Clubs in the News

On Saturday November 9, 2019 at the Casa Grande RC Flyers event celebrating National Model Aviation Day, club Treasurer Nancy Friedman presented a check from the Diane Warren Foundation for $2,000.00, and a check from the Robson Ranch Mah Jong Club for $209.00, to the Valley Humane Society.  VHS Board President Deb Woodard and Shelter Manager Crystal Fox received the donations.  Besides those funds, the individuals who attended the club’s event at 2725 S Isom Road, were very generous providing the VHS with hundreds more for their shelter, which is the areas only no-kill shelter. Each winter month, the Casa Grande RC Flyers, which is an Academy of Model Aeronautics award winning club, holds events for the public’s enjoyment and for the benefit of area charities.  Their events are listed on the club’s web site: www.CasaGrandeRCFlyers.com.  Besides the donation presentation, this day’s events included free flying lessons by one of the club’s instructors using his training aircraft, a swap meet with RC aircraft, cars and boats offered, and a new food service, Salsa Bites, who will attend several of the club’s events this winter.  Visitors also had the opportunity to watch the flying visit with the pilots to learn more about this wonderful hobby. Besides the club’s major events on the 2nd Saturday of each winter month, the club also holds weekly Combat Dog Fights and Glider Contests on most Thursday mornings stating around 10:00 AM.  A special dog fight took place Saturday in honor of the National Model Aviation Day celebration. Membership information, and event schedule and directions to the club airfield are on the club we site.  The club is in their7th year of existence and is proud of all they do for our community.  Next month’s charity beneficiary will be the Pets In Need Action League, (P.I.N.A.L.) who provide food and medical assistance to those who have trouble affording those items.  Their assistance allows the owns to keep their pets at home and out of shelters. The enclosed photo shows Nancy Friedman, CG RC Flyers Treasurer (Far Right) presenting the checks to Deb Woodard, VHS Board President (middle), with Crystal Fox, VHS Shelter Manager (far left) looking on.

The Casa Grande RC Flyers were named a "Gold Level Leader Club" for the third year in a row. The club is one of 151 clubs out of over 2,400 clubs to receive this title. The club was recognized in their local paper. The club is largely supported by the city, local businesses and the community. The club changed their schedule in April so their members can use the club airfield at any time. They have also scheduled their 2019-2020 events. The events include a celebration of National Model Aviation Day benefiting the Valley Humane Society, a Fly-in for Hospice benefiting the Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona, a swap meet benefiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Casa Grande and the club's 7th annual Air Show benefiting the Casa Grande Food Bank. The club will also continue to hold their "Combat Dog Fights" on Thursday mornings during the season. The club offers free lessons to individuals wanting to learn to fly fixed-wing aircraft, drones and helicopters. Details about the club’s events and membership information can be found on the club web site at www.CasaGrandeRCFlyers.com or on the club’s Facebook page.

The Casa Grande RC Flyers have added new events to their calendar. The club is located in Casa Grande, AZ. Every Thursday throughout the winter months, the club will hold airplane dog flights, also called "combat flights".  These events give members a chance to increase their skills. It also allows people who are new to the hobby to enhance their skills. The "fights" begin at approximately 10 a.m. and conclude after one aircraft remains in the air. The club also planned their next swap meet for Feb. 9 at the club airfield. The gates will open at 8 a.m. for people wishing to set up tables. The swap meet will start at 9 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. The club recently started using a sign in book for the airfield users to log when they are at the field. The log book shows that the field is used almost daily by members. The club welcomes new members and offers free lessons using special training models under the dual control of an instructor. For more information, visit https://www.casagrandercflyers.com.

The Casa Grande Flyers will hold an event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12 at their club airfield on 2725 S. Isom road in Casa Grande. The event will benefit the Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona and is open to the public. The club will offer free flying lessons using an instructor's model aircraft, free first-person view airplane rides, a swap meet featuring many radio-controlled hobby items, and food service for both breakfast and lunch. Visitors will be able to watch and ask the pilots questions while they fly their model aircraft. Representatives from Hospice will be at the entry gate accepting donations from visitors who wish to support the cause. Donations are not required, but the club hopes the community will be generous in their support of the charity. The club field is located across from the public shooting range in Casa Grande. Directions to the club field can be found on the club’s website:  www.CasaGrandeRCFlyers.com along with a list of the many other special events the club holds for the community.  Membership information is also on that website.

The Casa Grande RC Flyers made many changes to their flying field in 2018. Membership has increased which has allowed the club to make improvements to their field. Some of the changes to the airfield included:

• A new remote weather station installed in January that allows members to see real-time weather conditions
• Two stainless steel sun shades over pilot tables
• A large steel storage unit
• Approval of an increase to the weight limit for aircraft used at the field from 10 to 20 pounds
• A new runway, a donation by the former Palm Creek flying club
• Addition of 120-volt AC power
• Increased charitable events including weekly "combat" airplane dogfights on Thursday mornings and a new "Fly in For Hospice"
• Over the last six years, the club has been able to donate money to charities such as the Casa Grande Food Bank, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the Valley Humane Society

The Casa Grande RC Flyers is an Arizona nonprofit corporation chartered and their goal is to promote interest in model aviation and give back to the Casa Grande community. The year 2018 was good to the Casa Grande RC Flyers so let the growth continue in 2019.

The Casa Grande RC Flyers held their annual National Model Aviation Day event on Dec. 8. The event was held at the clubs airfield in Casa Grande. More than 150 people attended the event and the event was free to the public. The club's new food service, Twisted Entree from Casa Grande, served meals from their menu. Tools and supplies to make the event more space were donated by Home Depot, Lowes and Norris RV and all of Casa Grande. The event benefited the Casa Grande Food Bank and the club members collected cash and food items. The clubs vice president, Ron St. Pierre, offered free first-person-view airplane rides to guests. The club's next major fundraising event, Fly In For Hospice, is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 12.

The Casa Grande RC Flyers will host an event on Dec. 8 to celebrate National Model Aviation Day. The event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the clubs flying field off of Isom Road. The event is free but donations of non-perishable food items or cash will be accepted to benefit the Casa Grande Food Bank. The club has been hosting this event for six years, as long as the club has been in existence. The members of the club will be flying fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and drones. The public is encouraged to come and learn more about the hobby of RC flying. The club will also have their second swap meet of the winter season the morning of Dec. 8. Twister Entrees, a new food vendor, will be onsite serving breakfast and lunch for visitors. Over the last six years, the Casa Grande RC Flyers have raised money and provided needed items to charities such as the Casa Grande Food Bank, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Valley Humane Society. The club will host the "Fly In For Hospice" event on Jan 12, 2019 and profits will be donated to Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona.

The Blacksheep RC Modelers were invited to fly RC planes in front of the Indiana State Museum the day after Thanksgiving. Many of the clubs members were able to come and fly.

In 2010, the Franklin County Radio Control Club had dwindled down to six or seven members. At the time, only two members were active flying members and their home airfield at Turners Falls Municipal Airport had become overwhelmed by vegetation and lack of care. The club decided to host a Father's Day Fun Fly to introduce more people to the hobby. The first year of the event, the club saw "way more people than expected" show up. By the following Tuesday, 14 people showed up to the group's regularly scheduled meeting who wanted to learn more about flying. Since then, the club has grown almost four times larger, with 23 members, 20 of which are actively flying. This year, the club hosted their eighth annual Father's Day Fun Fly at Turners Falls Municipal Airport on June 16-17. The event featured flyers showing off different miniature aircraft, from model planes and helicopters to drones. There was also extreme combat flying and races, special guest flyers, including national champion Dean Lampron, was at the event to show off many unique skills and abilities one can learn flying radio-controlled aircraft. Spectators were able to practice on a computer simulation, learning how to pilot a miniature aircraft. After practicing on a computer simulation, spectators were able to try flying through buddy box. Club vice president, David Korpieski, stated that the club chose to have an event on Father's Day due to the hobby's popularity among men and the event allows fathers to "pass the craft" onto their children. For more information about the Franklin County Radio Control Club, visit FranklinRC.com or find them on Facebook.  

The Casa Grande RC Flyers appeared in the news because members met with city officials to provide their annual update about the clubs activities, community service and field improvement plans. The club officers were in attendance at the meeting and they shared plans the club had to install sun shades over the pilot tables and the placing of a 20-foot-by-8-foot metal storage unit on the club's leased land.  The storage unit will be used to store the club's equipment, safety gear and other club items. The club also requested at the meeting that the field lease be amended to allow model aircraft up to 20 pounds to be flown. Currently, the limit is 10 pounds. The higher limit will allow for members to fly different types of aircraft including helicopters and drones. The club also informed the city in detail of the latest efforts regarding their work with the Casa Grande school system to educate the students on the principles of flight. They updated the city on the club's list of charitable organizations assisted because the club added Hospice this year. The club was awarded the AMA's highest honor by being named a "Gold Level Leader Club" for their community service and field facilities.