Fly Up to 900′ Dawn to Dusk Daily; 2000′ with Notification
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AMA_FRIA

Learn About Our Club!! Check Out Our Introduction Video

Our club recognizes and complies with the F.A.A. Reauthorization Act of 2018, Section 349.  For more information click here.

Kids' Day at the Palm Springs Air Museum

The Palm Springs Air Museum once again invited the Club to participate in their July 4th Weekend Kids’ Day event.

25-30 kids, and more than a few adults, enjoying coloring, assembling and flying balsa gliders, with distance contests held on the hour.  A RealFlight Evolution flight simulator was also a hit!

Many thanks to Reg Modlin for organizing the event, and to volunteers David Ginsberg, Howard Hooper, Jack Silver, Paul Stenberg, and Alan Williamson.

Kids toe the line for a distance contest!
Some of the winners
Jack Silver gets into the action!

AMA December Club of the Month is Your Coachella Valley RC Club!!

The Coachella Valley RC Club has been honored as the Academy of Model Aeronautics’ Club of the Month for December, 2024!  Click on the link below to see the great write-up of our club.

Major Upgrades Made to the Airfield!

Any of you who have visited the airfield after a significant rain storm are aware that there was frequently mud flow out onto the runway that then left behind silt that was difficult to clean up without having our street sweeper vendor come out, at significant expense.  Most of that mud would come from the dirt areas under the fence line at the edge of the runway, which was essentially level with the runway.  After much consideration by the Board, we decided to undertake a project to create swales to catch runoff and allow it to percolate into the soil rather than run out onto the runway.  The excavation to create these swales required removing the exiting fence posts.  Rather than attempting to re-implant the same posts and plastic fencing that required yearly replacement, it was decided to also take this opportunity to upgrade the fences to much more permanent chain link.  Due to generous donations from Bob Kelly who covered the cost of the creation of the swales, and Alan Williamson who donated the fencing materials, as well  as a great crew of volunteers to provide much of the labor installing the fences, all of these upgrades were performed at no net cost to the Club!!  And all work was completed in time for our Desert Warbirds and Jet Jam events!

Many thanks to David Ginsberg, Reg Modlin, Bob Nelson, and new members Mike Franz and Gary Smith, among others, who helped put up the fencing rails and fabric!

Hector and crew install new fence posts
Top rails and hardware prepared ...
Ready for chain link fabric (with recent rain percolating!)
The finished swale and fence

IT'S OFFICIAL!

900' Dawn to Dusk; 2000' with Notification

After years of hard work and negotiations with the FAA culminating in a 4-day-long “Safety Risk Mitigation (SRM)” meeting, we finally have an official Letter of Agreement with the FAA and the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (SoCal TRACON) granting our airfield a 900’ altitude limit dawn to dusk every day, with a 2,000 ft radius from the center of our flightline.  We can also obtain a 2000’ altitude limit with advanced notice to the FAA and SoCal TRACON. Our club is one of only a handful of RC airfields in the US to receive such an exception, so it is critical that we follow the FAA requirements.  We routinely notify FAA that we will be operating up to 2,000′ on weekends and for all of our sanctioned events, but if a member wants to request an additional day, you must submit your request to the club secretary at least 48 hours in advance, and must ensure that 1) a spotter will be used at all times; 2) an aircraft radio will be present, turned on, and monitoring 123.00 MHz; and 3) you must know the procedure for contacting the FAA in case of any aircraft “fly aways”.  Additionally, full-size aircraft ALWAYS have right-of-way and must be given wide berth regardless of our altitude limits.

Find Us

89452 54th Ave., Thermal, CA

Directions

Eastbound on I-10

Turn off on 86 S expressway. Turn left at 52nd Ave., turn right on Fillmore St., turn left on 54th Ave., go past Pierce St. to field entrance.

Westbound on I-10

Exit I-10 at Dillon Rd. left. Proceed to 86 S expressway South. Turn left at 52nd Ave., turn right on Fillmore St., turn left on 54th Ave., go past Pierce St. to field entrance.

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72210 Hwy 111, Suite E2

Palm Desert, CA  92211

(Beside Outback Steakhouse)

(442) 282-5077