AMA News - District V Report
Club of the Month — Camden, SC: Kershaw County Flyers
The Camden, SC, Kershaw County Flyers is our District V Club of the Month for June 2002. This is a small club with only 30 members. Each member has worked hard to help acquire, improve, and maintain the splendid flying field the club members enjoy today.
A heroic effort by all 30 members has created a unique place for modelers to enjoy. A few years ago the Kershaw County Flyers moved from a privately owned field to another privately owned field, but were not allowed to pave or make improvements.
Then an opportunity arose for the club to secure a tenancy agreement with the county on a piece of land. Could all conditions be met? The land is near a park and had been used as a city dump for many years. Occasionally, areas where garbage had been covered over exuded dangerous methane gas.
There are 13 vents that go down into the affected area and allow methane gas to escape when it builds up. These vents are part of the field, but not the flying area.
Doyle Allen Sr., acting for the club, presented the county with safety regulations the modelers would adhere to, including AMA rules. The county liked the rules and added a few of their own, including "no wallowing on the ground by anybody of any age" and "no digging of any nature more than 18 inches below the surface."
Field Development and Volunteer Effort
Could this small club make the place work? Absolutely. All the club members went to work with a vengeance. Roger Marshall, the secretary/treasurer of the club, used some county-owned equipment to disk and flatten the capped landfill on the runway area.
Robin Fleming, Vance Davis, and others helped with turf and grass. Jim Pardue, 86, a construction supervisor, supervised and advised the workers. The plan worked well.
Almost every club member helped with sawing, nailing, and general construction. Doyle Allen petitioned a local correctional center for a 10-man work-release group on weekends to assist the club members with cutting, sawing, pounding, nailing, pouring concrete, and more, enabling the pavilion to be created.
Volunteers who helped include:
- Doyle Allen Sr. and Doyle Allen Jr.
- Roger Marshall
- Robin Fleming
- Vance Davis and Craig Davis
- Marvin Marczas
- Buff Miller
- Jim Pardue
- The 10-man work-release crew
- Many other club members
Grants and Improvements
Upon proper application, two grants were eventually made to the park for club improvements.
- A $21,000 grant (80% state, 20% county) was used to install:
- An electric gate
- A pavilion with an enclosed room beneath it
- An observatory for a 10-inch telescope installed near the model airplane pavilion
Doyle Allen Sr., county recreational director and a member of the Camden Chamber of Commerce, encouraged a local astronomy club to use the same field for the telescope installation.
- A $10,000 grant (80% state, 20% club) was used for:
- Irrigation
- Sod control
- Runway improvements
Current Facilities and Maintenance
Today the club has been in the park six years and has:
- A 20 x 40-foot paved runway
- A 300 x 60-foot grass runway parallel to the paved runway
All the members in the small club cooperate in ongoing maintenance. For its vision, courage, and hard work, the Camden Kershaw County Flyers is our District V Club of the Month. A wooden-framed, glass-enclosed plaque is being mailed to the members.
District V Website
You can see more of this club and other clubs on the District V website: www.modelair.org. The website has hundreds of color pictures — you might see yourself. New additions include coverage of:
- Joe Nall (SC) fly-in
- Jackson, MI Magnolia Classic
- Ocala Big Bird
- Henderson, TN Magic Valley
- Savannah, GA Tri-County RC
- Perrine, FL Aeromodelers
- And others
Johnson City RC Visit
I was invited to the Johnson City RC club to meet everyone and answer questions, and I accepted.
Some of the officials of the Johnson City RC include:
- Derwin Caudell, secretary
- Alan Butler, newsletter editor and webmaster
- Raymond Allen
- Steve Weller, president
- Bud Williams, contest director (CD)
- David Campbell, vice president
Bud Williams has been appointed an AVP for Eastern Tennessee.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
