Our local RC club is in a heated argument over Park Flyers and Electric flight. The problem is that the glow engine guys don't understand the attraction of electric aircraft, and the desire to fly them in the big empty field and not at the RC field. The local club has a very nice site at the local airport, and its just a couple of miles outside of town. However, as all of you know, the convience of just driving across town to the big empty field is great. There are several people doing this, and they're only flying small electric planes like foamies and GWS planes. The complaint of the Electric Guys is that the "Big" RC field is just too inconvient, and that they feel unwelcome - that they are just "in the way".

What are other clubs doing in this situation. It's about to cause a split in our club, which would cause the Electric flyers to form there own club. The local RC club has made the comment about the AMA insurance that needs to be applied to the "Big Field" where the electric flyers fly to cover the city against liability, but just how much risk is actually there, especially since these are slow flyers, and most of the flyers are AMA members.

Any opinions would be appreciated!

A number of questions come to mind.

Is the BEF (big empty field) within radio range of the club field? This would trouble me, as it should you.

Is the BEF owner okay with the free use? Or are the users simply using it without permission or insurance coverage?

Are there neighbors at the BEF? How do they feel about the activity? Is the activity limited to the BEF, or is there overfly with houses involved?

In short, how is this use of the BEF affecting the club's use of the airport facility, and Local PR for the club and the hobbyists; and what is the safety situation?

Not making any accusations, just wondering why you made no mention of these things. From your original post, it sounds like the glow flyers both want and don't want the electric flyers at the airport facility. I'm thinking there may be more to the story.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

The "Big Field" is actually the old RC site. The RC club disassociated itself with the site when they moved. The site is actually owned by the city, it will eventually be used for an industrial park. For now, it's just 15 acres of empty field. As far as they are concerned, we might as well be flying kites! There are no houses nearby that would be flown over, and the site is about 3.5 miles (as the crow flies) from the RC field. The discision that we have to make, I guess, is to form another group of exclusively electric and park flyers (with AMA coverage for the field), or to give it up and go the RC field. At first it was just a few guys messing around, no big deal. Now it has mushroomed into several people out there all the time, and there is concern for the increased possibility for something bad to happen.

I'm just afraid that the "glow boys" are not gonna like it when the electric guys start showing up all the time. You know as well as I do that you can get 4 or 5 good flights in with an electric plane in the time it takes you to get all of you glow stuff out of the car. They're gonna think we're hogging the field, in the way, flying too close to the flight line, etc., etc....

How have other RC clubs dealt with the electric flyers at their clubs.

Shawn.
Its me Julie, email me at [email protected]
It would be great to hear from you!

Something you could do is to have a separate groupo, but remain members of the same club. So the club would have two fields, and two groups of fliers.

If the fields are close enough that there's a fear of signal crossing, you can arrange a freq cutoff - That is, you make a list of all of the freqs that the guys who are flying electric are using, And a list of the freqs everyone else is using. See where you match - Let's say that twp electric fliers have the same freqs as some of the glow fliers - since you are the smaller group, and you are the ones trying to keep the peace, all of the electric fliers could pitch in to buy those two guys crystal sets that don't interfere with the glow guys.

Then, you establish a rule that channels 16, 24, 43, and 50 (or whatever they are) are banned from use at the glow field, and the electric field can use ONLY those freqs.

From then on, if someone wants to fly glow, they will have to buy crystals. By the same token, if a new glow flier joins the club and has a banned freq, he'll have to change (It would be no different than if there was serious radio frequency problems on that channel at a given site)

Just as a matter of fact, you cannot (and should not) establish a flying site within 5 miles of an existing AMA club site. If you want to establish a separate club, that's fine, just find a location 5 miles away from the existing club site.

We have a few electric pilots at our field, and everyone gets along handsomely, even when the field has 30 fliers. When an electric guy is flying and he throttles down to zero prop RPM, everyone screams "Dip Stick" vs. "Dead Stick", and they "reciprocate" the jesting- it's a hobby that's suppose to be fun.

It's not a matter of the plane type, it's a personality issue. Whether you're flying glow, gas, or electric, you should abide by pretty standard safety rules: use frequency control; stand on one side of the line, fly the other; fly the correct pattern, or fly in an established aerobatics area; announce intentions, etc. I don't understand why you can't fly together.

There are guys in our area who do fly electrics as "renegades," that is with no established club. This, IMO, is a safety hazard, but they are doing so not because of convenience but rather economics. The majority of electric fliers spend relatively little on the hobby and don't want to pay club initiation or dues.

Just rambling a bit, but I don't understand the conflict. What specifically is the problem with flying at your local club?

We have many many many electric fliers where I fly. Our field is quite large and there is plenty of room for all.

The problem *I* have with some electric pilots (and some slimers too) is that they think is it okay not to follow the basic rules of the field. They take off in the pits, they fly over pilot's heads and behind them and show total disregard for the safety and peace of mind of other pilots. It's a big problem - now, I realize that these little electrics are far less dangerous to a person than the larger glow airplanes. I realize they are made of foam and and don't weigh much but when you've got one cartwheeling to a landing and it cartwheel's right past the pilot box at the runway and your attention is on your airplane it is very disturbing. More often than not these electric fellows also just don't care what we glow pilots think about either - they don't understand and thus they don't care what we have to say on the subject. I welcome the electrics because I think they are quite neat - I have one myself and use it whenever I get the chance. When I take it to the field though I fly in the area designated for electrics (we give them their own runway and they don't use it!) and I stay away from the pilots on the flightline and the pits (as I would with any glow airplane I was flying).

Unfortunately because of the size of these planes the electric fellows at large think that the rules don't and shouldn't apply. The rules are for safety purposes and should be followed on principal alone. But also - to help the electric fellows understand that even with a spotter out at the flightline with me - he's typically watching the area around me for stray glow airplanes and full size, etc - NOT behind me where these rogue electrics are breaking the rules. I can't say how many times I've almost been hit by an electric out of control. I also have lost count how many times an electric fellow will just walk out onto the runway and set his plane down for an ROG without calling out his intentions. Because of the lack of danger in these little airplanes they fly they don't think of how dangerous the big ones are I guess (or they are simply idiots).

Frequency management is another subject entirely and much easier. While it is certainly great that an electric flier can fly as much as his batteries will allow - it is impolite to "sit" on a frequency when other people are on the same frequency. 15 minutes should be the norm with acceptance for someone who pushes it to 20. Being on a popular frequency at my field myself I deal with this every weekend. I know all the guys who are on the same channel as me and we are quite polite with eachother about it and make sure that we "take turns" and give eachother fair use of the channel. If you and your electric fellows can't manage that then you need a lesson in manners.

I support our electric fliers in our club and am one myself. There is no reason why you all can't get along - unless the park fliers don't want to follow the rules as laid out by the AMA and the club at large.

Minnflyer thought it was against the rules to change transmitter crystals?

Lonnie

The main problem with electrics at our field was the fact that people were doing 3D and flying slow sticks about like you usually would right in front of them on the flight line, while the power guys were trying to fly up high... I'm on both sides of the equasion and to the gas guys its something like haveing a cloud of mosquitos in your face. There were a few times I was tempted to make passes down the field with my big 1/3 scale spacewalker and see if I coudn't mulch one of those damn foamies.

What our club did was establish a small field off to the side where the electric guys can fly unbothered by gasa nd gas isnt bothered by them. The main problem people have with it is guys hovering back to their benches and setting down there Work great.

-Ian

We have a similar setup where the electrics designated area is on the left hand, behind the runway going perpendicular to it. The electric pilots don't seem to make a point of being mindful that one end of their runway butts up against the end of the gas runway and that end it typically the approach for the gas planes.

The pilot boxes are also right there on that end of the runway (another set at the other end of course but because of our wind direction we rarely stand on that side) so then they disregard those facts it is just like having a swarm of large flies around your head while you're trying to fly your own plane. While it might not damage me much to be hit by one of these electrics the chain reaction that could be caused is cause enough to follow the rules. If I loose sight of my aircraft because I was distracted by another plane (be it electric or gas) then that person who caused the distraction (accidental or not) will share some if not most of the blame for whatever my aircraft does once I am no longer controlling it.

At least that's how I see it.

This is two separate issues and they seem to be confused here.

First is the issue of the other field which you state is 3.5 miles from the club's field. According to the AMA 3 miles or more is considered adequate and there is no problem with people flying there. So they really don't effect your club and any talk of the need to make sure they have insurance is of no concern to your club and just sounds like people trying to assert control for the sake of their desire to be in control.

As for the way electric flyers feel when they come to your club's field, what has been done to make accomodations for the fastest growing segment of our hobby? As many have pointed out separate areas, runways and rules are being implemented around the country to take electrics into consideration.

One other point from your original post....what would be the harm in another electric only club forming at the other facility? It actually sounds like a good idea to have more than one flying site in town and if the electric site was organized it would probably reap benifits for the airport field as well.

what it sounds like to me is that the Club wants an exclusive on RC flying in that particular town. You abandoned the original site (probably because the city was going to build on it, a wise decision),another group started using it, and now want all flyers to come to you?
The other group is outside the range of damage, more than the 3 mile minimum the AMA requires between flying sites for Chartered Clubs without frequency sharing agreements. If you want to fly power at that site (with all those electric guys), you have to fit in with them, unless you still have an agreement with the city that you are responsible/in charge.
Sounds like som arrogance is floating around loose at that club...

Roger