A new home; local flying RC plane club invites public to new flying field grand opening
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IDAHO FALLS — After years of searching for a new area to fly, a local remote control (RC) model airplane flying club is welcoming the public this Saturday to celebrate its new home.
The Desert Eagles Model Airplane Flying Club’s grand opening of the new field will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m located at 8433 West Arco Highway at Noise Park in Idaho Falls.
Free food and drinks will be available, and members of the public can also learn to fly a plane under the watchful eye of the club’s members. Those who also fly will have a chance to win a ready-to-fly RC plane in a raffle.
The Desert Eagles have been soaring the skies — in their model planes — for the past 30 years, and were located in a gravel pit off of South 45th Road West, near the Wild Adventure Corn Maze.
EastIdahoNews.com spoke with the club’s president, Stu Eddins, about the new field as their time at the old spot neared an end.
The county has been using that area to mine gravel, and the club knew that at some point, they would have to find a new field to fly. He said the county offered a spot elsewhere in the pit and flattened the land, but the club wanted a more permanent site.
With the new location at Noise Park, Eddins said that one look at the proposed spot made it seem as if somebody had already built it for them.
“This big flat area. It’s just that everything is wonderful about it,” Eddins said.
Construction of the new field began on June 13 and ended on the first of August, with many club members stepping in to move benches, railroad ties, or calling friends to find folks with construction equipment.
The turf for the new field came from a soccer field in Utah, which the club purchased for around $7,000. This has been a boon to the club, as the grass in the old field made it difficult for smaller planes to take off.
Throughout the process, Eddins said club members, city staff and their new neighbors at Noise Park all pitched in in one way or another. Whether it was directing them to departments, bringing benches from the old field, or helping flatten the land or meet other needs.
“It’s exciting,” Eddins said. “When it came to the end of the day, and we totaled it all up, we’re done, and we’re paid for.”
The club has over 50 members and is part of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, which helps to loosen some of the newer rules put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration.
While the heart of the club’s rules, and those of AMA, is to ensure each pilot flies safely and ethically, AMA has helped make flying less arduous.
The new field is now a federally recognized identification area, meaning pilots can fly without requesting FAA approval, and the elevation has also increased to 700 feet. The location is also away from the Idaho Falls Regional Airport, which also supports this new ceiling increase.
Pilots still must take and pass the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety Test, or TRUST, before they can fly an RC plane. To fly at the new field, visitors can fly three times, but the club asks that you become a member and also join the AMA.
A newer member of the Desert Eagles is Andrew Trusty, who joined last year after winning an RC plane in a club-hosted raffle.
His neighbor, a member of the Desert Eagles, had invited him out before, but after winning the plane, he said he’s got the bug to keep learning.
“They’re there to encourage you, and I like the sense of humor that they have,” Trusty said. “I got the bug, man. It’s awesome.”
While still learning, Trusty said the new field is easier on the planes, even if the plane bounces five times before landing.
With Saturday’s event letting folks fly with a club member, he said that is the perfect way to start learning without fear of breaking a plane.
“They will make sure that everything’s in control,” Trusty said.
For those who want to learn more about the Desert Eagles Model Airplane Flying Club, you can find their website at www.deserteaglesrcclub.com.
