Club History
A businessman by the name of Monty Whitt of Carson City opened a General
Merchandise store here around 1976.
For some reason, Monty included in his inventory some model airplane supplies.
He stocked some kits, engines,
radios and building materials including covering, glue and other model
accessories. Monty's action sparked an
interest in some individuals to build and fly radio controlled aircraft and as
a by product, form a club.
In 1978 John Hunter, a local high school teacher, started a search for site in
order to develop a model flying field.
Up to that time, the few active pilots had been flying in various "borrowed"
locations like Kings Canyon, Parker
Field or any other smooth surface that was relatively clear of sagebrush and
rocks, which as you know, is hard to
find in rural Nevada.
At this point in time, a club had been formed and regular meetings were held at
the high school and also at Dynatech,
where Bob Froland worked and finagled a meeting place. Bob Froland was the
club's first accomplished pilot,
having been active in the sport before moving to Carson City. Monty Whitt, John
Hunter and Bob Froland were
really the founding fathers of The High Sierra Radio Control Club. Eventually
five more individuals joined the club.
They were Jim Stimson, Bill Rose, Dave Dahlke, Jim Reinhart and Warren
Peterson.
In 1979 Warren Peterson was elected club President and John Hunter successfully
negotiated with BLM for forty
acres to be assigned to the club for a model flying field. This is the present
site of our Pony Express Model Airpark.
The BLM set the lease fee at $100 per year. Someone in the club had some
friends in Carson City Public Works
Department and through some form of persuasion that probably involved beer,
managed to have the sagebrush
removed and the field graded. The club members fenced the field area, which is
about three acres, erected a storage
shed, an out house and various other improvements.
Membership in the club grew to about thirty when a problem developed. The BLM
had billed the club $100 the first
year or two of the lease, but then they stopped billing. The club offered to
pay but BLM kept telling us to wait for
the bill. Well finally they sent the bill for the back eight years - $800! The
club had about $200 in the treasury and
no hope of paying such a bill! I believe that it was Bob Brogan's idea, but
someone pointed out that the BLM would
donate land to a city at no cost if the land would be used for a park. We had
a pretty nice facility at the time, we
kept the weeds out and diligently rolled the runway, especially after a rain.
So we had the foundation of what could
be a nice asset to the City Park system. A presentation was made to the city
and they accepted our "gift" acquired
a new park and the club was off the hook for the $800 which BLM withdrew. The
club continued to grow slowly with
membership between thirty and forty. Although the members continued to spend a
lot of time and effort on our
facility, the runway would dry out badly during the summer and we found
ourselves landing and taking off in about
an inch of loose dirt. We needed a hard surface runway!
Two years in a row we applied to the city, since the $30,000 we had estimated
for a runway was way beyond
anything the club could afford. We applied by filling out the City's standard
request for funds form which put us in
a category along with fifty other organizations requesting the same funds. It
seemed hopeless. Finally Bob Brogan
and Frank Chase got their heads together and decided to make a real, well
thought out, persuasive presentation.
Bob contacted the AMA, explained what we were trying to accomplish and they
responded with all kinds of
excellent information we could use in our presentation. We put together
about fifty pages of material, presented it
to the Carson City Board of Supervisors and convinced enough for a
majority! They approved $30000 and when the
time came, the construction was combined with some city street paving and
resulted in a cost to the city of a mere
$15000!
The club has grown rapidly since then to its present size of over seventy
members. We continue to make
improvements to the Pony Express Model Park working jointly with the City. Our
new storage/toilet facility was
recently completed with city funds and the member's labor and club funds have
constructed new assembly tables
and the first of a planned three sunshades.
Update 07/21/07 - Since the above history was written, we now have enclosed the
field with fencing, added 2 helicopter pads and a dirt RC car track.
But mostly, the Airpark is thoroughly enjoyed by the club members. Many thanks
to all those who were instrumental in establishing this field
.
Update 06/15/09 - This year some industrious "Car Guys" have improved the RC
car track. Lots of time and hard work went into this.
Updated 11/28/09 - Here is some information on Frank Chase, who was Secretary
and Newsletter Editor for many years. If you are new to the club, look around
and give thanks, because Frank was one of those who contributed to our growth.
Frank and "Lucky"
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HONOR – COUNTRY – FAMILY
FRANK E. CHASE
12-24-21 TO 06-05-09
We lost Frank on 06-05-09 after a long and courageous battle with many
illnesses.
He married Peggy Kimmel on 02-06-44 and soon after was drafted into WWll. He
served his country, that he loved, with honor and was discharged 04-11-46.
Frank adjusted to civilian life and held jobs at various aerospace companies,
including Douglas Aircraft as an engineer. After the aero space industry fell,
he ventured into many different high tech companies and held various titles.
He had a passion for photography, sailing, planes (especially the Reno Air
Races), computers and r/c modeling. Frank always immersed himself in anything
he took on and became extremely good at it. He always had time for others and
was loved by all he touched.
Frank left two wonderful daughters who will carry on his legacy.
We will miss him!
His family……………
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