The Keystone R/C Club was formed in
1965 by ten members, each putting ten dollars into the kitty to rent a farmer’s
field on Twining Rd. in Newtown, PA. They actually had two fields at that
location until the farm was sold. One of the biggest challenges most clubs face
is finding and keeping a flying site. KRC was no exception, and over the years
has had its share of moves and developed a number of flying sites.
From Newtown
they moved to a field on Knapp Rd. in Lansdale, PA. The next move was to a
field off of Unionville Pike. in Hatfield, PA. They were at that field a number
of years until growing housing developments forced them to move and develop a
field on the property of SPS Hallowell on Bergey Rd. in Hatfield, PA. We had a
lot of good years at SPS, but eventually the company went out of business, and
we were forced to move again. The next move was to a field on the property of
Edwin Bechtel Paving in Salfordville, PA. At that location we also had two
different flying sites. In about 1994, we moved from the Bechtel property to
our current field on the property of J.P. Mascaro and Sons Inc., on Forman Rd.
in Franconia Township, PA.
This field has
worked out well for us and we have made a number of improvements over the years,
including safety fencing, a gravel driveway with turn-around area, and a shade
structure. The runway itself is about 100 ft by 400 ft, and we have a
good-sized pit area and parking area. There is also an area just for helicopter
hovering practice.
Although best
known over the years for its leadership in electric powered flight, and the KRC
Electric Fly (one of the first electric fly’s in the country), KRC is not an all
electric club. Like most clubs, electric powered aircraft are only a small
percentage of the models flown. Members fly all types and sizes of models, and
most are powered by 2 cycle and 4 cycle engines. Most members fly normal sport
type model aircraft, but you will also see a number of scale models and some
members over the years have excelled at events such as Aerobatic Pattern
competition.
KRC
is a Gold Leader club with an active instructor program, and stresses safety in
the hobby. Pilots can advance from unqualified (and must fly with an Instructor
or Advanced pilot) to Qualified, and also up to Advanced and Instructor level if
desired. All unqualified pilots must have their airplane checked out by an
instructor on the first flight, but once the airplane is proven flight worthy,
and they have received some instruction, they can also be helped by pilots with
an Advanced qualification.
Our club meets
at 7:30 PM on the 2nd Thursday of each month at the Franconia
Township Building on Allentown Rd. Visitors and potential members are always
welcome at club meetings and at the flying field. The flying field has a gate
that is locked when no members are present, but visitors are always welcome when
the gate is open.
No history of
KRC would be complete without a brief history of the event, which made the KRC
name so well known in electric powered flight. KRC’s interest in electric power
can be attributed to our resident electric expert, Bob Kopski. Bob has been
writing the RC Electrics column for Model Aviation for over ten years. Bob has
a long history in model aviation, from free flight up to RC. He flew a lot of
fuel-powered models over the years, but has been flying only electric power now
for many years. Bob is an electronics engineer by profession (although he is
now happily retired and even busier than ever), and over the years has designed
his own transmitters, receivers, electric speed controls, and a number of model
aircraft designs that have been published.
Bob organized
the first KRC Electric Fly about 20 years ago, and we think that it was the
first electric fly-in held anywhere. The format was one of a general fly-in,
with some low-key contests and a sharing of knowledge to promote electric
powered flight. Over the ensuing decades, the popularity of electric flight has
grown, and so has the number of electric-fly meets. Many emulate the successful
KRC format. Over the years, KRC maintained it’s basic format, with an emphasis
on fun, but refined and improved it where possible. One of the biggest changes
was the adoption of a two-day Saturday/Sunday event, with the field open Friday
afternoon for early arrivals.
The KRC
Electric Fly, which soon became known simply as “KRC”, started in 1979 at our
flying field off of Unionville Pike in Hatfield, PA. When we moved to our new
flying field at SPS in Hatfield the event moved with us. The event averaged
about 25% growth each year, and by 1988 it had outgrown our club field. In 1988
the event was moved to the Buc-Le Aerosportsmen field in Quakertown, PA. The
Buc-Le field is a beautiful flying field out in the country, with lots of
parking.
In 1991 the
AMA presented KRC with a certificate of appreciation for its years of work
promoting electric powered flight. The Electric Fly continued to grow, and by
1996 we had even outgrown the large Buc-Le field, and the event was moved to the
Queen City Airport in Allentown, PA. One runway of the airport was closed for
the event and we had a very large parking area. The event continued to grow, to
the largest electric event of it’s kind in the nation. It had approximately 250
participants from 24 states, Canada, and even a few guest fliers from other
countries. In 2000, KRC regretfully decided the club no longer had the manpower
and resources to continue the event, and was forced to cancel it early in the
year.
In 2001, the
Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island (SEFLI) picked up the ball, and continued
the spirit of the KRC Electric fly with a new event with a similar mid September
date. Their event was named NEAT, short for Northeast Electric Aircraft
Technology Fair, and over the last three years they have done a tremendous job
supporting the growth of electric powered model aircraft. Every year many new
and exciting things pertaining to electric powered flight can be found at NEAT,
and we are proud they are carrying on a tradition started by KRC.
http://www.neatfair.org/