Model aircraft clubs

Does anyone know if there is a model aircraft club ( for a complete novice!!) anywhere near Torrevieja?

There is a piece of wasteland very near to Estrella de Mar right beside the Mar Menor where I have seen model aircraft flying most Sunday mornings when weather favourable. The land is very flat and acts as a runway as have seen them taking off and landing. It may be a club or enthuasiasts , as there is a fair crowd when flying.

  Regards,

There are a few clubs in the area although many have full memberships !  Dolores model shop have just started a new club and they are taking new members. There is another club in El Relengo that is mainly Spanish weekends and expats week days although I think their membership is full. There is another club just outside of Bigastro and one in Torre Pacheco. Maybe a good idea to attend one of the open days to get more info, I can email you a copy of the years planned events in the area. To fly you must be a member of a club and have insurance, it can be a dangerous sport especially in the hands of a novice !!  PM me if you would like more info.

Hello,

Resurrecting a very old post, because...

I have just moved into the Torre Pacheco area and am looking for a model flying club anywhere nearby. I was excited to see Toddies post saying there was a club in Torre Pacheco - does anyone have details?  Also the club at Estrella Del Mar - is it still running? I wi;l drive don there tomorrow (sunday) and see if I can find it.

I would welcome any info on model flying anywhere within an hour's drive of Torre Pacheco/Cartagena.

I have been flying for few years, and fly fixed wing and helis - but my favourite models are gliders!

(Toddies email has expired on this forum so I cant PM him.)

Cheers!

Laurence.

ochiburi,

Hi, I too have just moved to Fuengirola and was looking for somewhere to fly my drone.

I was a bit gutted to see that the Spanish authorities have banned all civilian use of drones unless on a RC model airfield or permitted place to fly. This was done in April 2014

Does anyone know if there is anywhere near me where I can fly?

Thanks

Bert

Hello Bert,

Just getting into FPV myself and have a couple of FPV airplanes in UK, also thinking about trying an FPV quad. I have very recently seen people flying FPV in Spain despite the legislation, and achieving long non LOS distances - over 7km. That is from open public land within the airspace of SJV (which is commercial and miliatary). No-one seems to worry about it (presumably until they get caught).

Sorry cannot help with clubs in Malaga, but happy hunting.

Cheers,

Laurence.

My neighbour flies his drone all over the Sierra de Gredos & Tietar Valley. I'm trying to bust the jargon - isn't SJV a Bolivian airport? lol.

oops, meant MJV - San Javier - lol

way too much jargon in rc flying - FPV = first person view (ie you see the view from a camera mounted on the model), LOS = line of sight (ie you can still see it with the naked eye if you took your FPV goggles off)

Thanks for the replies.

I really badly want to fly out here but so far have not seen one drone or alike anywhere.

I think where I am it is too busy to fly without annoying someone, even on the beach, I just think it is too risky.

I would like to go somewhere scenic and quiet where I can fly / film without any bother.

Any ideas guys?

While far from being an expert (the black bin liners confirm this) I fly a Flamewheel multicopter FPV, a large wing FPV sometimes plus a variety of fixed wing aircraft. I also fly helis, electric 600 and 450 now and again but can't afford the repair bills so the word carefully creeps in.

I should add that there are now serious restrictions on the use of multicopters and FPV in Spain so be very careful where you fly, the fines are very heavy and you can lose the kit, if somebody complains or the police know the rules. Also third party insurance is a must, you can get this by joining the Federation through a club but it only covers you on registered flying fields in Spain. I carry a second insurance which I got for anywhere in the whole of Europe from a Co in Gibralter.

I fly at an excellent club just South of Alicante which does have a limited number of spare places. There is also one at Orito but you need to be pretty confident to fly there as it is usually quite windy as it is exposed. Finally there is another excellent club in terms of runway, Elche which is based in Catral however there is a very long waiting list for members and they tend to fly only IC big planes.

All the clubs are Spanish (not a bad thing I hasten to add) but in Alicante there are three or four of us who are English and fly weekdays as well as weekends. Our Spanish friends tend to fly only at the weekends.The local model shop is cenntrorclevante (very helpful) and Mecamodels both in Alicante. Centro is dedicated to RC planes and helis while Meca is a general hobby shop.

If you are interested in visiting the club or need any help please pm me or reply to this thread.

The insurance brokers that I was a director of prior to my retirement had a 'modelers' section that included model aircraft cover. I well recall one very tragic case when a client handed over his remote control to a friend who crashed the aircraft into a little girl, who died from her injuries. Enquiries found this to be exactly what it was, a tragic accident, the litttle girl's parents attempted to get financial compensation which was refused as a child cannot be classed as a financial loss, however an ex gratia payment was made. What came to mind is that if the deceased was say, a father with three kids and a mortgage there would have been a hefty claim, the morale of this post is to get yourself insured for third party liabilty, if you have not already done so, clubs will no doubt have cover, but only on their turf.

Thanks for the replies guys. If say I wanted to go out in the middle of nowhere, where would you advise? I am not really a big fan of RC clubs as I have always enjoyed this hobby either on my on or with close friends, and never had any need to join a club, although I have joined many forums over the years to get / give advice. I will certainly get some insurance though. Is there a company someone could please recommend? Regards Bert

I fly FPV  in the countryside with my multicopter if I think it would be good for video and for flying. I have to add that I have return to home programmed in, its a six rotor and can fly on 5, the failsafe is set to 50ft hover and descend slowly and in the countryside I always fly with the GPS active. Safety is of paramount concern because as Crookesey has intimated it can go wrong either with pilot error or mechanical / electronic problems. Our very small village has a football pitch with no houses anywhere near it so I occasionaly fly a fixed wing from there but never FPV. The Spanish authorities, mainly due to the terrible accident at the RC airshow in Madrid, have had a sense of humour failure with RC aircraft.

I know you say you don't like clubs but, though we are members of the club, we tend to fly weekdays when nobody else is there.......all the advantages without the disadvantage of crowded skies. We  were advised just last weekend  that within the next few months an A, B or C licence will be required the same as the UK except it won't just be to be in a club or to take part in comps it will be to operate any radio and fly any plane anywhere. FPV drones will not be allowed except at recognised flying fields!

Sorry for the long answer but the bottom line is if you are happy to do it,  if there is nobody about, no properties and not private land the answer is anywhere with the right precautions and insurance.  Most insurances state in the small print 'with the permission of the land owner' and as all land is owned by somebody even if its the government as common land......its a nice get out for the insurers.  Most beaches are now also off limits to us. Sorry its not a more upbeat positive answer but thats why I joined the club.

By the way its technically the same rules right across Western Europe now. My friend flies in Slovakia and he can do what he wants but its a bit of a way to travel for a days flying LOL. I do know an excellent place in Almeria near Mojacar (an abandoned airfield) in excellent countryside but that again is a long journey.

I use Ibex as my insurers ~~Tel: +34 966 860 965