LAUREL HILL — Ron Meade enjoys flying remote controlled airplanes; the hobby offers an escape from the daily routine, he said.
"I enjoy the concentration it takes," Meade, president of The Laurel Hill RC Flyers, said. "It's a great diversion … it's a relaxing thing to do."
And the Crestview resident hopes more people will become part of the revived group, purportedly the only club of its kind in the county. The Flyers took the first step toward staging a comeback last week when the City Council approved a land use agreement allowing the club to operate aircraft at Industrial Park off New Ebenezer Road.
City leaders also allowed the club three months of water usage to help replant grass at the location. Club members have purchased seeds and other items needed to replant, and Meade predicts the field will be ready for club use by mid-summer.
After taking a break from the planes, he can't wait.
"We have been flying since 2008," Meade said. "We were out of action for two or three years and now we are back at it."
The club─ which had 15 members from Crestview, Laurel Hill, Baker and Alabama ─stopped meeting when Meade's daughter, Heather Meade Adams, became ill. He cared for her until her death last year at age 39.
"I'm feeling like doing something again; it's time for me to get back on my feet," Meade said.
Meeting times haven't been decided, as of this writing, but club members pay a $10 monthly fee toward field maintenance.
In addition to helping enthusiasts practice flying remote controlled airplanes, helicopters and quads, Meade said being part of an RC club gives new flyers more insight.
"This is not something you can get into on your own very easily," he said. "You need to have someone help you in order to get into it, and that is why we have a club."
WANT TO JOIN?
Area remote controlled airplane enthusiasts interested in joining the Laurel Hill RC Flyers can email the club at laurelhillrc@cox.net.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Club for remote controlled aircraft enthusiasts re-forms