RC Club Faces Uncertain Future After Losing Airfield of 30 Years

Washington State Parks said it is ending its agreement with the Flaming Geyser Flyers due to multiple alleged flying violations involving remote controlled aircraft.

Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 02:13 PM ET

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The Flaming Geyser Flyers RC club has operated at Flaming Geyser State Park in Auburn, Washington for 30 years. [Courtesy: Damian Floth]

Key Takeaways:

The Flaming Geyser Flyers RC club will lose its 30-year-old runway at Flaming Geyser State Park as Washington State Parks will not renew their operating agreement, effective March 17, 2025.
The non-renewal is based on "ongoing safety concerns" cited by State Parks, including multiple flying violations, an incident involving a verbal threat to a park visitor, and interference with wildlife.
The club president acknowledges incidents but also points to a park reclamation project involving tree planting for salmon habitat as a potential conflict with their fly zone.
The club is actively searching for a new location with help from the Academy of Model Aeronautics, facing dissolution if an alternative cannot be found.

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Closing a full-sized runway takes years. Closing a runway utilized by radio controlled (RC) aircraft takes significantly less time, as the members of the Flaming Geyser Flyers, a Seattle-area RC aviation club have learned.

For the past 30 years the club has operated from a purposefully constructed runway at Flaming Geyser State Park east of Auburn, Washington. Recently Washington State Parks notified the club that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) permitting its operations in the park would not be renewed. That means as of March 17, 2025, the field is closed.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.