Limitless ROSA type event in US?

[Jerold]

Has anyone ever been to, held or thought of holding a ROSA type event in the US?

I suspect the FAA is a bit fussy about having civilians on a runway. I've seen private runways/airports for rent but they are pricey.

 

[fish]

How many meters do you need?

Amazon warehouse parking lot?

I bet they'd sponsor it, along with Horizon Hobby.

 

[Jerold]

I was thinking that there could be some sponsors along with a reasonable entry fee. I did find one runaway in So Cal desert that will rent it but the price shown is ~4300/day. That probably doesn't include insurance. So figure it's probably $4500+ day. We may also need to purchase/bring some equipment like fire bottles, timing gear, etc... Just depends on how organized we want to be. We could just get 45 people, every one throws in $100 for the day and we use GPS.

How big is the Amazon parking lot and can we steal it for a weekend? The ones around here (SF Bay Area) are basically office parks.

For some big numbers, purely a guess here, but I suspect that we would need somewhere around 1-1.2Km (3,000-4,000 ft). That's is solely based on the lengths of runways. However, I have a local spot that is about 500m (1600 ft) and you can get over 100 mph, pretty easily, and I'm a terrible driver. There is another place about an hour from here and it's ~600m (2,000 ft) and I've heard people get to 130mph there.

The catch is it has be like glass. Some runways and taxiways are made of cement blocks. This is the long (1 mile) runway Moffet Field (Mountain View CA) and it's no good for 100mm wheels.

 

[TN-RC]

@jondilly1974 Has been talking about one in OH.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

It is quite funny that the speed side of the hobby has grown so much yet there has not been an organized speed event in the US.
So many of the guys you see online have great roads so I am unsure what the turn out would be like.

Having a $4,000 + cost daily just does not work out well.
Amazon isn't going to stop their work to allow us to use their parking lot and likely has provisions for water drainage that will make it not ideal anyway.

An airstrip or private road is about the only option.

Initial thoughts about the crew needed to safely run the event would be quite a task. I think $80-100 entry fee is reasonable and could require a $20 spectator fee to help cover costs.

Our best bet would be a small regional airport. Still, questionable how many people would make the drive across the country.

 

[sert rc]

My buddy has called every municipal airport in the greater Los Angeles area. When told it’s for an RC event, every airport has passed renting out the runway.

Of course this was not presented to the airports as a well organized national event, but just a private rental for half a day.

 

[SrC]

How many meters do you need?

Amazon warehouse parking lot?

I bet they'd sponsor it, along with Horizon Hobby.

I think a mile + is a minimum for any Rossa Event.
Maybe I can ask LaGuardia Airport across the street if they will let me host a speed run event. That's if United, Delta, Jet Blue, Air Canada and the rest don't mind that I cancel their flights for a day. The delayed passengers can all watch the event while waiting at their gates. A captured audience.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

A random thing to consider is the orientation of the strip.
Ideally, a North/South config is at least here in Texas ideal. The wind is most often coming from the south.

 

[TN-RC]

A random thing to consider is the orientation of the strip.
Ideally, a North/South config is at least here in Texas ideal. The wind is most often coming from the south.

Here in are part of the MW the wind comes from the W most of the time.

 

[Diem Turner]

My buddy has called every municipal airport in the greater Los Angeles area. When told it’s for an RC event, every airport has passed renting out the runway.

Of course this was not presented to the airports as a well organized national event, but just a private rental for half a day.

In their minds eye they probably envision 37 half drunk/fully drunk guys in mid-life crisis mode playing with toys and breaking legs....not that this is terribly far from the truth but I still find this a dubious and discriminatory practice.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Here in are part of the MW the wind comes from the W most of the time.

Sounds like it depends where the ocean is...

 

[Diem Turner]

Sounds like it depends where the ocean is...

Or the mountains.

 

[TN-RC]

Here is our airport and I think we could rent it out the problem is that I think the surface is not going to work for small cars.
https://goo.gl/maps/p3sMPz1gPG8EPzkS9
Let me know what you think @LibertyMKiii

 

[LibertyMKiii]

In their minds eye they probably envision 37 half drunk/fully drunk guys in mid-life crisis mode playing with toys and breaking legs....not that this is terribly far from the truth but I still find this a dubious and discriminatory practice.

Only takes one bad experience to leave a sour taste in their mouth...
There are plenty here on this forum that I have seen them post about contacting their local airport that in my opinion have no business doing so. Meaning they are just not at that level to need an airport yet and have a lot of learning to do still.

 

[SrC]

A random thing to consider is the orientation of the strip.
Ideally, a North/South config is at least here in Texas ideal. The wind is most often coming from the south.

Airport Runway directions/orientation are always specifically designed and setup for wind direction.
Wanting ideally to always land and takeoff into the wind if it is substantial. They adjust plane traffic as needed this way.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Here is our airport and I think we could rent it out the problem is that I think the surface is not going to work for small cars.
https://goo.gl/maps/p3sMPz1gPG8EPzkS9
Let me know what you think @LibertyMKiii

Yeah concrete is not going to be a good choice. Too many expansion joints and on these little tires its a rough ride.

It really needs to be black top / asphalt / pavement

 

[Diem Turner]

Only takes one bad experience to leave a sour taste in their mouth...
There are plenty here on this forum that I have seen them post about contacting their local airport that in my opinion have no business doing so. Meaning they are just not at that level to need an airport yet and have a lot of learning to do still.

Or just one guy that ate the wrong thing for breakfast...

But yeah, I take your meaning. Just calling up an airport saying, "Hi this is Joey Bag-o-Donuts, I'd like to rent your airport for a day..." probably doesn't go over terribly well I imagine.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Or just one guy that ate the wrong thing for breakfast...

But yeah, I take your meaning. Just calling up an airport saying, "Hi this is Joey Bag-o-Donuts, I'd like to rent your airport for a day..." probably doesn't go over terribly well I imagine.

Or he crashes, LiPos go up on fire, and creates an "incident" that has to be reported. Management gets involved etc...

 

[SrC]

FAA approval will be needed in most cases. Only private airports might be possible. Airports are for planes. I can't see any exceptions for the most part.
I was invited to a party in Port Charlotte FL once years back. Friends Dad was a big time well off Rancher. His driveway was well over a mile long Air strip for his personal plane. It was so smooth for asphalt. I reached well over a 100mph with some friends in my car. The Beauty was that you can't get a speeding ticket on private property.

 

[Tex Koder]

It's just so unfortunate.. with the News and YouTube that shows groups of young trouble makers taking over a highway and doing crazy burnouts and idiotic street racing...

Those are likely the immediate images that pop in these airstrip owners' minds when they get a call to propose for a day's rental of "high speed RC racing"...