Flying Site Case Study #32
Gale Enstad writes, "Dump Site Becomes Flying Field: The old adage, 'one man 's trash is another man's treasure' made a dream come true for the Bear Mountain Flyers of Bakersfield, California.
What was once an 80-acre buffer zone for a dumpsite has been turned into a premier RC flying field.
Negotiations with the Kern County Waste Management Department were surprisingly simple, yielding a five-year lease for $160 per year. The area is fenced, gated, and flat as a pancake. Set in the soilrich, southern San Joaquin Valley, the only neighbors for miles are grape vineyards and cotton and row crops.
After the original six members signed papers approved by the County Board of Supervisors, the club quickly grew to more than 30 members. They brought enthusiasm to the new field in the form of tractors to grade a landing strip, a felt underlayment (donated), and plastic mesh for a silkysmooth, 430-foot runway. A 40-foot sun shade was built, an electrician member discovered he could coax an old well into pumping water, and suddenly we had not only water for grass around the pits but power.
A club sign, frequency-control board, clock, tables, chairs, and a thermometer appeared- a questionable need in an area that can often reach 100° in the summer.
Another adage-if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't-did not apply to this group of RC modelers who fly everything from electric to .40-size trainers to Giant Scale at this new field. In short, they can't believe it after more than 20 years of searching for a decent place to fly.