Public Fields

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

--On Thursday, December 11, 2003 7:42 AM -0700 Richard Lindberg <rclindberg at comcast.net> wrote:

> Does the city/county allow anyone to use the facility, regardless of club or
> other (e.g., AMA) affiliation?

I fly with Wing and Rotor at Reservoir Park in Lewiston, NY.

The State Park asks everyone to have a permit to fly at the
park.  The normal method of obtaining permits is to belong
to our club or to Sunday Fliers.  I imagine that they would
issue permits to individuals, too, if requested.  I'm not
sure that any of the individuals who fly without benefit
of club membership have obtained permits.

> Who sets the safety rules?

The two clubs kind of agree on rules.

> How are they
> enforced?

Jawboning.

> If a club uses that field as their 'home' field, what is the relationship with
> the city/county?

Most of our club members are taxpayers and citizens.
We did have one Canadian who belonged to Sunday Fliers.
His ashes were spread on the field when he died.
May he rest in peace.

> Does the club rent or lease the facility?

Neither.  We buy an AMA insurance certificate.  It's not
a huge expense.

> ... Does the club restrict
> usage ... ?

Nope.  We do invite people to become club members after they've
been at the field long enough to look familiar.  Some guys
have become happy campers, others resent the invitation.

> If a club 'controls' the field, who is responsible for the maintenance?

We don't control the field, but we do have a tool box big enough
to hold a lawn mower, which got used a fair amount last year.
Our guys are keeping the runway mowed when the state workers
don't have time to get to it (they're way understaffed).  No
complaints yet from the state workers.

> Insurance?

AMA.

> Can you make a comparison with 'private' clubs and their facilities?

We have to share our field with softball players, who play at
5 PM most summer evenings.  We don't have a paved runway or any
permanent fixtures, other than our lawn mower box.  We have to
park about 200 yards from the flight line.

The upside: we've got a huge landing zone of relatively short
grass.  We can take off or land in virtually any direction,
depending on the winds, which tend to shift all over the
place in the course of a day.  And it's cheap.

								Marty #2874
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