Where do you fly ? Running out of options here in South Eastern New England

[jerryn]

Hi,
I have been very fotunate to fly out of Colt State Park in Bristol, RI. Two weeks ago there were environmental police monitoring clam digging. I asked them if there was an area I could fly in the Park. They asked "You are not going to do anything annoying are you?" I said no.. just fly over water, around the coastline, away from people. So the answer I got was the field near the estuary.. early in the morning. I've been flying there.. early in the morning, and I've posted videos. Today I was there, this time I brought my wife and dog. I brought three fully charged batteries and planned on flying from the field over to Prudence Island, and back. 6 minutes into my warmup flight around the estuary somone in a RI State Park grounds keeping uniform came up to me and said I couldn't fly in the park, no drones alowed. I mentioned that the Environmental Police gave me the ok, he claimed they are not aware of all the rules, just fish and game. So.. I packed up the 3DR Solo and hung around the park with the Mrs. and my dog for the morning. I'll post the flight video soon.

I'm going to renew my AMA membership and find a local club to join..

I could launch out of my yard..I have about 1/2 acre cleared that's open, but my property abuts woodlands.
I will have a 100ft x 60ft opening for a landing.

I wanted to shoot video of sharks but the area near Monomoy Island where I would launch was full of tourists, there's usually nobody around. Weather was perfect, so there were too many tourists in Chatham, MA.
I'm an awesome r/c pilot but I wasn't going to take a chance with over 60 people walking along the sandbar... some even had beach chairs and umbrellas set up on the sandbar.

I was wondering how many of you are AMA members and has it helped you gain access to r/c airfields.

 

[Maxheadspace]

I wanted to shoot video of sharks but the area near Monomoy Island where I would launch was full of tourists, there's usually nobody around. Weather was perfect, so there were too many tourists in Chatham, MA.
I'm an awesome r/c pilot but I wasn't going to take a chance with over 60 people walking along the sandbar... some even had beach chairs and umbrellas set up on the sandbar.

I was wondering how many of you are AMA members and has it helped you gain access to r/c airfields.

If you're looking for scenic vistas to get great photos and videos, you probably won't find it in the r/c club fields. The club field near me is just, well, an open field. They have great events and such, but for photography not much to offer.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

I'm a AMA member and joined my local RC club, but I also fly RC planes. I've been flying in my neighborhood but I'd like to start flying bigger and faster planes so that just won't work.

 

[KDan]

Funny, things have gone the opposite way for me. I was an AMA member for over 20 years and a member of three different RC clubs that each were quite active at one time, and then they slowly died. It's gotten very difficult to get young people interested in traditional RC modelling and flying these days. Retaining an agreement to rent or lease property for an RC field has been a problem also. In two cases our clubs were booted off of fields that we developed. One was strip mined, and the other had a cell phone tower built right in the middle of it.
I've sort of given up on RC clubs. My large gasser planes and Heli's are collecting dust these days. I occasionally fly some of my smaller electric planes, but multi-copters - drones - are what I fly most these days. No runway needed and very little noise to attract unwanted attention.
It might seem hard to find a location to fly you Solo, but I can tell you that for me it's been even harder to find a place to fly the really big and fun stuff.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

I'm very fortunate, the local RC field is on some State park property. We have to maintain the property but I don't think we have to pay much if any rent.
The club is more active than I thought. Went out there one Sat morning and before I could unpack my truck two more vehicles showed up. By the time I left there were at least 7 vehicles and two had large trailers with TONS of RC goodies. Very talented and helpful group too.

 

[User Name]

I feel your pain. Near me, one park after another has enacted bans on any RC aircraft. My Solo has been apart waiting for me to have the time to swap the motors for T-Motors, but honestly, it's not a priority because I have so few scenic areas to fly now.

It's really a shame how much hysteria was generated over it, prompting blanket rules like this.

 

[jerryn]

I was able to join a local club. They have a huge air field! They lease land from a farm out in South Darmouth. It's an awesome field with a clear shot to the ocean.
I'm posting my Tower Mission Plan for the field today! Check out Tower.. it's a pretty cool app!