airplanes; offers reward
Club seeking site to fly remote-controlled
airplanes; offers reward
By sandi carpello
Staff Writer
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Irwin Keshner (l) and Norman Berger of the Tri-County Radio Control Club work on a 22-year-old Taube, a model of a German World War II plane.
With property development in Middlesex County soaring, some 50 model airplane enthusiasts have found their hobby temporarily grounded due to a lack of open space available to them.
To that end, the Tri-County Radio Control Club, a 35-year-old organization run primarily by residents of Middlesex and Monmouth counties, is offering a reward to anyone who can help its members obtain new flying territory.
"We are offering a reward of $1,000 for anyone who helps us to secure a new lease on a piece of property, so that we can fly, so to speak, in our own back yard," said club President Norman D. Berger, of Crine Lane in the Morganville section of Marlboro.
Berger, 59, who has been in the club since 1971, said the goal is to pay to rent open space — such as farmland or a nursery area — from any area landowner. The property, he said, must have at least 15 acres with an additional 2 acres of "over-fly" space. The property must also be within a 30-mile radius of East Brunswick.
Such a large space is needed because, as Berger said, flying model airplanes "can be noisy." The airplanes, which are about 84 inches long and weigh about 15 pounds, are electronic and radio-controlled scale models, he said.
For 25 years, until 1996, the club was flying its model airplanes on a plot of land in Thompson Park, located in Jamesburg and Monroe. However, when residents of newly built senior housing developments in the area protested that the planes were generating too much noise, the club was forced to relocate.
For the next six years, the club rented farmland in Monroe, but the club was forced to reposition itself once again because the landowner has plans to develop the property.
Currently, the club is flying its self-constructed, radio-controlled model airplanes at a facility in Thomas Edison Park in Edison. Berger said the area’s small size and vast amounts of swamp land make it difficult to find and retrieve a stray model, an undesirable situation, especially due to the expense of the planes, which run the risk of being destroyed by the quagmires of the park. Flyers can invest up to $2,000 in a given model.
"Our club … finds the Edison facility inconvenient and somewhat crowded at prime times," Berger said.
The group has been distributing fliers recently offering the reward for land, but any leads that have resulted turned out fruitless.
Berger, a licensed airplane pilot, said all club members belong to the Academy of Model Aeronautics, a national organization that provides valuable insurance coverage to both club members and the landowner whose property is used.
"Our club consists of a responsible group of individuals who just like to be engaged in this activity as a hobby," he said. "We are not out to bother anyone."
Club members range from teenagers with their parents to adults of all ages, including many retired people. However, Berger said the organization, once boasting a membership of about 130 people from throughout central New Jersey, has lost about 80 members due to the club’s current predicament.
Berger noted that many of the active club members hail from East Brunswick, Marlboro, Howell, Monroe, Milltown, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Freehold and Hightstown.
Anyone who can assist in the club’s quest for land is asked to contact the club at (732) 536-6986.