How close do you fly to roads, houses, businesses, etc?

[rogerflies]

This is the field where I usually fly:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=thomasville,+ga&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=30.838923,-83.941104&spn=0.008899,0.021458&t=k&iwloc=addr

That's a Lowes store across the highway (US19) to the west and a seniors-only housing development just to the east.

I was wondering how it compares to the places where other people are flying. How far is it from roads, houses, etc.

Roger

[rdwoebke]

I would say your field is somewhat typical.

[DLD]

Not very many of us are fortunate enough to have a completely rural area to fly. Most of us wind up flying over something we would rather not land on. I have personally recovered numerous sailplanes from the roof of a local High School. You just have to weigh the risks and decide if it's OK.

Good luck,

David Layne

[histarter]

Not very many of us are fortunate enough to have a completely rural area to fly. Most of us wind up flying over something we would rather not land on. I have personally recovered numerous sailplanes from the roof of a local High School. You just have to weigh the risks and decide if it's OK.

Good luck,

David Layne
Launching from small fields translates to flying over homes, power lines, and various other obstacles; whereas, I treat flying over traffic as forbidden! After doing this for years, I developed the monitoring of batteries, and equipment crucial, even though I tend to fly light to match my lower launchings - with improved safety. To date I can proudly say that it paid off without any embarrassments - other than accidently landing in a tree! :)

[flystoolow]

Ohhh the good stories:


My friend was flying a stock 2m 'ELECTRA' and had it up to about 2000' in a thermal over a residential area. Now, you must know that he is not noted for attention to detail when building. Anyhow, the plane somehow began a dive, whereupon my buddy naturally pulled up to level out....only to blow the bottom battery bay cover off and eject both the HEAVY 7 cell "C" size car battery pack and the 4 cell receiver pack. Plane crashed into someone's back yard, as for the packs....never did find those :eek: :rolleyes: :D . No reports of unexplained deaths that day, but someone might have wondered how the heck a little battery pack put a 6" dent in their car roof :o .

I've had two home owners call the police on me when they noticed my plane flying over their house at about 300'. Don't worry, the police don't control the air space, and had nothing to say, except, "Cool plane, I'd keep flying if I were you, but you didn't hear that from me. :) "

People used to fly power planes in a field beside the main highway were I live. A few years ago, my father was driving along the highway, and noticed a 6' span scale plane land right on the highway. He immidiately pulled over, and ran back to save the plane, just as a motorhome plowed through the plane doing about 60 mph. BIG CONFETTI BALL! :D

[Andy W]

When the Fayette Flyers lost their original field, they moved to a temporary location alongside a major freeway. I went once, would not fly there. Anyone can have a servo go bad and lose a model. On a freeway, it could lead to disaster..
..a

[Liberator]

Not ideal, but its been a great field.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=thomasville,+ga&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=30.838923,-83.941104&spn=0.008899,0.021458&t=k&iwloc=addr

[efowlerpreston]

I am familiar with your field, and I suspect it will be developed before too long. Have you looked at one of the county schools on the north bypass? I used to fly at Newbern Middle School in Valdosta - no one was ever there when school was out and you could fly over the adjacent cotton fields. I now fly at a sod farm several miles wide near Ray City since I fly larger electrics and sailplanes and had a bad tendency of hitting the goal posts on the football practice field.

[OVSS Boss]

Up here, we fly on all kinds of places, in the woods, rural fields, dead in town. In all actuality, our fields are better now than previous, we had a couple of dusies. The worst was in Cinci, next to an apartment complex, road at one end, cemetary one side, six lane beyond that, it was a real gem. One contest a gent landed a Monarch 2M on the wires and shut down the apartments, that was the worst wreck that I saw there. Now they fly major big park where Voice of America use to be. In Ft. Wayne, we fly with four lane next to us on one side and homes behind us and beyond the four lane. They have flown there for over 25 years and yes, there has been a couple of ships on the road and a couple on houses, one blown transformer, but that can happen in the country too, just ask SWC guys.

Just as noted by David, you must access your situation and go from there. FTW is trying to look for an out of town field, hopefully the search is fruitful.

Marc