Model aircraft that commonly soared around Costa Mesa‘s Fairview Park may soon be grounded for good.
The City Council today, March 21, is set to discuss the future of Fairview Park’s model aircraft flying field, potentially terminating the individual flyer permit system as recommended by city staffers due to environmental and safety concerns.
Hobbyists have flown planes off the bluff at Fairview since the early 1960s, according to Costa Mesa’s Harbor Soaring Society, the Academy of Model Aeronautics’ oldest radio-controlled soaring club.
But while the westerly bluffs were a popular site to launch remote-controlled model gliders, a city staff report says, the hobby has expanded to include more motorized propulsion aircraft. Staff and contracted biologists have noticed a “recurrent pattern of plane crashes into vegetated areas,” the report says, including in sensitive habitat areas and vernal pools – wetlands where federally protected endangered species (like fairy shrimp) and rare plants reside.
The staff report also cited safety concerns, noting complaints about “uncontrolled flying” near trails or in close proximity to other park users. It recommended the City Council permanently close the Fairview Park model aircraft flying field and end individual flyer permits.
“It’s really surprising to us,” said Mat Garcia, president of the Harbor Soaring Society. “We politely disagree with some of (the statements in the staff report), and we’ll be speaking about them at the City Council meeting.”
He pushed back on safety concerns, noting hobbyists aren’t allowed to fly over pathways where people walk and don’t purposefully land planes where they cannot be found or crash and damage them.
“No one wants to do that. It’s highly avoided,” he said.
The debate over the future of model aircraft flying at Fairview Park isn’t a new one. In 2021, the City Council approved a plan to allow the flying of non-motorized gliders while it…
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