Model Aviation Online - Modeling Spoken Here (December 2006)

There is less land available and
many are competing for its use.

No matter what type of models you enjoy flying, the first need you have to fulfill is someplace at which to fly them. This is fundamental. Without a field, circle, or strip we cannot effectively practice and enjoy our hobby/sport.

     Belonging to a club that already has a field is usually the solution to the preceding problem. Many clubs have fields with long-term leases or situations that ensure their stability in the long haul.

     Many other clubs are facing the loss of their fields and are in the process of looking for new ones. Still others have already lost their fields and are disbanding because the club cannot sustain itself without a field on which to fly.

     This is not a new problem by a long shot, but the solutions have become more difficult to find because of the ever-diminishing amount of available land. Certainly some of the new and quieter forms of propulsion have opened a few new fields that were not options for the noisier modeling disciplines, but really the problem is across the board: there is less land available and many are competing for its use.

     This issue contains an article outlining one of the first success stories stemming from the EPA-AMA Partnership Superfund Program, which is the brainchild of AMA Flying Site Assistant Coordinator Joe Beshar. Joe sought potential flying sites through governmental involvement. He envisioned a partnership for the use of idle properties and began searching for advice from various governmental agencies about how to make this happen.

     This search led Joe to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington DC and to the attention of the director of that agency: Michael Cook. Joe visited Washington and convinced Mr. Cook of the value of model aviation in recycling idle Superfund sites.

     Melissa Friedland, the National Manager for Superfund Development, was asked to establish and direct a program to utilize the aforementioned idle properties, coordinating and communicating with Joe. The procedure that was established is as follows:

     1) Visit the EPA Web site at www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/index.htm.   In the menu on the left, click on "Locate NPL Sites," click "Construction Completions at National Priorities List (NPL) Sites—by State," and then click your state.

     2) Choose a site of interest. Write down its CERCLIS ID number. Visit and inspect the site to make sure it is suitable for a flying field.

     3) If you want to pursue the Superfund site as a possible flying field, E-mail Joe Beshar at joebeshar@juno.com or contact him via mail at 198 Merritt Dr., Oradell NJ 07649, and include the site ID number from the EPA Web site; the Superfund site's state and city location; and your club's name and contact person's name, phone number, and address. You can also contact Joe by telephone at (201) 261-1281.

     4) Joe will follow up with the EPA for possible acceptance.

     Does this process really work? Turn to page 55 and read the story by Jeff Welliver about the Minneapolis Piston Poppers' experiences in obtaining a new field. Jeff had been reading about this new program in the pages of MA, and with his club's blessing he contacted Joe and began to follow the preceding procedure.

     The message here is clear: unless your club takes the initiative by going to the EPA Web site and doing the initial search, this process won't work. But if you do follow the procedure, the chances are very good that the EPA and AMA can help in ways that were not options for us before.

     Joe wanted me to be sure to pass on his personal thanks to Jeff Welliver for not only getting involved with the EPA-AMA Partnership Superfund Program process, but also for writing about his club's success story so that all of us can see that it really works.

     I would like to personally acknowledge the work that Joe Beshar has done, first in coming up with a great idea and then having the fortitude to follow through by doing the significant legwork of finding the proper governmental agency to work with and establishing a workable procedure. We all owe him thanks for his work on our behalf.

We are well aware of the fact that the Internet is fast becoming the resource of choice for those who have adapted keystroking and mouse hunting into their daily routine. So you don't forget how valuable AMA is as a resource for information, a new feature has been added to MA to cite popular articles that are currently available from us. (Check out page 58.) "Click On!" will highlight new articles and some older ones, jam-packed with current and valuable information, that you may have never seen or perhaps forgotten about.

     MA's Sport Aviator online magazine has seen rapid growth in popularity since it first went online, so most of the highlighted articles will direct you to that Web site. We'll update the listing monthly, so put it on your list to see what we've been saving for you to click on next.

The special interest of RC Scale Aerobatics is known as one of the most awe-inspiring aeromodeling categories. The presence of these aircraft at events, whether at a fun-fly or competition, always draws a crowd. They represent one of the highest forms of technology in the hobby today, and the pilots who fly them continue to push these models' limits further each year.

     This month we bid a fond farewell to Mike Hurley as MA's RC Scale Aerobatics columnist. His contributions brought a bright light to an interest that was fast booming.

     The inspiring insight Mike brought to the hobby is, I'm sure, one of the reasons for its current popularity. He will continue with his flying activities, but now he has taken up restoring old motorcycles as an additional hobby, so column writing will have to take a backseat for a while.

     In the past several flying seasons, Jason Noll has become a force to reckon with in the competition arena, flying almost anything RC that has aerobatic potential. His diligence and skill in the hobby has earned him the well-deserved respect among his fellow competitors, and his professionalism keeps him on the "must-call list" of the popular manufacturers in the hobby business.

     To say that Jason is active in the hobby would be a huge understatement. As this is being written, he is basking in the glow of his second-place finish at the Don Lowe Masters Championships; he was just 0.8 point out of first place, which was captured by Quique Somenzini. That should give you a hint about Jason's skill.

     You might ask yourself what it takes to become a pilot at that skill level. Check out the RC Scale Aerobatics column on page 148 and find out. I'm sure he'll have more tips for us as he continues his bimonthly column.

When I'm not out at my local flying field I can be reached via E-mail at robinhunt@rcn.com or at (610) 614-1747. If snail mail is still your thing, send correspondence to me at Box 68, Stockertown PA 18083. MA