I was flying at the park accross the street where I live, the park I fly at two or three times a week, when a Park Ranger approached me and said I couldn’t fly there. I thought he meant THERE: in the spot I was flying, because I had never flown there. So he then says “There are no RC planes allowed in the park.” I said “I fly here all the time and have seen clubs flying internal combustion planes here, too.” I was flying my HobbyZone Super Cub, a park flyer. He said NO RC PLANES at all allowed because of an incident that happened sometime in early May, 2009.
Apparently, a local RC club that had been allowed to fly at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah, the field we fly out of, has been banned from flying there and, with them, every RC plane. The story is that one of their members flew a nitro airplane into a tree and, instead of getting a ladder or using some reasonable method to retrieve the aircraft, cut the tree down with a chainsaw. Now no one can fly there.
That sucks since there are NO PUBLIC FIELDS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY. If pilots fuck things up for others like this, we won’t be able to fly anywhere but private club-owned fields.
Yeah it sucks.Just this morning I was ready to fly my nextar when the ranger told me that i could not fly there but i seen people flying before, anyways I did not even ask why load my plane and left the park. Now if the tree was the fricking problem why they just did ‘nt fine that person or the club for that matter.Not allowing anyone to fly there is just wrong,is there something we can do to change that ? It sucks that we cant fly in Miami Dade public parks. All responsable pilots should join to resolve this problem.
I think if a group of us show up to the park office and ask nicely, we can get the privileges back. It takes more than one voice. Join the conversation on RCGroups.com here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1058836
hello guys, im looking for a place to fly. i used to be a member of a private club, but due to problems with the new admin. i decided to walk away.
if u could let me know to wasapmaselli@hotmail.com
Andy, Markham Park in Sunrise has a lot of space and a paved runway. You just need your AMA license to fly there.
Or you could fly at the FIU parking lot in SW Miami. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12376428&postcount=25
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1058836
Also, what club did you belong to?
i fly my electric foamies at the beaches (lots of space up and down the entire coast), of course you never fly when there are people or too many people. as long as youre a good pilot with a reliable set-up on your plane it’s never a problem. if your flying is not good or looks threatening the lifeguards will ask you to stop.
obviously a bad pilot or a plane that is not up to date may also be a problem once you crash into the ocean.
i’ve flown in 40 mph winds at ft.lauderdale beach and 30 mph winds at south beach… during these conditions there are no people to worry about. personally i enjoy flying on windy days as much as non-windy days. i’ve also noticed very few people at the beach early in the morning or an hour or two before sunset, also good on cloudy days.
i also flew at Amelia Earheart a few weekends ago, the rangers never said anything but then again i only flew a couple flights.
bottom line is…. i live in Miami, and if this city wasnt so corrupt and filthy they would probably promote more fields for good honest people that just want to enjoy a nice healthy hobby. hopefully someday Miami will catch-up with the rest of the country.
Amen to that. There are NO designated fields in Miami-Dade and a handful of clubs (AMPS, Makos, and Osprey). We really need a place like Markham Airfield down here. At Tropical Park, maybe? I have been officially scared off from Amelia Earhart since the ranger was going to fine me. The beach is a little too windy 90% of the time for me. What do you fly? A Stryker?
Hey guys, now this is very interesting up to par, its basically a matter of knowing the right person in the Dade County, get a letter written and get it signed and petitioned for a Flying field here in the Dade County Area, i know for a fact Miami Dade is having some recreational areas as for parks and other places that we can try to get something for us and done right as for big planes, Heli’s, and Park Flyers, but we need to be heard guys perhaps statrt an asociation or group and make flyers and letters to be signed by R/C pilots
Hi Marvin, yeah, I thought about that before. I thought of a few things: 1: A group or club would be the best way to do this but then why not join an existing club like Vista View Flyers? 2: Everyone involved has to be a member of and abide by all rules and regulations of the AMA which I, personally oppose. 3: Amelia Earhart Park would be out of the question since it’s less than a mile from OPF runway 9R/27L. Other than that, I think it would be a great idea to establish a good relationship with Miami-Dade parks. Maybe we could get a space where we could fly electric-only models at low altitudes. Email me if you want to get the ball rolling on this. I’m in.