Art Dougherty truly knows how to get a plan off the runway and into the air - the same happens to apply with model planes, as well. As president of the Radio Control Club of Estevan, Sun City Prop Busters, Dougherty sees to it that the club does what it needs to do, to ensure local remote-controlled flying, and driving enthusiasts have a common, sanctioned, properly provisioned place to come together and do what they love to do.
The club came to prominence in 1988, after starting in the '70s, under a different name. It eventually broadened its scope from just RC flying to RC driving, and the use of remote-controlled drones.
"We started out in the golf course, and there were about five or six of us. Then, we found out the city built a new airport, and we flew (our models) at the old airport for a number of years," said Dougherty. "We had about 3,000 feet of pavement runway we were using for the club. We flew on that until they ripped up the pavement, when the old airport was decommissioned.
“We couldn't fly there anymore, and that was the one time we had no place to fly. Without a flying strip, it's hard to hold the club together."
The club needs a proper landing strip and track because of the immense speeds most of the RC vehicles are capable of reaching. RC trucks and cars can reach speeds of 45 m.p.h, while planes reach 80 m.p.h and model jets, which are more difficult to fly and more expensive to build and maintain, can reach speeds of 180 to 200 m.p.h.
After leaving the old airport, the club eventually took over a field on a plot of land near Shand Road and the Estevan Motor Speedway, leasing the area from the city.
"We had that for a number of years," Dougherty recalled, noting that the field was a particularly nice area in which to fly and drive the club's assorted vehicles. "We spent about 10 to 15 years there, and we improved that strip and spent a lot of time and money on it."
Eventually, the land was sold to Luscar Coal in 2003, and was dug up for mining purposes. In search of a new home, the club took out a 20-year lease on a piece of land near its previous location.
"It was actually a big slough, but it's been converted with a lot of work. Now, we're positioned in that field, which is straight east from where we were before," said Dougherty. "The consensus was, from the coal company, that they wanted to keep the motor sports all in one area. We're now all together in the same area."
To celebrate its most recent relocation and to kick off the flying season, the club has plenty of activities planned for its June 25 official grand opening. Dougherty noted the event will be a significant one for the club, with the mayor and fellow flyers from across Western Canada and the northern U.S. being among those in attendance, for a series of demonstrations of the many vehicles the club's active members fly and drive.
"We'll also have all the sponsors involved in the project coming down to our grand opening, which will involve a ribbon-cutting ceremony," Dougherty added.
It doesn't take long, when talking about the new field, for Dougherty to express how grateful he is for the help of his father, Elroy. The elder Dougherty organized and carried out the necessary fundraising needed to outfit the field with all the facilities and features it has today.
"(Elroy) took on the role as project manager and he, through his connections with the community and its business people, got donations towards this project," said Dougherty. "He was originally not involved, but I asked him if there was any way he could help with the project, because I wasn't sure how to go about it. It turned out to be something he spearheaded."
Elroy canvassed many local businesses, eventually raising a total of $250,000 in donations, all of which went towards renovations and updates to the club’s current facility. Some of the new features of the club’s current location include a track for RC vehicles, a clubhouse, an office, a shaded picnic area, washroom facilities, and of course, an 150-foot runway.
Looking forward, Dougherty noted there will be regular flying going on in the summer months, with Thursday being the regular "flight night," during which the general public is encouraged to attend and find out what the club is all about.
"You just go out there and do your own thing, whomever is out there. That's where a lot of people can come out; we can find out if there's any more public interest out there."
Membership with the club is fluctuating, Dougherty noted, but there is usually a core membership of about 25 people enrolled in the club, with a slightly fewer number of them being regular, frequent fliers.
"A lot of our main guys are into RC racers, but our main thrust at the first time was to develop a flying field for RC model planes, helicopters and drones," said Dougherty. "But we thought about it, and asked ourselves, 'What does RC encompass?' It encompasses RC trucks and race cars, so we developed a track down there. I'm more on the RC flying end, but it's all part and parcel of the same hobby."
Because of that, future projects for RC vehicles include a bump track and a jump track, at the club’s field, to add new places for RC drivers to drive their earthbound vehicles alongside the flyers.
The club promotes itself through a yearly static display, where a selection of the members’ models is put on display. The events feature a simulation of RC flying, information about the club from members and an opportunity for locals, who may be interested, to sign up.
Dougherty said he considered the increasing popularity of drone flying to be a good thing for the club. By specifically having a field that's certified by the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada that encourages drone flying along with the more classic iterations of the hobby, it keeps drone enthusiasts "from getting into trouble within cities, with all the regulation that might be coming out on them, on flying drones,” said Dougherty.
Dougherty noted an interest in flying drones with the club often serves as a gateway to creating an interest in the classic hobby of building and flying model airplanes, gliders and jets, especially for younger people who start out just flying drones.
"We see our welcoming in of drone flyers in the interest of expansion. What it does is, it gets people flying drones to say 'Hey, I want to fly planes, too. It's more challenging. Maybe I want to build them too,'" said Dougherty. "That's a change and some people are going that way, back to where it was in the beginning, when you had to build a plane before you can fly it. It creates an interest."
