Club field problem

[Ramz]

Hey guys. Just wondering what your club(s) do (with respect the land they fly off of) to secure your flying site? My club has been renting a small parcel of land from a generous land owner however noise problems coupled with an increase in the housing projects around the land has all but put us off of the field. We are and have been looking at what we could do to secure a good flying site for the club for the future. We discussed buying a piece of land and going from there however I am curious as to what your club has done in the past to secure a good flying field? We want a good place to set roots down and to build up the club. Does your club own land? Do you lease/rent? If your club bought land, how is the ownership of the land divided up? if you have gone through the experience, do you have any suggestions? What were some of the problems you encountered along the way? Any info would help. Thanks in advance.

[Edge540T_Flyer]

Hey Ramz,

I don't have the specifics right here in front of me, but I do know that the AMA does have assistance for aquiring a flying field. If you look in the back of your Model Aviation magazine, I believe some info is there. If you can't find it there, try the website http://www.modelaircraft.org/
They have info on where to turn for more help.

p.s. My club is currently licensed to use 18 acres of undeveloped land from our county. When I say "undeveloped", I mean not developed by them. We have 11 acres of it mowed and we have 2 asphalt runways in a cross pattern. We are licensed to use the property as we wish and we maintain the field ourselves.

Hope this helps

[Ramz]

That's great about the AMA, however I live in Canada so that wouldn't apply here. Land is cheap here so it wouldn't be that hard to buy a piece of land in the middle nowhere. Of the clubs that did buy land, how much land did you buy? Were thinking 20 acres minimum?

[Ramz]

bump....anybody?

[why_fly_high]

I have put a lot of thought into this for myself. I would say 20 acres is a minimum but do your homework to ensure you aren't going to have any problems with overflight. I used to fly at a club that had something like 19 acres of cut grass and a lot of planes crashed beyond that. If you wanted to only overfly your land I would say that 80 would be more in order. That is probably bigger than you need but gives you a cushion.

Dan

[cbeck]

My club is in the prosess of buying our flying field that we were renting. It will be 41 acres in a flood zone. The good thing about it being in a flood zone is that the land around it will probably not be develloped. It would say you need 30 acres, that way if trees grew-up all around you field you could still use it.

[choppedlow]

Our club started off as an "outlaw" club, in the middle of nowhere. They would just upkeep the strip as much as they could, and tried to keep the dirt bikes off of it. Then, we went to the County Water Users, who owned the land, and got a lease from them. I think they gave us a 10 year lease that can be continued after completion. When I say BFE (bum fu(k Egypt), I mean no mans land. But it is easy enough for cars to get to. I know that the club had a lawyer to do the paper work. If you have a lawyer in the club, then make him do it for free, and then give him lifetime membership. And thus far, we have had great luck........knock on wood..... The site is only maybe two, three acres. Just big enough for our 700X65' runway, shades and some pit area. We have a fence around the whole thing, or it would be a drag strip for sure! Man is it smooth! The rest is gov. land that is all brush and lizards, and Mexicans looking for freedom (not joking). The only bad thing, is that its legal to shoot guns, what, 2000 feet off to the north of us? Gets loud on the weekends!

[keneindorf]

Our field is 60 acres and our club owns it here in Houston.

[hillmanr2]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Ramz
	That's great about the AMA, however I live in Canada so that wouldn't apply here. Land is cheap here so it wouldn't be that hard to buy a piece of land in the middle nowhere. Of the clubs that did buy land, how much land did you buy? Were thinking 20 acres minimum?

Going through the losing of a Field myself. Land is outrageous here so buying is out of the question. Dude I would buy as much as you can get your hands on. If you guys could buy 100 acres do it. The thing about land is they aren't making any more of it.

[SleepyC]

	Quote:
	The thing about land is they aren't making any more of it.

Haha...
well I think the Japanese might be, but I'll let that slide!!
(reference the Tokyo airport)

[hillmanr2]

	Quote: Originally Posted by SleepyC
	Haha... well I think the Japanese might be, but I'll let that slide!! (reference the Tokyo airport)

Thats a good idea. Kelowna is on the shore of a 80 mile by 1.5 mile lake. Mabey we could make a flying feild . I bet City Hall would go for it fur sure

[loan4utoo]

Here's all I know:

1. If the club purchases land, and needs to finance it, most likely there will be a 25-30% down payment required. This is in addition to the cost of any improvements...so budget accordingly.

2. The lender will most likely require the officers of the club to jointly and severally guarantee the loan. Be very careful in the terms which the lender(s) may require. A different way to do it would be to form a holding company (a for profit company) which would buy the land and then enter into a permanent lease with the club (the not-for-profit company). The stock holders of the holding company are the clubs' members. It's just easier sometimes to get a loan if there is a "real" company and a business plan etc.

3. Additionally, the corporation needs to own the land...either the for profit holding co. or the not-for-profit club because a corp. will never die. A corporation is driven and governed thru its bylaws. A corporation doen't get "pissed-off" or have a "bad attutide". That eliminates an entire other set of potential issues/conflicts.

4. There are other options in terms of finance for a club to buy their own property. You may want to read up on Lease Options (can help reduce down payments needed), Private or Seller Financing could maybe do away with the Officers having to guarantee the loan,(and could also provide more favorable terms to the club).

PM me if you have any other questions, and I'll try and help. Good luck.