If this was suggested before, I missed it, so.....

Why don't we have a forum topic which is exclusively for fields.  I have to hunt all over the place to find the latest on what is happening with the Kirkland deal and also the most current information about what fields can or are being used and if there are any limiting rules or regs.  Also, it would be very nice to have the topic set so any permanent field info always stays at the top of the listing and any drop in or semi-permanent info is secondary.

Lon, I know you have done a great job doing all the foot work on the Kirkland deal and I am sure we all appreciate it.  If you need any help with any of this, send me a note,

Thanks,

Lee

Thanks Lee.

This is a great idea and just what the site was designed to handle.  Its not only about our club but ALL related events and places to in the northwest here.  Were all about getting the averge guy more flight time and help needed to maintain there planes and heli's.

Lets get this post going and update local fields RC is permited in and around the area.  While I do send out field closure notices for 60 Acres when its rented thers no reason others cant be included in these emails

1: 60 Acres in Redmond will be closed to flying June 1st to October 31st.  Now that doesnt mean you cant fly at this great site but per our agreement means we MUST be off the field by 3:30 PM each weekday with NO and as in ZERO flying each weekend.

60 Acres will always be our home winter field no matter what comes of talks on a new field.

Lets not only create a section for fields, but lets consider having a posting of a weekly fly-in at various fields up north here when we loose 60 acres in a couple of days so our group can have more structured flying with each other.

I know Lon is working hard on getting the new field secured, but we may not be able to fly there until late June / early July, especially since King Co wants to grade and reseed the new proposed site for us. 

Until then .... we have such a great group of people, we should try to continue to keep a strong electric flying community by setting up weekly "fly in's" at various fields like Marymoore, Monroe, etc. 

Lon could contact various fields/clubs for us as our club representative and set up weekly fly-ins on a evening weekday and/or weekend day until our field is ready to go and post it here on our website ....

Comments?  We loose 60 acres after this weekend, and it looks like Sunday is our last day with good weather to fly there.

Field trip fly ins sounds like a great idea! I really enjoy flying with this group. You meet the nicest people,

FYI, I was waaay down South yesterday and checked out the field at Flaming Geyser State Park. No one was there but it looks really nice with a full setup of facilities. There are some restrictions such as AMA card, solo pilot sticker (after checkout flight and rules test), etc.

Here is the link:

http://www.flaminggeyserflyers.com/about.asp

I am going to try to fly there next Saturday if my schedule permits. Is anyone else interested? If so I will try to arrange for solo pilot sticker assistance for all of us.

And of course anyone that is a full AMA member is always welcome at Marymoor on the public days, and on member only days can be my guest if im there. Which would be Sundays. I dont fly during the week, unless it's close to home here in Shoreline.

Saturdays are public flying days, so come on out. We will be going to member only soon, but that wont be until September 1st. However as I said you do have to have a full open AMA membership to fly.

I'll be there this Sunday for sure, I got a new big Tiger Moth nearly ready and should be ready by Sunday I hope. Saturday is kinda if'y weather wise, so may not be there Saturday and stay home to work on the Tiggy. Lottsa little stuff to wrap up)

There are a couple places over here that I go from time to time, and they appear on the map here. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=116003613266851856717.00045c7827ffc103bffbb&z=11

The one I use mostly is at Meridian Park next to Shoreline Children's Learning Center. I met Rick Jay there when I first moved up here.

Didn't know Marymore requied full AMA.  Wonder why Parkflyer isn't ok as long as you are within the guidelines?

Meridian Park - just east of I5, 175th exit is really a pretty good place to fly.  Biggest/best in the north end that I've found.  Full football field/track with a second equal size field parallel to it.  Off one end is a baseball diamond and parking lot.  Plenty big for most anything except the really fast stuff.  Some sports team use but pretty quiet on weekends, especially in summer.

RdJay

It really has to do with two things, one is that this is the requirement according to the agreement between MARC and King County, and that the PPP program simply doesn't carry enough insurance to fit in with that agreement.

Two, is that we have a very mixed bag of aircraft types flying at Marymoor, as there are gas, glow, and electrics. All types are fully welcome with the only exception being turbine powered planes. The simplest and best way to be fair to everyone concerned is to have everyone with the same coverage. And also for these reasons, its quite conceiveable that someone who has only ever flown parkflyer types, may at some point have the glow or gas bug bite them, and may go out and get one and attempt to fly it there and wouldn't be covered in the event of an accident, One can see how that would create a problem, and it's one that the club doesn't want.

So it is only right to have everyone under the same roof so to speak, and avoid this possible scenario.

Last time I looked, the PPP membership had the same level of insurance coverage as full AMA for the club/property owner.  The only differences were in the personal liability and personal property protection coverages.  When did this change (if it did)?  Why is this a concern with the county/club if they have the same level of coverage?  The personal liability/propery coverages are only of concern to the individual.  I believe the county was not even aware of the Parkflyer class of aircraft until Lon met with them about the new site.  And I seriously doubt the agreement the Marymoor club has with the county was ever looked at with Parkflyers in mind.

I don't buy the part about fear of a Parkflyer member suddenly showing up with something outside that class and causing an accident for which they might not be insured.  I've stopped by just to watch at that site a number of times.  There is no access control and many times no one there to monitor if a flyer has any kind of AMA Card.  Anyone could show up and fly at those times with no AMA insurance of any kind.  Why does that not concern the club/county?  Maybe that would be considered trespassing and alleviate the club/county from any exposure... don't know?

I see the exclusion of Parkflyers at clubs as a way of saying they aren't welcome and a way to generate more income for the AMA.

WOW - great dialog and information guys!  Thank you!

Victor and I (Chet) are tentitively planning on checking out the Monroe club on Monday, but if we cannot fly at 60 acres on Sunday, I know of a few within the club that I can contact to meet up with you, Sabrehawk, and would enjoy having a sub (electric) group at Marymoore (sorry for the spelling).

Can you provide specifics on directions to the field once at the park area, and general field eticate there?

I can be contacted via email at my work email at: cmcbroom@4refuel.com

I believe directions to the park can be found at Marymoor's website, and the club field is located in the southeast corner. There is information on all this at MARC's website as well as links to Marymoor Park's site as well. And all pertinent information can be found there about club/field rules and usage schedule. But also as I said, the club will be going to a club member flight only status in September. But at this point in time, the public and member only usage schedule is still in effect so I dont see any reason why those with open AMA membership shouldnt come by for some good flying while our dedicated leader Lon and his staff works to secure NWEF a summer home for which I applaude him and the staff for this effort. I have every bit of confidence in them, and thank them for it immensely. GO NWEF!!

http://www.mar-c.org/

But it's easy access off of 520, just get off at west lake samamish pkwy, and head south on that to the entrance on the left, it'll be the first light you come to after getting onto the pkwy. And then just follow the main road through the park till you see the field on the south side of the road. Ya cant miss it. There have been as I have seen, many many more electric flyers there in recent times, and a lot of folks fly both glow and electric. Im staying all electric myself, but I flew glow back in the 80's when I first got into R/C, and heh, I still have one of my old engines. An O.S. FS 20, a cute little four stroker.

But as of late my electrics have been getting bigger and bigger, and clearly are outside the parkflyer class being at 4lbs, my latest endeavour being a 50" Tiger Moth, and even the one before that Eflite's PT-17 also at 4lbs. So for me it's got to be full open AMA membership just as I always have had. Besides I like my options open to all aspects, and all clubs as I visit others as well, and have been a member at two others in the Seattle area in the past and have friends there too.

I should also add that MARC accepts the AMA youth membership as well. More information on that at the website.

Thanks for the info SabreHawk

Oh and maybe one other thing, I can probably sponsor one or two geusts but not a crowd im sure. However I think there are a few other NWEF members who fly there as well, and are members. At least two I know of. Zach, and Chris Hartsell.

This is the Monroe club: http://www.barnyard-buzzards.com/

 We should all set a fly-in date/time and check it out. It sounds like a good place to fly wile we wate for our field.

I'm down for anything. You and Chet going to Monroe on Monday? Count me in.

For those MARC pilots registered on here I just had some quick questions. I was browsing MARC's website, and came across this in the rules. Just curious if someone could clarify the rule.

"9.  Do NOT perform low level aerobatics, hovering maneuvers, or high-speed low passes over the runway when more than one flyer is on the flight line."

Does this mean that 3D flying is frowned upon? Or simply 3D flying over the runway? Is there a 3D flying station on another part of the flying line? I know quite a few 3D pilots find it easier to hover right in front of them. Also wondering about the flying pattern rule:

"8.  Follow the established traffic pattern. Take off and land left to right, unless prevailing winds are from the left."

Does this mean one can only fly in the designated flight pattern, and not fly alternating directions over the field? Or is this simply for landing/taking off?

I'm sure this is not the case, but I think there have been some negative undertones in regards to aerobatic/3D flying at MARC's field, and would rather squash the rumors as I'm guessing MARC supports all style of flying, and simply wants to have well established rules to help ensure they keep flying at their location! Figured best to just ask directly and get some clarification. Thanks, the field is a great location as I'm just a few minutes away up 520.

Thanks!

Well lets see, #9 is simple and is more about the safety and consideration of other pilots who are on the flightline.  You can imagine how distacting it can be to have a plane screaming down over the RWY while you are simply flying upstairs doing your thing. Same for hovering and 3D maneuvering over the RWY, you are smack in the middle of the landing pattern, and close to other pilots who might be distracted by it. Plus if you have a dumb thumb you are far too close to people other than yourself, and it endangers them to a mishap.  However note it says only if there are more than one pilot flying. So if you are out there alone, feel free to be as wild as you please. But if not, then take it upstairs or out away from the RWY out of respect for the others flying with you out there.

As for #8, this has to do with the takeoff/landing pattern and keeping it safe and predictable. It doesn't mean you cant fly in other directions upstairs and out of the landing pattern. But it's a good idea to keep it basic to this pattern, though one can vary that, it's not like you have to fly a perfect rectangle at all times and altitudes. For instance it's not a good idea to fly straight in towards the RWY from the south towards the flightline and pits. What if something went wrong, and you lost control and the plane kept going in that direction out of control? Yes, whap right into the flightline, or worse, into the pit area. Anytime your flightpath is heading towards people, there is a high probability for disater and harm to someone if things go wrong. But this doesn't mean you cant do figure eights, or criss cross at angles as long as you keep to the south of the flightline, and not violating rule #9. But the higher you are flying the more variable you can be without endangering others.

It's just all about safety, and respect and courtesy for others and their safety & enjoyment of the hobby and the field as well as your own.

Again though, as long as you are the only pilot flying, you can do whatever you wish as long as you stay south of the flightline and inside the flying area bounderies. Especially the east-west markers, it's a real big no no to fly beyond those for obvious reasons as there are walking and biking trails beyond these markers.

Well shucks, im afraid im going to scrub flight plans for today. The weather is not turning out as I know we'd all hoped. And will only worsen as the day goes on. It's already getting overcast and rain is on the way, and it's kinda cold too. My old bones aint likin it.

And I got more work to do on this Tiger Moth as well, so it wasn't going to get in the air today anyway. I found my crimping job on the control cables, and flying wires wasn't as good as I thought so I have to do them all over. Oh well im just glad I found this anomoly now instead of in the air................would have been disaterous and heartbreaking to see my new beauty go in with little to no control.

So since its a no fly, here's a pic of it for show off as thats all it gets to do this weekend, LOL!

Thanks for the clarification on MARC's rules for flying Sabrehawk, as all of us want to be responsible/safe flyers, and special thanks concerning the 3D flying at MARC.

In what little reading I have done recently on 3D flying, apparently it is the fastest growing segment of the hobby, and if so, all fields will have to consider the best way to accomidate it.

This weather is heartbreaking as I have 2 planes to maiden.... a TM Pro F8F Wildcat, and a Great Planes P-47.

Well, I guess its time to practice on the similator and do some reading for now.

Thanks for the pic of your plane... she is a beauty!

We actually do have many guys who love to fly 3D, and not just electric. There's a few big gassers that are 3D, and this one fella will amaze you. It's an awesome sight to see such a huge model hovering with it's tail just 6" off the ground. So no, Marymoor is certainly not anti-3D and usually we'll willingly let someone have the airspace to himself if we see him taxiing out. Hehe, I know I'll stay outta the air if I see that thing heading out.

It's just a really mixed bag-o-nuts and respect is the word, so everybody can have their fun, yet still keeping things safe and under control.

Yes the weekend has been some kinda washout for us flyers. Even the entire week ahead including next weekend aint lookin any different. I especially wanted to be out there today with my new Stearman, and the trusty PT-19 in memory of our WWII flyboys. But everything is hangared, including me.

Thanks for the information Sabrehawk!

Just submitted my application for AMA so maybe I'll have to swing by on the public days and check it out.