Welcome
to OCMA
Updated December 9, 2024
Hi everyone,
The national weather service has issued a Red
Flag warning from 10:00AM December 9 thru 4:00AM December 11
The field will be CLOSED for the duration of the Red Flag warning. The up
side is it will be too windy to fly anyway.
We also would like to pass along a note received from OCFA:
Tim
Thanks for your continued support and we appreciate your partnership over the years.
Tim Perkins
Assistant Chief of Field Operations South
Orange County Fire Authority
Office: 714.573.6761 | Mobile: 949.702.3868
We visualize problems and solutions through the eyes of those we serve.
This Saturday, December 14, Harbor Soaring Society, OCCRC, Scale Squadron and OCMA will be hosting 17+ Navigators at the field for R/C Flight introductory and buddy box training.
Thanks you to Henry A. Smith III and the Harbor Soaring Society for organizing this event with the Navigators. HSS will be supplying two flight simulators, two apprentice trainers and a couple of flight instructors. Dave Kadonoff will be conducting entry level ground school. OCMA will have gas powered Mentor om buddy box. And Paul Kopp will try and have his giant Citabria also on buddy box. It’s quite possible the flight line will be full of eager Navigators flying on Buddy Box. That’s very exciting! We’ll be grilling burgers and hot dogs for the troops and volunteers.
The Navigators will be arriving around 10:30 AM and we’ll get started from there. The field will be open for normal flight operations until we get rolling with the Navigators. We have a couple volunteers already but could always use some more help. This should be a very fun day and hopefully the beginning of a regular event.
As a heads up.
OCMA will be conducting our annual Mandatory Safety Meetings January 11, 12 and the following Sunday, January 19. Make up meeting(s) will be scheduled for those unable to attend. Here you will get your 2025 Badge if not already received, 2025 Safety Sticker and of course we’ll swap out your 2024 gate key with the 2025 key. Meetings will start promptly at 9:00AM, get there 20 minutes early to sign the 2025 waiver.
Thank You
OCMA BoD
!
OCMA 2025 Renewal Notification and Updates:
As we begin renewals for 2025, we want to share some information regarding the change to the annual fee for OCMA membership. We have been absorbing increasing operating costs such as the fees for trash service and porta potties have increased substantially over the last few years due to increases in fuel costs and regulatory fees that are passed on to us. There are ongoing costs for our site and increasing insurance costs while also needing to build reserves to support upcoming and future projects such as resealing the runway and saving for future pit upgrades.
Thus the dues for 2025 are increasing effective November 1, 2024 to $160 annually. The initiation fee for joining OCMA is still $50. This will enable us to continue providing the premier flying site everyone enjoys.
Reminders:
• You must have and provide a copy of your AMA Full Membership with an expiration
date on or later than December 31, 2025. Park Pilot memberships do not meet
our site insurance requirements and will not be accepted.
• You must have and provide a copy of your FAA Registration that has an expiration date in 2025 or later.
• Renewals with all required forms backup, and payment must be submitted by December 31, 2024 to be valid. Postmark by December 31, 2024 will be valid for renewal.
You must have your 2025 badge to fly effective January 1, 2025
Your OCMA Board of Directors
Membership Renewals for 2025 are now being accepted. Get the 2025 Membership application here!
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
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