[AlaskaRC] The Field

tom & shannon parsley tsr at gci.net
Mon May 11 01:21:34 AKDT 2009


yep 15 to 20 years later or not at all
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Marty Hall
  To: ARCS mailing list
  Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 5:44 PM
  Subject: Re: [AlaskaRC] The Field


  But as soon that bridge is built you guys will have a 15 minute drive to the flying site...... ;-)



  At 17:32 5/10/2009, you wrote:

    On Mon, 11 May 2009 10:23:21 +1200
    "Ira Hemphill" <twohedwlf at xtra.co.nz> wrote:

    > If you'll forgive an outsider for asking a few questions about things
    > I'm curious about that I'm not clear on.  I was discussing what I've
    > been reading with a member of our club's council on Sunday, yesterday.
    >
    > That field looks like it's an hour and a half or two hour drive
    > outside of Anchorage?  Am I correct in assuming that most members
    > would live in the Anchorage, Eagle River area?

    You are correct Ira, driving out to this new field is basically an all
    day affair for the majority of the club membership.  It's an irony of
    living in Alaska that although the state is positively VAST, very little
    of the land is suitable for R/C use due to ownership, regulation
    (particularly sound ordinances in the Mat-Su valley just north of
    Anchorage), or a combination of topology or vegetation.  Land in and
    around Anchorage has gotten valuable enough recently that it became
    economically viable to fill in a 200 foot deep gravel pit and build
    houses on it.

    > Is the strip at Elmendorf currently the only permanent field?  Back
    > when I visited what must have been a fun fly there 20 years it seemed
    > like a great field to me.  I should have gotten into it back then
    > isntead of waiting another 15 years and doing it in another country.

    Currently Elmendorf is our only permanent field, it's paved and quite
    nice for what it is.  However, the field and flying rules have changed
    quite a bit since you saw it 20 years ago.  The field is on an active
    military base and back then the general public could drop by the field
    simply by telling the gate sentries where they were headed.  Sadly that's
    no longer the case and the general public is basically prohibited from
    visiting the field.  The field is also basically right off the end of an
    active runway, so there is a 300 foot altitude restriction at the field.
    20 years ago when most folks were flying .40 or .60 size planes, that
    was less of an issue than it is today with 50 CC and up IMAC planes
    gaining popularity.

    The recent sound ordinance issues out in the Mat-Su valley have taught
    the R/C community up here a hard political lesson.  In order to gain
    flying fields, we need broad community support.  In order to gain broad
    community support we need to be visible as a positive and beneficial
    group within the community.  Unfortunately it's hard for us to be
    visible to the general public when sequestered away at the Elmendorf
    field - so it's kind of a chicken and the egg problem.  We've made good
    progress with the Parks and Recreation department, and they are willing
    to give us a letter of support as we approach other entities in the
    Anchorage and Eagle River areas requesting to use their facilities for
    R/C activities.

    Sorry for the long winded explanation, the upshot is my current first
    priority is getting the new field squared away from an insurance
    standpoint so people can fly there - spring is here and people are ready
    to break out the planes.  My second priority is getting the club website
    back to a functional state.  My third priority is pursuing a publicly
    accessible flying site closer in to Anchorage with as few restrictions
    as possible.

    > Here we have a field that has been leased continuously to our club
    > since 1937, that's only 10 minutes drive from me.  Another about 45
    > minute drive that's even better belongs to another club.

    Count yourself as fortunate!  Not only for having nearby fields, but
    also for living in a beautiful country with filled with friendly people
    :)  We took a wonderful two week tour through NZ in a rented camper van
    when my oldest daughter was around 2 years old.

    --
    Tom

    _____________________________________________________________________

           |  ,  |               Tom Simes - President
    ---------(@)---------        Alaska Radio Control Society
            --|--                AMA Chartered Club #1998
              '                  president at alaskarc.org
    _______________________________________________
    AlaskaRC mailing list
    AlaskaRC at lists.alaskarc.org
    http://lists.alaskarc.org/mailman/listinfo/alaskarc
  Marty Hall
  Fairbanks, Alaska
  mjhall at alaskarcs.com

  The United States Constitution (c)1791.  All Rights Reserved.



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