Welcome
to OCMA
Updated May 14, 2023
The field is OPEN
Hi everyone,
There was an aircraft recovered the other day and placed in the field box so the owner could recover. The field box is effectively the lost and found department. Someone helped themselves to the Receiver and Speed controller.
While it is common for members to place items at the field on benches or by the bulletin board free to a new home, this is not the case with anything left in the field box.
Please return the Rx and Speed controller to the field box. No harm, no foul. Next time it might be your equipment in the field box as lost and found.
Thank you
OCMA BoD
A message to the membership of OCMA from your Safety Officer.
As most of you may already know, I was voted on and confirmed as the newest safety officer for OCMA. As you’ll hear me say repeatedly, the 3 most important aspects of membership are having a safe and fun flying environment, following, and adhering to the rules set forth by OCMA and the County Parks administrators, and keeping the field open to our club by not making any egregious mistakes that would invite negative scrutiny by the parks commission.
Bearing this in mind, OCMA has a set of rules which members have signed a waiver confirming their having read and understanding of the rules. The rules can be informative, such as where to find certain pieces of information, or flight boundaries, onerous, such as having proper identification on your flying device, or even rules for disciplinary action. But the rules are written and are updated as necessary in response to both external and internal events.
Keeping that in mind, it is anticipated that all members will fly in a safe
and friendly manner that allows both themselves and fellow pilots to enjoy
flying at our site. The job, duty, responsibility (you pick) of the Field
Marshalls is ensure that the rules are followed, point out when rules are
broken, suggest corrective action, and discuss the event with the person flying
at the time.
When approached by a field Marshall who has input into a particular event
they witnessed, the Marshall should inform you of what they saw, investigate
why it happened and then anticipate that the event will not be repeated intentionally.
You should anticipate a friendly demeanor from the Field Marshall. We anticipate
a friendly demeanor from you as well. A response such as ‘You’re wrong’ or
‘It wasn’t me’ is not appropriate. We anticipate a simple, ‘thanks, I’ll improve
on that’ is all it takes. Marshals are volunteers trying to keep the flying
environment safe and fun. If you see a Marshall videotaping you, it may simply
be a case where they are trying to show you what they and others are seeing.
Don’t jump to conclusion that you are in trouble and being picked on. And
you are always welcome to come to a board meeting to complain about the behavior
of any field Marshall. That is your right.
With all of this in mind, let’s all have safe and fun flying together. See you at the field!!
Thank you
Dave Kadonoff
OCMA Safety Officer
kadonoffd@gmail.com
With operating cost on the rise across the board it was proposed to increase OCMA dues to offset these expenses. After much discussion it was moved and unanimously approved to increase annual dues by $15. This modest increase will allow OCMA to maintain our contracts and slowly build our reserve for field maintenance and eventual improvements.
The renewal process is unchanged. OCMA does not accept renewals on line, it is all through the US mail. You will find the 2023 membership application and instructions available on the OCMA website in both word and PDF formats. As always, your AMA insurance must cover the entire 2023 calendar year, FAA registration is required. For Recreational FAA renewal you are now required to register at least 1 drone (Aircraft). It is simple to do with drop down menus. As this process is geared around multi-rotor drones most of it does not apply to our aircraft. The simplest way is to select “Home Built” which will require only very basic information from there and satisfy the new requirement. It took about 3 minutes to log in to my FAA account and register my “Drone”. Mine is a “Homebuilt UAS, Nicknamed: P51”. This was about all the information the FAA required.
Thank you!
OCMA BoD
Follow the link below. For current weather at the field select Haul Rd station.
What is required to fly at OCMA 2021 and beyond:
- FAA Registration Card on your person
- FAA Number displayed on your aircraft which you intend to fly
- Wearing your OCMA Membership Badge
Safety Officers, Field Marshals and BoD Officers have the authority to verify. Aircraft not displaying the proper FAA number will not be allowed to fly until they do. We are assuming you all have your AMA information inside your aircraft which has always been required by AMA.
Air space boundaries!
It is extremely important that we all fly within our defined airspace AT ALL TIMES. There have been a number of occasions recently that our aircraft have been observed well outside our boundaries. By that I mean over the river to the north and up the valley well past our eastern boundary. If you have difficulty judging this, please use a spotter. Fly within the tree line to the west and east, use the oak tree across the field as your northern boundary. Using this as your guide, you will be flying inside our agreed airspace. A map of our airspace ison the bulletin board at the field and at the link below.
Bob Swenson Memorial Field
5305
Santiago Canyon Road
Follow Blue Diamond / Haul Road to the end.
Field GPS Coordinates: 33deg 46'18.07 N, 117 deg 41'52.79 W