RC model airplane at Airport

brien23

brien23

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Does anyone know of RC model airplanes flying at a local Airport. If so how does it work out, any problems or do they exist and get along with the big planes?
 
I've seen it at a few...but they've been very quiet airstrips. In one case the real airplane does a fly-over straight down the runway at pattern altitude and the RC boys know to land.

Seemed to work pretty well there.
 
5N8 Casselton,ND. The model plane folks used to have their groomed grass runway and a little house just offset from the regular runway. I never noticed any problems, the field isn't that busy and they just landed when there was 'full scale' traffic. They disappeared at some point, not sure why or when.
 
When I was in the south there was a small grass airport that had that arrangement, they land if any planes got close, as I recall they also had a hand held radio on all the time.
 
brien23 said:
Does anyone know of RC model airplanes flying at a local Airport. If so how does it work out, any problems or do they exist and get along with the big planes?
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Some yahoo was flying one right of the takeoff end of Santa Paula (KSZP) one day right as I was taking off. My mechanic is based in Santa Paula (one of three recognized Bellanca experts in the nation), and I was flying back to KSJC after my plane’s annual. The RC model was one of those big, gas powered things. It was clear that the pilot wasn’t paying any attention at all to the airport traffic, and I had to take evasive action. The thing flew right over the end of the runway as I was lifting off. It was manuvering acrobaticly, and I had no way of predicting what it was going to do. Scary. Evidently that is a somewhat common occurance down there. Seems to be a bit of an anything goes attitude down there.

Now, I’m all in favor of people enjoying their hobby, and I used to be into RC planes myself, but RC models should not be flying around or at an active airport without a lot more care and consideration. Hitting that thing would have caused me a real problem.

[Edit]And, no, I wasn’t aware of the RC plane prior to taking off. It pretty much came out of nowhere. Not a pleasant surprise.


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Any airport that has accepted Federal money can find themselves in violation of their grant assurances for allowing RC flights on the airport. Just saying...
 
St Francis, KS has/had RC on the airport. My impression of the RC guys was not particularly good. It seemed like I was invading their territory. I never stopped there for lunch again...
 
KSZP is my home drone, and yes, those RC planes have spooked me a couple of times. I haven't seen them in a year or so, but the first time I encountered them I was on the ground, and out of the corner of my eye caught movement, and turned just in time to see for a split second a high wing plane inverted and dive behind the hangers. I swear I just witnessed a crash. A few seconds later, it flew back up doing acro. I also don't see how this is the a safe practice, but luckaly as mentioned, I havent seen anyone flying them in a while.

jimhorner said:
Some yahoo was flying one right of the takeoff end of Santa Paula (KSZP) one day right as I was taking off. My mechanic is based in Santa Paula (one of three recognized Bellanca experts in the nation), and I was flying back to KSJC after my plane’s annual. The RC model was one of those big, gas powered things. It was clear that the pilot wasn’t paying any attention at all to the airport traffic, and I had to take evasive action. The thing flew right over the end of the runway as I was lifting off. It was manuvering acrobaticly, and I had no way of predicting what it was going to do. Scary. Evidently that is a somewhat common occurance down there. Seems to be a bit of an anything goes attitude down there.



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Click to expand...
 
I guess I have been out of it for awhile, but I had no idea RC airplanes were so large (video). A collision with that small airplane makes the drone problem seem like not so much of a problem.

Looks like alot of fun at the right place. Those planes really need a "RC airport".
 
G-force said:
KSZP is my home drone, and yes, those RC planes have spooked me a couple of times. I haven't seen them in a year or so, but the first time I encountered them I was on the ground, and out of the corner of my eye caught movement, and turned just in time to see for a split second a high wing plane inverted and dive behind the hangers. I swear I just witnessed a crash. A few seconds later, it flew back up doing acro. I also don't see how this is the a safe practice, but luckaly as mentioned, I havent seen anyone flying them in a while.
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Well, if you do ever see them again, I hope you call the cops on them. What they are doing is dangerous and unsafe.

BTW, I see that the airport president and her buddies still have their private little aerobatic box which is right over the runway. Still gotta wonder if some money changed hands to get that approved. They want their own private little airshow setup, but that box sure is close to the city. I could easily see that if a plane doing acro got into trouble while pointed towards the city, it could easily end up hitting downtown. Not to mention having this thing right above the traffic pattern.

!HHR 08/018 SZP AIRSPACE AEROBATIC ACFT WI AN AREA DEFINED AS FIM253008.3 TO FIM245007.8 TO FIM242008.9 TO FIM246009.6 TO POINT OF ORIGIN 1500FT-3500FT AGL AVOIDANCE ADZ DLY SR-SS 1708081311-2002210152

And now it looks like maybe the RC guys have maybe moved to less than a mile off of the approach end of rnw 22? I used to fly RC. Not sure how they guarantee they will stay below 400 AGL.

HHR 02/078 SZP AIRSPACE UAS WI AN AREA DEFINED AS .6NM RADIUS OF FIM257007.5 (1.6NM NE SZP) SFC-400FT AGL DLY 2330-0130 1802272330-1805010130

I’v shown the two areas in relation to the airport below.

1e2791f794cb144cadda8f60ac92e03f.jpg



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Stephen Shore said:
I guess I have been out of it for awhile, but I had no idea RC airplanes were so large (video). A collision with that small airplane makes the drone problem seem like not so much of a problem.

Looks like alot of fun at the right place. Those planes really need a "RC airport".
Click to expand...


 
SixPapaCharlie said:
New Biggest RC Airplane in the world...
Click to expand...

I think this guy might have something to say about their claim to “world’s largest RC airplane”

We won’t even bring up Project Aphrodite.

fa0d28d27721cae1b26511988ebae9c3.jpg



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There used to be a big RC jet event every year at ONZ - they would use 17/35 and the 1:1 scale aircraft used 04/22. They had some pretty cool hardware.
 
Plumb Island (2B2) in Massachusetts does host some R/C folks as far as I know, they have a large event at least once a year during the summer, friend of mine went before says they monitor CTAF for any traffic, and I want to say they may even close the field for a few hours.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Any airport that has accepted Federal money can find themselves in violation of their grant assurances for allowing RC flights on the airport. Just saying...
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In that case it's not a RC, it's a drone.
 
I fly RC planes at my home field. Nothing against FAA, local regs or AMA code. You just can’t mix RC and manned in the same traffic pattern. Must give way to manned aircraft as well.

Just takes a little common sense. I notify the airport manager, have a handheld up CTAF, don’t overfly hangars, other aircraft or people. Simple.

Where things get gray are people who aren’t pilots or passengers and going out in the ramp to fly RC planes. A lot of fields have the standard TSA statement restricting those other than pilots and pax from the ramp. Since I’m a pilot with aircraft based on the field and pay for hangar and fuel, they don’t give me any crap.
 
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I'm indifferent yet see no issue with people having a cool hobby and enjoying themselves. My question is why on earth is it necessary for them to be anywhere near an airport to do this hobby? These RC planes take very little "runway". In most regions it shouldn't be that hard to find an accommodating area that doesn't overlap any practical normal aviation airspace.
 
brien23 said:
Does anyone know of RC model airplanes flying at a local Airport. If so how does it work out, any problems or do they exist and get along with the big planes?
Click to expand...

Over a decade ago friends would ocassionally operate off a medium sized airport that had (daily?) airline service by a lone SAAB 340. They would fly off the ramp in front of a hangar after all the planes were put away, kept tight formation well away from runways stayed low etc but...
 
arkvet said:
I'm indifferent yet see no issue with people having a cool hobby and enjoying themselves. My question is why on earth is it necessary for them to be anywhere near an airport to do this hobby? These RC planes take very little "runway". In most regions it shouldn't be that hard to find an accommodating area that doesn't overlap any practical normal aviation airspace.
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I agree, but it does happen. The RC field in Norfolk Nebraska is pretty close to the airport and golf course.
 
Some posts in this thread seems to be the old white guy pilots' version of...

Hey kids, get off of my f'ing lawn!

This place is so entertaining sometimes.
 
I know Ankeny, Iowa used to have a huge RC warbird show every year but I'm sure the airport was notemed closed. It was very impressive including a full air to air and air to ground battle including a battleship in a pond and full explosions.
 
The big RC show at Triple Tree closes it to manned aircraft.

We let people fly at our airport as long as everybody plays nice.
 
timwinters said:
Some posts in this thread seems to be the old white guy pilots' version of...

Hey kids, get off of my f'ing lawn!

This place is so entertaining sometimes.
Click to expand...

Tim, I have to assume that my post is one of the one's you're referring to considering I ask the question of why they need to be at the airport. I can assure you my position is nothing like you suggest. It's a simple question. Why do these RC planes need to be flown from or very near an airport? Take a step back and consider why we have airports in the first place. From big to small, airports exist to provide a safe environment for aircraft to land and takeoff. Other than sharing some aesthetic qualities do these RC planes have any need to utilize an airport environment? In many, if not most, cases I think the answer is no.

The entire issue is safety and has nothing to do with "get off my lawn". Maybe my viewpoint is skewed a little by living in rural America where row crops are plentiful. Someone suggesting the airport was the only place they had to fly their RC plane would be laughable.
 
arkvet said:
Tim, I have to assume that my post is one of the one's you're referring to considering I ask the question of why they need to be at the airport. I can assure you my position is nothing like you suggest. It's a simple question. Why do these RC planes need to be flown from or very near an airport? Take a step back and consider why we have airports in the first place. From big to small, airports exist to provide a safe environment for aircraft to land and takeoff. Other than sharing some aesthetic qualities do these RC planes have any need to utilize an airport environment? In many, if not most, cases I think the answer is no.

The entire issue is safety and has nothing to do with "get off my lawn". Maybe my viewpoint is skewed a little by living in rural America where row crops are plentiful. Someone suggesting the airport was the only place they had to fly their RC plane would be laughable.
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They don’t need to fly in a neighborhood. They don’t need to fly at a park. They don’t need to fly anywhere for that matter.

I fly them at the airport because I want an open area to prevent being a hazard to persons or property. If I had a huge open area of land or an RC field that were closer, then I’d fly them there.

It’s only a safety issue when those that fly them don’t use common sense or abide by AMA safety guidelines. No different than operating a manned aircraft in that respect.
 
arkvet said:
Why do these RC planes need to be flown from or very near an airport?
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Look at it from the other side. The airport in my hometown (6mo2) in Ste. Genevieve, MO is owned by the local RC club. They also (impeccably) maintain a 1600' grass runway and allow real planes to come in, land and visit the town.

Why wouldn't we return the favor at relatively slow rural airfields when it's safe to do so? Yes, it takes proper controls and communication but, if handled correctly, the addl risk should and can be minimized. Airports provide nice flat open areas for them and us.

At numerous airports across the country, we share with gyros, ultralights, powered parachutes, skydivers, etc. I don't see much difference and, in fact, I see RC'ers as less of a risk than some of these other pursuits.

Of course, some GA pilots, if they had their druthers, would drive off all the rest of that aforementioned list as well.
 
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timwinters said:
Look at it from the other side. The airport in my hometown (6mo2) in Ste. Genevieve, MO is owned by the local RC club. They also (impeccably) maintain a 1600' grass runway and allow real planes to come in, land and visit the town.

Why wouldn't we return the favor at relatively slow rural airfields when it's safe to do so? Yes, it takes proper controls and communication but, if handled correctly, the addl risk should and can be minimized. Airports provide nice flat open areas for them and us.

We share with gyros, ultralights, powered parachutes, skydivers, etc. I don't see much difference and, in fact, I see RC'ers as less of a risk than some of these other pursuits.

Of course, some GA pilots, if they had their druthers, would drive off all the rest of that aforementioned list as well.
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Thanks Tim. You answered my question completely. We simply don’t have an RC group in the community that I’m aware of so I’m not familiar with etiquette in that dept. If there’s an arrangement that works well for everyone then that’s great.
 
I flew out to Desert Center airport (between Palm Springs and Blythe, near the I-10) to watch a friend race at Chuckwalla racetrack. "Airport" is too strong a word...It's an old ex-military strip that the track purchased. I phoned ahead of time for permission to land.

So, I arrive at the field and set up on a nice leisurely right downwind. I turn base, then final, when I see some complete asshat standing on the approach numbers flying his rc plane!! I go around, set up for approach again, and he's still there, flying his rc plane! Third time's a charm....he finally landed, and he and his buddy got into his truck and high-tailed it out of there before I could land, back-taxi and get his name to report him to the AMA.

Done venting. I have no problem at all with people flying rc planes on this little-used crumbling runway, but the little planes have got to yield to the 1:1 scale versions.
 
Lakeland Linder airport (Home of Sun-n-fun) has a huge RC jet show every year.
FTE_FL_Jets_2018_ad_USA.jpg
 
arkvet said:
. Why do these RC planes need to be flown from or very near an airport? Take a step back and consider why we have airports in the first place. From big to small, airports exist to provide a safe environment for aircraft to land and takeoff. Other than sharing some aesthetic qualities do these RC planes have any need to utilize an airport environment? In many, if not most, cases I think the answer is no.

The entire issue is safety and has nothing to do with "get off my lawn". Maybe my viewpoint is skewed a little by living in rural America where row crops are plentiful. Someone suggesting the airport was the only place they had to fly their RC plane would be laughable.
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I used to fly RC around the rolling hills of Pgh PA. Flying sites were few and precious. I belonged to a large club with a private hardtop field. We had to move it 3 times over 20 years for various reasons (eg noise). When I moved to NJ for full scale soaring and airplane flying, the closing of an airport/month felt familiar. Same issues were in play.

Regarding recreational aviation, if on one keeps an open mind, one may see little difference between the two that would suggest one should be prioritized over the other. But mixing them together is generally not a good idea for safety reasons. Model flying is 99% local with pilots and crews on or near runway areas. Manned aircraft are often transient but precious bodies are in each aircraft. A soaring operation and a power plane operation sharing an airport often have the same issues as models and full scale planes sharing an airport except the the model guys are generally not as trained and disciplined... and that’s not a trivial difference.

Triple Tree is one of those rare places where models and people carriers share facilities but usually not at the same time. I once arranged to fly my Maule in there to attend a model meet and had to jump a few hoops to meet their requirements for safety and separation. But landing on their putting green quality model field was a sweet experience (they’ve since added a lot of regular grass runway). TT is a special place.



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It’s not about lives lost in hitting an RC (UAS) aircraft it’s about damage to the aircraft. Odds of an RC causing a fatality is slim but I don’t want one taking a chunk out of my wing either.

People always use the bird analogy but that’s absurd. I accept the fact that birds exist and they have free reign in their area. I can’t control them or enforce policy on them. What I don’t accept is someone operating a toy in a haphazard way that could cause me $$$ in the event of a collision. I wouldn’t expect an RC buggy to drive into my tire on my neighborhood street, I shouldn’t have to dodge an RC at my local airport either.
 
I’ve been involved in RC for close to 40 years. My models started getting bigger and bigger, as well as more costly to the point where I decided to build a “model” I could get into and fly, thus my RV6A and now building a Hatz Classic

My club sponsored several fly ins for RC at a small local airport and never had any issue with conflicts with full size airplanes. There is another airport just south of my home drome that has an annual open house where RC planes are flown during the event while full size are coming and going. Again, no problems.

These are examples of an event being held, where RC pilots get briefed on proper procedure.

Where trouble can rear it’s head is if RC pilots utilize an airport for their day to day flying. Our club leased a 40 acre field that had a residential area toward one boundary. Rules were posted stating that no over flights of that area were permitted. Even so, we received complaints from neighbors of pilots disregarding that rule, either intentionally or due to inexperience or possibly equipment failure. No matter what you do, there will always be one or two dingbats that jeopardize the ability for others to enjoy their hobby.

Also, S..t happens. At one of our club events involving giant scale, for whatever reason an attendee was having control issues with a 1/4 scale gas powered P51 and poked a hole in the side of a hangar.

Properly done, RC and full size can coexist. It’s the intangebles that can sometimes mess things up. Just like with any other activity.
 
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