DIY Network

RC Parks: Cincinnati, Ohio From "Radio Control Hobbies" episode RCH-211

Guest Mark Feist, president of Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club.

In this episode of DIY Radio Control Hobbies, host Chris Chianelli takes the show on the road to visit three unique RC Parks. First stop -- Cincinnati, Ohio to the Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club. Then it's on to Muncie, Indiana--home of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). There, Chris shows the viewer some of the features of the AMA's site as well as the AMA Model Aviation Museum. Lastly we visit Sarasota, Florida, home of the Sarasota RC Squadron. This club took their case before the local county government and persuaded the city to pay for the construction of their new flying site.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E

Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club

In this first segment Chris goes to Cincinnati, Ohio to the Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club. After losing their lease at their former flying field, this club managed to work a deal out with a local utility company to use 20 acres of its land in exchange for maintaining the property. The club relocated their flying field and built a brand new facility.

According to Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club president Mark Feist, the organization has been around since the late 1950s. After 37 years at a previous location, the club lost the lease on their flying field. They put together a committee to find a new site. One such site was owned by a local utility company. The club struck a deal with the company, agreeing to maintain 20 acres of their land in exchange for its use as a flying field. The club members took it upon themselves to design and build the new facility (figures A, B and C).

The new field has 450-foot east-west paved runway (figure D) as well as a north-south grass runway for days when the wind shifts. The grass runway and flying area is the frequent site for combat-flying competitions. This field is one of the few in the country that is handicap-accessible.

The paved runway is the location where most of the flying action occurs at this park. All ages and skill levels participate in the flying at this park with a wide range of scale-model aircraft from various categories (figure E).

	Figure F
	Figure G
	Chris Chianelli joins radio-control airplane enthusiasts at the RC park in Cincinnati, Ohio for some competitive combat flying.

Chris visits with the Robinson family which boasts three generations of RC flyers -- grandfather Norm, father Derek and son Desmond (figure F). They're all experienced pilots and they fly a variety of planes. Their three scale P-51D Mustangs are among their favorites. Norm began flying model planes when he was only 5 years old, Derek has been flying for about 20 years, and Desmond has been flying for 2 years.

A second multi-generation RC family is that of president Mark Feist. Mark and his sons, Alex and Brian, and Mark's father Bob are all accomplished flyers. Mark has been flying for 23 years. Alex flew his first solo flight at age 4, and Brian (figure G) started flying at age 6.

RESOURCES :

Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA)
Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA)
Website: www.modelaircraft.org