with giant scale models, turbine models and IMAC large aerobatic models. Plus, the field has a million dollar panoramic view of the lake that the park REALLY wants to exploit for more picnic areas, camping areas and other park go-ers amenities.

The good news is that the Corps of Engineers is moving us to another part of the park later this year and has more or less recreated our field (without the million dollar lake view) in a location that will be safer, with no models overflying any roads of populated park areas.

Still a sad move, as we had been there for 40 years.

Our club varies between 150 and 200 members.

Count your blessings with the new location, you could be there for another 40 years.

Horizon City Flyers lost the field 2 years ago due to development. Were in the process of rebuilding now.
Mike

LRCC not lost but in jeopardy due to: not reporting hobby related accidents and legal contest initiated by the leadership.

The casinos do need better access and Hwy 76 is very dangerous east of the field but the road is NOT going to be widened out to 15. They are only going to widen it to Mission that goes to Fallbrook, the field will be lost for 1.3 miles of road. The rest of the widening will happen later in 3-4 years.

Lost Flying Fields? Does that question include how many public parks, school yards, parking lots with adjacent open land and other usual parkflyer sites have been lost to the RC community.

That number has to be orders of magnitude larger then lost AMA Club fields.

Indubitably. What can/should AMA be doing about it? Many AMA members use such flying sites, by choice or because there is no club site (or membership opening) in their locale. Seems like obtaining and keeping them should be at least as high a priority as it is for club flying sites.

I agree and therein lies the "Catch 22"........... If the AMA made the focus of the Parkflyer program to be the obtaining and keeping of Parkflyer sites, there would be thread after thread here about the evil plot of AMA trying to take control of Parkflyers..........

Just what can they do. They have a support system in place that club can contact to get PR material to use as ammo to sell themselves. The number of AMA members has been in steady decline over the past few years and more than likely the slide will continue. I don't know about were your city's economic situation but ours sucks there's just no money for specialty groups such as ours not to mention enough land available for our use.. There just isn't enough money to finance a new every field that's lost. Here we can't even use a city park due to city ordinances that specifically band RC Aircraft in a city park. So what do we do. Were going it alone found the property signed a long term lease and now are in the process off financing the project.
Mike

I wasn't referring specifically to AMA PPP members, nor even giving them just due I suppose, as there are only about 2,500 of them (and 3 clubs to support them last I heard). I think that program has tanked, and frankly would assign to it a DNR order.
I was thinking about the 40,000 to 70,000 'full fare' AMA members that don't belong to clubs (pick a number between, based the cred of the sources that have provided data).
They are the forgotten members of AMA, sad because AMA would not be a viable organization without them. Frankly, I was encouraged about your prior posting, as I thought "finally, somebody else recognizes their very existence, and apparently cares." I have a couple of notions about why AMA should care:

1) They subsidize the site owner's insurance that clubs are very dependent on, yet get no benefit of it themselves.

2) Their flying sites, while probably more tenuous than club sites as you seem to allude, are the spawning grounds for new modelers that represent the majority of the potential member pool that AMA has to recruit from.

More reasons stirring in my head, but that's enuf for starters. If I seemed biased, that is true so let's put that issue to rest. I have one foot in each camp.

Cletus

Yes, I agree that the current AMA PP rogram is a bust. What I would like to see is a program that can be "Piloted" (no pun intended) in some large urban areas to develop the materiels, messages and guidance to encourage local AMA Clubs to sponser a local PP flield.

Don't knowwhat the correct "carrot or stick" could be to influence Clubs to take this on. But if just 10 or 20 AMA Clubs took the challenge to sponser a PP fleld it would be great. The only rationalle for the "large urban areas" is that there should be larger Clubs with a big enough membership and hopefully resources to take this on.

And I know it's herasy, but AMA membership should not be a requirement to to fly at a PP field as long as the flyer is flying without AMA individual insurance.

Brad

Hi Mike-

Hope you don't think I was ignoring you; I have several vocations and avocations, and another rose to the top.
I guess I wasn't very clear in my last post that you replied to. See my reply to bradpaul for clarification. I'm not (at this time) looking for means to establish new fields of the FBO sort to accommodate clubs, but rather focusing in on what AMA might do to support acquisition of and and sustain 'flying sites of opportunity' for the AMA members (and fellow non member modeling enthusiasts) that need them. Not to be windy, take a look at my last post to the " Would you pay $78.00 a year for AMA if they offered PRIMARY insurance?" thread. I propose looking at that option as one way AMA could help, mutually the org and the members. I'd like to hear your critique; none yet and I'm thinking it might be too off-the-wall. I can handle it if so, and invite you to fire away.

Brad
did you just say you want Muncie to encourage AMA chartered clubs
to sponsor a Renegade field?

"And I know it's herasy, but AMA membership should not be a requirement to to fly at a PP field as long as the flyer is flying without AMA individual insurance."
dude, that is what a Renegade field is: NonAMA & AMA guys welcome to fly together
We have plenty of history of what happens to fields where nonmembers & members fly together
and then we involve AMA clubs... Ohamahawks & Alameda come to mind