by Ken Lahmers
Editor
Aurora -- Radio-controlled airplane and model rocketry enthusiasts are seeking to use city land for their activities.
Aurora radio-controlled flying enthusiasts and the Mantua Township Missile Agency appeared before the parks and recreation committee May 1 to ask permission to use the former Ray Harmon farm on Bartlett Road.
Jeff Berk said a handful of Aurorans fly radio-controlled model planes and the closest place to fly currently is in the city of Ravenna and Ravenna Township.
The enthusiasts are hoping to form a club, and need at least five members to be recognized by the national Academy of Model Aeronautics.
Berk said two famous astronauts who participated in radio-controlled flying in their youth were Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, and Willie McCool from the space shuttle program.
Berk said the sport is not noisy, the club would be covered by its own liability insurance and it would mow a grass runway on the Harmon farm.
Generally, he noted the gatherings take place on a limited amount of days and the flyers would not require use of any buildings because they take their planes and equipment with them when their sessions are over.
MEANWHILE, Bruce Levenson, representing the Mantua Township Missile Agency, said because the property it formerly used is under new ownership, a new location is needed.
The group operates under the auspices of the National Association of Rocketry. Levenson said the group has about 30 members, and 10 to 20 usually turn out at each shoot.
He added the group has its own liability insurance, and none of its equipment would be left on the property when shoots are not in progress.
Shooting dates run between March and December, and Levenson said the public is always welcome to view the launches. The rockets are powered by self-contained motors about the size of adult's thumb.
No one on the parks-rec committee had any objections to plans for the groups to use city property, but since only five of the nine members were present, a final decision was postponed until the June 5 meeting.
Panelist George Hettinger explained that he was "a pioneer in flying model planes" in the late 1930s before his military service days started.
"The old airplanes were a bit noisy," he noted, adding he and his oldest son, Dave, also shot off rockets when the latter was growing up.
If the committee gives permission to the groups to use the Harmon farm, activities could begin there during the summer.
E-mail:
klahmers@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3155