84
| SUNRAYS
JANUARY 2013
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Last August, flights commenced at not
one, but three flying fields right here in
Sun City! The Radio Control (RC) Model-
ers Club now flies electric-powered air-
planes and gliders from the golf course
driving ranges on Mondays when the
courses are closed for maintenance, and
when the wind is not too strong. No, we
don’t use electric extension cords—it’s
all done with high-tech lightweight bat-
teries. You may have seen the RC Club’s
sailboats on Berry Pond, but because the
“
Flying Fields” are not as visible, and
because you can’t hear the planes, you
may not be aware that there is now a
“
flying club” actually flying in Sun City
from the airstrips.
Flying rotates weekly from one course to
another. Early mornings and evenings,
when the wind is light, are the times to
fly—everyone is welcome to come and
watch. It’s almost like the ’20s when the
traveling aerial circuses came to town!
The RC Club first contacted CA Board
Member Terri Pender to discuss our need
for an outdoor flying field. She was very
receptive to the idea and worked with
us to find a suitable location. The idea
surfaced of using the driving ranges
when they were closed. Terri encour-
aged us to contact the Golf Committee
and ask for permission to fly on the
driving ranges. Once we contacted the
Committee, we were invited to attend
a meeting to tell them about our club
and to explain our request in more de-
tail. Three club members met with the
Golf Committee and with Gary Wilson
(
Director of Golf Course Maintenance),
Ron Delaney (Director of Operations),
and Jim Romine (Executive Director).
We presented our club’s activities and
took several airplanes to the meeting to
show them first-hand what our planes
are like. We even ran one of the planes in
the room to demonstrate how quiet and
Grab your scarf and goggles!
Airplane flights are now available from Sun City’s airfields
By Wes Odell and Tom Mitchell
PHOTOS BYWES ODELL
