About The Drones

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San Diego Drones Inc. was formed in 1953. Their original flying site was in Lakeside, CA. For reasons unknown to this writer, the Drones lost their Lakeside site in the early '70's, and were quick on the hunt for a new location. A member then (and who still is) was a partner in Lago Vista Corp., a land investment firm. And at least one other partner in Lago Vista was also a radio control airplane enthusiast. Lago Vista owned 20 acres in south-eastern San Diego County. At that time, this land was well beyond any developed areas. Through selling bonds, the Drones negotiated a lease with Lago Vista, and contracted for grading and paving. This area of the county is far from 'flat' and substantial grading was required. The Drones runway and pit aea is asphalt, the runway is about 50' wide and 350' long. The pit area has about 16 spaces and occasionally flyers will over-flow toward each end. This writer has read the Drones Field described as the top of "Mt. Olympus". In 2001, Calvary Chapel of San Diego purchased this land from Lago Vista. Fortunately, the Drones were able to negotiate a workable lease with Calvary Chapel.

The current membership is more into casual sport flying, and maybe an annual Fun Fly. And when the airplanes are not in the sky, there is a lot of gab in the sky. Beginners are welcome and help will be given to anyone who asks (usually, help is volunteered). Most of the flying activity is on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but the field is open every day. Meetings are held at 11:00 am at the field, on the second Sunday of every month.

Through the late 1980's the Drones had a membership waiting list. The maximum number of members then was 80 (and it still is 80), but for many "speculated" reasons, the membership has only been able to hold at about 40. Some believe it is because the US Navy no longer has a Base Hobby Shop in San Diego, and others believe the lack of membership is due to the advent and popularity of personal computers. Either way, the Drones had to double their dues in 2001 in order to remain solvent.

Vandalism has long been a scourge for the Drones. Off-roaders, and others, seem to take great pleasure in destroying property when they know they are not likely to be caught. Obviously, this writer is not trying to stereotype off-roaders, but there definitely exists a small segment in that community who are hoodlums. Over the years, the only device the Drones have been able to maintain for frequency control is a length of railroad track buried in four feet of concrete. There have been dump-truck size loads of refuse dumped next to the runway, and stolen autos stripped and abandoned on the runway.

However, the Drones remain optimistic. Calvary Chapel has also leased the land to a local livestock firm. The livestock firm has fenced the property and will soon put a gate at the property entrance. This should dramatically reduce the vandalism problem, so what if the the Drones have to shovel a little cow poo once in a while.