City Says Hobbyists May Use Landfill

A Rio Grande Valley model airplane club found a sweet-smelling solution to its search for a new field to fly from: a city dump.

The Tejas RC Association was recently told to vacate its home for 14 years at an airport in Edinburg, reports The Monitor newspaper in southern Texas. After searching for sites throughout the Valley, the group cut a deal with leaders in San Juan to use the landfill.

Garbage at the dump is buried underground, so there's little concern for foul odors or debris. Environmental laws prevent the city from building on the land... which provides the added benefit of staving off residential or commercial development.

“I think the site has a lot of potential,” said club member Rick Michelena, who flies for Continental Airlines. "It’s going to take some effort, but just to have 50 to 60 acres we can dedicate to a flying site ... no other city in the Valley has done that for us.”

As suitable sites are pushed out by encroaching development, more and more model airplane clubs are choosing to fly from landfills, reports The Monitor.

The San Juan site appears to be ideal for the Tejas RC Association... as many of its members fly larger, 1/4- or 1/5-scale model planes, and they can use the extra room. 

FMI: www.tejasrcassociation.org