Status of the club flying site
The club lost our flying site at the Towne Road location in March, 2020. This came as the result of a deal between several entities, including Dungeness Creamery, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, and the North Olympic Land Trust, that ended our agreement with Dave and Pete Cameron, who had hayed the fields in question and had allowed our club enough land for our runway, pit and parking areas. The club had been at that location for approximately 30 years or more.
About two years ago, the North Olympic Land Trust approached our club and announced their intention to obtain the land from the owners (a trust as well), and had told us at that time we would be welcomed, in fact encouraged, to stay on site and continue our operations unaltered. At some point the other parties became involved and the idea of our club remaining evaporated. We were told nothing until about January of this year of what was happening. It was at this time we were told we would have to relocate at an unspecified time, which as stated turned out to be March. All club activities were halted at that time. Due to the state lockdown in response to the coronavirus the final removal of all club assets was not completed until June 24, 2020 when the last of the plane stands were burned on site. All other club assets have been either sold, scrapped or are in storage at various members homes until a new location could be found.
For the past 10 years, our club along with the Olympic RC Modelers from Port Angeles, Washington co-hosted a fund raiser for Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, held every year at the Sequim Valley Airport. The owner and manager of the airport, Andy Sallee, has always been a supporter of the fund raiser and the Olympic Peninsula Air Affaire full scale events that were held simultaneously with our fund raiser for the past several years. Andy had always told our club that we were welcome to fly at the runway we used for our fund raiser event should the need arise. When that need did arise, Andy was contacted and immediately invited our club to use the runway for our regular club site until a permanent location can be found. We are in talks with Andy regarding the specifics of implementing this plan, but we should be able to begin flying at the Sequim Valley Airport around the first part of July, 2020.
We can not thank Andy enough for his generous offer and immediate assistance in getting our club flying again. As we all have known for a long time, pilots are pilots and flying is flying, and Andy is among other things a pilot. We will no doubt have occasional contact with Andy and the airport staff as we fly on the airport property, so be sure to express your thanks to them as often as you can. We can do our part to help Andy by taking care of the facility, keeping it clean and in good shape and being a good neighbor to the full scale pilots and aircraft owners that will share the area with us as well as the land owners, houses and animals in pastures in the vicinity of our activities.
Very soon we will be back in the air and enjoying our hobby (or is it an addiction?). See you soon at the airport.