Tampa Flyers!

[goldendesign]

Hey guys just got into whirly bird flying thanks to my bud whose currently obsessed. Weve been looking for a field to fly at. Any suggestions on rc field or club around here?

[ErichF]

Hey guys just got into whirly bird flying thanks to my bud whose currently obsessed. Weve been looking for a field to fly at. Any suggestions on rc field or club around here?

Hey, you're welcome to come out to the Bay City Flyers' Linebaugh Ave Helicopter site. The field is dedicated to helis only, and we are starting to get a nice group together there most sundays. We also host an informal funfly every month, the second sunday.

You are welcome to fly as our guest up to three times before you need to join the club.

Info at:

Linebaugh Field (http://www.baycityflyers.com/linebaugh_field.htm)

See you there,

[jimmyd]

There's a great Heil crowd at SPARKS in St. Pete as well!
Jimmy D
http://sparksrc.org/

[xStatiCa]

I am wanting to come out and evaluate the Linebaugh field this Saturday. How do you get into the field from Linebaugh? Where do you turn in at? I see 3 entrances to that area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&saddr=Linebaugh+Ave+W,+Tampa,+FL&daddr=Wilsky+Blvd,+Tampa,+FL&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=28.043037,-82.573285&spn=0.006344,0.006963&z=17&om=1

[ErichF]

Great to have you as our guest!

You will probably come down the Suncoast Parkway/VetEx, so take the Wilsky blvd exit. Wilsky puts you down on Linebaugh. Make a right on Linebaugh and drive west to the next light. Turn right at the light and pull up to the gate. It will be locked with a combo, and a card on the lock has a phone number. Call that number to get the combo or someone to let you in. Sundays, the facility is closed, and we have to keep the gate locked.

When through the gate, lock it back the way you found it, and then drive straight to the back of the facility. You will see our sun shelter up on the hill, and cars in the parking area.

Bring a table and tent, if you have em...the shelter and tables fill up quickly.

Flying on weekends and holidays is restricted until 9:30 am.

See ya,



I am wanting to come out and evaluate the Linebaugh field this Saturday. How do you get into the field from Linebaugh? Where do you turn in at? I see 3 entrances to that area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&saddr=Linebaugh+Ave+W,+Tampa,+FL&daddr=Wilsky+Blvd,+Tampa,+FL&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=28.043037,-82.573285&spn=0.006344,0.006963&z=17&om=1

[xStatiCa]

Thanks for the welcome. I am looking forward to meeting more heli flyers. The current club I joined seems to be mainly airplane people and the club lost it's second part of their field that heli pilots could fly at so now you have to wait until all the airplane guys are not flying to be able to fly your heli.. When I come to a field I want to fly :). Now to be fair most of the airplane guys leave by 2 - 4pm and Saturdays are not very busy usually so if I come out later on Saturday or Sunday the chances of being able to fly at the field are pretty good but then there is only 2 or 3 people left at the field and only 1 or 2 might fly a heli.

This is a good weekend for me as I have all day Saturday open and Sunday until about 12:30pm. Does anyone come out on Saturday or is Sunday really the only day that most people come out?

Someone at the Bay City pasco field mentoned that the initiation fee and yearly dues were not very expensive(way under $100 for each one from what I recall) but I went to the website and the initiation fee is up there. Are there separate prices for the pasco and tampa field fees or does it cover both the tampa and the pasco field? I think all I really will want to fly at is the tampa field so if I could save money by only using that field I would. I just convinced the wife to join the current club so it might take some work to get the aproval of yet another initiation fee and yearly dues :).

Thanks for the info.

NOTE: interestingly I didn't get an email notification of your reply to this thread for some reason.

[ErichF]

Sunday is when most of the guys go out there. I think a couple may go on Saturday, though...I just never been there on a Saturday.

Yeah, the fee and dues are for both fields, and despite our complaining, we couldn't get a separate dues schedule for just the heli field. The club is rather all about the money, and the heli field is their cash cow, with many recent new members. They don't spend hardly any money to maintain the field (they bought a couple tables for us...woooo) and get the same fees from us. Meanwhile the Area 52 field is very expensive to maintain and is often abused by the plankers. Go figger. The good side is that since you pay the fee and dues, you get access to both facilities year round. So you can go to Area 52 and enjoy the water, soda machine, Air conditioning, and ceiling fans, then come down to Linebaugh and enjoy some good flying :lol:

See you Sunday,

[xStatiCa]

I will be there Sunday morning and I plan to come out Saturday too just in case anyone is there. Do you know what time people usually start showing up on Sunday? Also the phone number on the gate rings the field I assume correct?

Someone at the Pasco field told me to call Charlie's Hobbies in Tampa to talk to them about the field. Not sure why though :).

[ErichF]

There's usually someone there by 0930 (flying start time). The facility is open on Saturday, so don't worry about the gate. Sunday is the only day that it's locked up.

The phone number on the lock is Ike's cell number (owner of Charlie's Hobbies). He is usually there Sundays.

Check your PM for my Cell number in case Ike doesn't show...

[xStatiCa]

Thanks for all the info and help. You seem to really give a lot to the heli community based on te FAI info and such you have posted so I just want to say thanks. I am reading up on FAI too btw... My precision flying skills are not even up to 20 under par yet but maybe someday I'll test the FAI competition waters to have some fun. It is really amazing that you think you know how to fly and can do all orientations and getting comfortable inverted and then you try some FAI manuevers and it really brings thing into perspective :).

Btw... how bad does the field smell being on a dump site. Should I bring a gas mask? :)

[ErichF]

heheh....I don't think you need a mask, no :lol:

Somedays there is a funk if the wind is blowing from the SE (main waste transfer bldg), but when the wind is east, it actually smells nice from the mulching yard next to the field. Otherwise, it's fine. It's not a dumping type landfill, that's all been buried for over a decade now.

Glad to hear you're interested in some precision flying! Remember I will be hosting my 3rd annual contest in March, bringing many of the big names in US World Class contest pilots.

See ya sunday, if the weather doesn't rain us out.

[xStatiCa]

I wasn't able to make it out Sunday :/ I had an emergency at work that took up the morning and the wife already had plans after lunch for me.

This coming Sunday I might be able to make it but I have another thing going on at 1pm Sunday so I would only be able to come out for one or two hours. It all depends on if I can get everything prepared Saturday for the 1pm event so that I can go out to the field first thing Sunday.

I came out last Saturday around 2pm but nobody was out there. It seems like a nice field. The pilot stations being lower than the flying field seems weird to me and would take some getting used to. When I fly out back of my house over the pond there is a drop down of about 10 - 12 feet to the water level so even if I fly at eye level there is another 16 feet or so of clearance under the heli :).

EDIT: I forgot to mention that someone said there is no electricity out at the field. That would be a pretty big downside to me being all electric. Do you know if there are any plans to get electric out there?

[ErichF]

Well, c'mon on out, but Luis and I will be leaving for Indiana on a UAV mission for work this Saturday.

There's no electric at the field, no. You may find an outlet over by the guard shack where the port-a-potty is, I've never looked.

The Hwy 52 site has power, as does the new West Pasco site. I fly at the West Pasco site on occasion, but don't much care for the locals, so to speak. It's unfortunate, since I live literally across Hwy 54 from that field. It's too small to practice FAI anyways. I only do my hovering stuff there.

[xStatiCa]

I currently fly at the west pasco field so if you ever go out there let me know. I will make sure I am there :). That is where I am a member. Truthfully I doubt I will end up joining the bay city club any time soon for many reasons (I just joined the current club, initial cost ie wife approval, the fields are soo much further away from me, no electricity at the linebough field).

I just wish heli's and airplanes could fly at the same time at the west pasco field. Is it safe for that as long as some kind of safety procedure is established(whatever though might be)?. I don't have any previous club experience to know about stuff like that and to influence that kind of thinking at the field. For the past year I have been flying behind my house over a pond and was not a member of a club or AMA. As I mentioned before though if I come later on during the day I can usually fly or if everyone has stopped flying for some reason.

[ErichF]

It's just amazing to me that grown (old) men don't know a thing about how to share. I don't like an airplane buzzing around while I'm flying at 80mph trying to do precision patterns anymore than they want a heli hovering 50 feet out in front of them. Rational people in such situtations would take turns. Not at West Pasco. Hank Weik and the ilk there are just total asses, IMO.

I usually go out there if I gotta flight test something real quick, or after work in the evening. I may not renew my membership this year (I said the same thing last year too). I have tried to be a regualay member of that club a few times, and it just doesn't work out there, mostly because of Hank. I have flown at many single-runway airplane fields before, and even got many new heli flyers going at one of them. West Pasco is just beyond help for any heli pilots beyond advanced hovering and basic forward flight (those who can't be stuck in a corner somewhere "out of the way")

I wish you luck with that place, and say hi to Hank for me. Maybe I'll run into you while I'm testing something or practicing my hovering manuevers.

Cheers,

[justinal]

Was hoping someone could point me to a good place to fly in Tampa. Just got my bird done and would love some tips and to meet others who enjoy this heli stuff as much as i am.

[ErichF]

Come join us on Sundays at the Bay City Flyers field on Hwy 52.

Details at www.baycityflyers.com

Cheers,

[Gutshot]

Hey Erich,
Do people still fly at the Linebaugh field? I live just down the street in Westchase and I don't ever seem to see people flying there. I'm new to this hobby and would like to watch some more experienced flyers some day.

[ErichF]

The county has restricted our use of the field during facility operating hours only. That's M-F 7:30 till 5:30 and Saturday 9:00 till 3:00 I think. Sundays they are closed, and so is the field.

You're better off going to the main Bay City field up on hwy 52 a little east of US41. Details on the Bay City website.

Cheers,