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Greeting

Club Meetings 2nd Monday of each Month.

See Club Calander for Location

 

 

Welcome to the home of the

Westerville Model Aeronautics Association

We are a Radio Control Model Aircraft club located in the northern Columbus Ohio area.

The WMAA was founded in 1968 and is chartered by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), and the International Miniature Aerobatic Club.

Our club’s objective, as stated in the by-laws, is “...to promote and develop radio control aeromodelling as a hobby and recreational activity…”

The majority of WMAA members fly radio controlled (R/C) model airplanes.  Some fly R/C gliders (sailplanes), and R/C helicopters.  Glow-ignition and gasoline engines predominate, but with recent advances in motor, electronic speed control, and battery technology, electric-powered models are rapidly growing in popularity. Quadcopters and turbine jets are also flown.

Club officers are the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Safety Officer, Newsletter Editor, and Webmaster.

Business meetings are held the 2nd Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m.  From May through September, the meetings are at Dinneen Field, and from October through April, at the First Presbyterian Church on College Ave. in Westerville.

Our monthly newsletter, The Center of Gravity, provides information on club events and activities and invites input from all members.

Dinneen Field

Our flying field is located at 5770 Africa Rd., 1/4 mile east of the Alum Creek Dam in Delaware County.

In 1987, the WMAA leased this ten-acre site from the US Army Corps of Engineers.  No public money is spent in this field.  We started  with an undeveloped parcel of land and have installed:

  • A 900-foot long grass runway.
  • Protective fencing.
  • Five concrete pad flying stations
  • A concrete paved pilot preparation area including workbenches and setup/engine starting stands.
  • A frequency control board with slots for each channel to hold pilots’ AMA cards.
  • A shelter house with several picnic tables.
  • A paved parking lot.
  • Secure equipment storage sheds.
  • A portable toilet.
  • A windsock and flagpole.
  • Extensive landscaping.

AMA and club rules are prominently posted.

As this field is public land, anyone with a valid AMA license can fly, whether they are a WMAA member or not.  However, considering the money, time, and effort that members have spent developing and maintaining this property, we feel it is only fair to encourage pilots who fly here to join the club. In fact, membership perks easily pay back the annual $50 regular, and $5 family member dues!

Club Events

A typical year will start on January 1st with our annual Freeze-Fly.  The club provides hot coffee and donuts, and the members bring their own ear-muffs and skis.  This is strictly a fun event.

In March, we hold our Annual Show at the Northland Performing Arts Center.  This is a major income-producing event for the club, and an opportunity for members and guests to showcase their latest models and to pick up some needed supplies.  A grand raffle typically offers a 50/50 cash first prize and a fully built trainer as second prize.

Other club events held in a typical year:

IMAC Challenge
Library Day
Pylon Races
Columbus Scale Classic
Fun Flys and cookouts

Upcoming Events

Event Cards

Our Flying Field

Dinneen Field

5770 Africa Rd
Westerville, OH 43021

The WMAA Club field is operated under an agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Westerville Model Aeronautics Association has provided ALL of the money and resources for the planning, construction, maintenance and operation of the radio controlled model flying site. No tax dollars have been used for this facility.

As this field is public land, anyone with a valid AMA license who follows AMA and field rules can fly, whether they are a WMAA member or not.  However, considering the money, time, and effort that members have spent developing and maintaining this property, we feel it is only fair to encourage pilots who fly here to join the club. In fact, membership perks easily pay back the annual $75 regular, and $5 family member dues.

Dinneen Field is located just north of Columbus 10 minutes off of Interstate 71. The street address for the field on Africa Road doesn't work on many mapping sites, so the GPS coordinates are - Latitude N 40.185365 - Longitude W -82.953837.

Good News!  72Mhz Channels 20 (72.190) and 21 (72.210) have been tested to be OK to use, now that local TV broadcasters have switched to digital transmission.

See our Field Weather page for current conditions.  Note that the field itself is oriented west-southwest to east-northeast (see below), and winds in Ohio are generally from the west-southwest.  That means that you'll regularly have a direct headwind or quartering headwind taking off and landing to the west-southwest.  However, we often also see the Alum Creek reservoir (located just to our northwest) creating northerly "burbles" just at the height of the ridgeline, so what you experience on the ground may be a little different from what's a couple hundred feet up (or a mile away at a reporting station).  Pilots of very light trainers, foamies and other park flyers will want to be particularly mindful about this phenomenon and watch for winds that may want to blow their aircraft close to the flight line.

Turbine Operation

KBDI for Sarasota County

Click Here for Turbine Aircraft Fire Safety Rules and Myakka River District Map

Click here to visit the Florida Forest Service KBDI website