NW Florida Modelers Use of Fritz Field: A New Agreement Will Be Considered This Thursday

Some of the RC Planes that are out there are spectacular.  I've never seen one as large as this B-52 replica pictured here, but I have seen some very large and impressive models....

Earlier this month, there was a dust-up of sorts between a few residents in Beulah, and the Northwest Florida Modelers Club, a 14-year user of Fritz Field in Beulah.

The issues centered on noise.  A few residents of a newer subdivision in Beulah wanted the club to operate later in the day and also wanted the club to agree to reduced levels of noise as the new standard.

When the bridge to the field was finally repaired recently-the county made some modifications to the field, and now the RC planes only fly south of the runway-whereas before this change the planes would fly north of the runway.

I've visited the site, and I have met with many of the members of the club.

Some with which I have spoken feel they were being unfairly treated.  "What about the county ordinances, we can use backpack leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and gas powered weed eaters at 7:00 AM---but they want us to start later than that even though we are a lot quieter than these lawn-care tools?  said one member with whom I spoke.

Another observer noted that nearby construction activities on roads and other subdivisions can commence as early as 6:30 or 7:00 AM.

So the agreement that will be considered this Thursday represents a compromise: the modelers, according to their previous agreement, could begin flying as early as 7:30 AM.

An interim, unofficial, "back of the bar napkin" agreement the modelers accepted between themselves and two nearby residents specified the flights would not commence before 9:00AM.  "That agreement was when they were threatening to shut us down.  We were under duress" said one of the NW Florida Modelers representatives with whom I spoke when I made my site visit a few weeks back.

This new, official agreement will split the difference and allow the modelers to fly beginning at 8:15.  Additionally, this agreement has stipulations that will protect the residents by making the airspace above the residences strictly OFF LIMITS.

I hope all parties can recognize that this agreement is generally fair to all and does indeed represent a compromise.  I anticipate this will pass this Thursday with a unanimous, affirmative vote in support.

Dog-Fighting over Decibels

Fritz Flying field in Beulah, home of the NorthWest Florida Modeler's RC flying club since 2004

The term dogfight refers to aerial combat between two aviators.  Full Disclosure: I'm using extreme hyperbole here when I describe the ongoing strife between a handful of neighbors in Nature Trail and the NW Florida Modeler's RC Airplane flying club over noise levels as a "dogfight"--obviously nobody is engaged in combat, nobody is dying.  Not being literal here....

But lately, there has been tension.  And it is reaching a boiling point. Yet to their joint credit--members of the RC club and the  handful of Nature Trail residents that are upset have engaged in dialogue and have tried to reach a compromise.

They even reached a tentative, informal, "back of a bar napkin" written agreement in April of 2016--which until very recently has maintained the peace between the opposing sides.  I believe this is due,

"Written agreement" between two Nature Trail residents
and the president of the NorthWest Florida modelers
RC Flying Club.

in part, to the fact that activities at this field until recently had been halted due to a bridge on the property over 11-Mile creek being washed out and unusable until it was repaired recently by the county.  Now that the bridge has been repaired, activities at the field have resumed full speed and the neighbors are upset.

The NW Florida Modeler's club has utilized a small air strip located in Beulah off of Jamesville lane for various model flying events for the last 14 years (construction of residential housing in Nature Trail began several years after the RC club began flying their aircraft at Fritz Field).  The area is large, open, and conducive to this type of activity.  I went out to the field yesterday, I took pictures of the area and I took readings of the sound levels at the corner of the property adjacent to Nature Trail.

The loudest reading I picked up, at the edge of the property County's property line was 73 decibels.  (I estimate the distance from the edge of the field's property line to the first of the houses in Nature Trail to be 100 150 yards.)  The average reading I picked up, even as the planes were flying, was 60 decibels.


I spoke to a representative of the club yesterday at the property.  "We're good people out here, we are trying to be respectful of the neighbors--but they are trying to shut us down and that's not right."

A resident I spoke with from Nature Trail, one of the residents that has reached out to work with the club in the hopes of working a compromise, contacted me Saturday and Sunday to let me know that the club was not living up to the agreement about starting times for flying.

The average decibel reading from my
visit yesterday to the corner of the
Fritz Field property, was 60 dB

"They are violating the rules.  They began flying before 9:00 AM Saturday and the airplanes are already flying at 8:15 today [Sunday]"...  "Two days in a row they fly before 9:00 AM.  The club just does what they want and nothing happens."


I called the club president this morning to ask him about why they started flying before 9:00 AM today, Sunday.  Initially, I got no answer.  Later in the morning I did get a call back from the President who said that he would talk to the club about why they started earlier than 9:00AM.  "When we made that deal we did it under duress" he stated.  "We had to give in on every demand because we thought the County was going to shut us down if we didn't give in to all of these demands..."

My intention going forward, because I believe a solution can be brokered that allows both parties to amicably coexist, is to have our Administrator and also our Director of Parks and recreation sit down with these two residents and the club members representatives to hammer-out an enforceable agreement that is fair and reasonable.

I think this can be accomplished.

That's what I'm going to do.




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