I just got off the phone with the parks and rec folks. It is illegal to fly in the city parks. I have a typhoon 3d and have about an hour of real flight time. (beginner with no crashes...whew I have countless hours on the sim. I will not fly around a population. I have been flying on Sundays behind a school. But there really isn't much room to get high enough. (stadium lights, wires, and tall trees on the perimeter) There are a few farmer's fields, but I don't really want to bother them. Should I just join a club? Fentress Field is close, as is Mount trashmore (city park, but the lhs says that is where a lot of electrics fly). Any suggestions?

Thanks
Greg
ki4bbl
Virginia beach, Va.

Join a club:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx

It seems like a weird formality when you're first starting out, but you'll have a hassle-free flying field and a bunch of other club members to help you with problems or offer you advice (especially when you don't really want it).

A club will offer what you don't have now. A safe, protected place to fly.

Tired of dodging obstacles? Join a club. Tired of being run off property? Join a club. Tired of flying dangerously close to other people? Join a club. Tired of flying by yourself? Join a club. Tired of using the simulator? Join a club.

Dr.1

Town parks are under different jurisdiction than county or state. Keep checking and asking.

Abandoned factory parling lots (lamp poles, ugh)

School yards - not while school is in session.

Damns, levees, floodwalls, impoundment dykes, etc.

Farms. ASK FIRST! Cattle are notorious metal eaters and a farmer who just paid a vet to treat his cows for "metal sickness" is apt to shoot you down - and not by operating on the same frequency. You also don't want to be slicing through his alfalfa and throwing castor oil on his red clover feed plot.

Abandoned stretches of roadway. These are gold. I used to go to a stretch of road that was "stranded" by a highway to fly my control line planes. Your personal paved runway until the weeds start to take over. There was one nearby but it has been taken over by R/C cars and it's easier to go to my club's field now.

Which is, of course, the best solution of all. Join an R/C club.

I lived in Va. Beach about 30 years ago, There was a great club/field just out behine the Navy Air Base there. I lived in Cardinal Estates and it was near there. Flew my first plane there. Try this one.

http://www.flytrc.com/

bill

I live in Va Beach, there are a few clubs around here. PM me.

Damns, levees, floodwalls, impoundment dykes, etc.

Damns and levees??? Gee, the penalty for missing the runway is pretty severe, isn't it? [sm=50_50.gif]

Farms. ASK FIRST!

Anywhere you don't own the property - ASK FIRST. A person's property is theirs, and not for anyone's use unless permission is granted. A fine or jail time could result from tresspass charges. A civil lawsuit could result from damage to property or livestock. A shotgun pushed into your middle is darned uncomfortable, too! If you ask politely, and explain completely, you might be surprised at the answer.

Dr.1

You'd be surprised how it improves your mental focus. I used to fly at a spot on the Susquehanna River that had a paved boat ramp with trees on either side. After Labor Day it was nearly deserted. Heck, the plane is only 60" wide or so. As Leo Tolstoy wrote: "How much land does a man need?"

Actually, the berm on most impoundment dams is nice and level on top and usually pretty wide, but the wind that comes off the water can make it a hairy, hairy crosswind airstrip (this I know). The sluceway behind it normally has a channel and nice, level terraces that are only for flood conditions on either side. Those are better.

Floats! Don't forget float planes. Around here if you set up to fly off water you have a lot of spots. But you need a little boat. This I know, too. And they're just as good on snow. Guess that won't excite hime much for Va. Beach, though.

Golf courses?

Great! I cannot PM you though. I have been trying to find the Fentress club but to no avail. I would love to come to a club site. I have been to the Chesapeake club site, but I worry about losing it over the fence. Let me know! What club are you affiliated with?

Thanks
Greg
ki4bbl

I joined TRC, it is a great club(in my opinion), big runway, lots of different types of airplanes and nice to beginners. I went to another club(Chesapeake Flyers) first, a local club, was very unfriendly to beginners...I went to them telling them I was a beginner and I wanted to get into the hobby and I was treated like I had the plague...so I did not join that club.

I have a very good experience with TRC, very friendly and helpful in my opinion and they did not ream my plane or me, they were very open minded about the plane, they liked the plane and the plane has flown 20+ times with them.