State Parks terminates agreement with RC-plane Flaming Geyser Flyers, citing safety

Editor’s note: Due to space constraints, this story has been shortened. A full article can be read online.

Flaming Geyser State Park has become a no-fly zone for a three-decade-old RC plane club.

On April 29, the Flaming Geyser Flyers received an official letter from the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission informing them that their use of a flight field will be terminated in March of next year.

The letter states that State Parks’ decision is based on “concerns of safety and availability to the general public field” as well as to “avoid destruction or disrespect of Tribal burial grounds in and near the field.”

However, Flaming Geyser Flyers President Damian Floth and club founder Al Pardta said State Parks’ decision has little basis in the concerns outlined in the letter.

“I’m just very saddened, and the sad part is I don’t know why we’re losing it,” Pardta, who says he visits the park every day, said in a recent interview. “… Safety is our number one concern out there.”

“It’s disappointing,” Floth said. “It hinges on unfair.”

But State Parks says it has gathered multiple reports of park visitors feeling unsafe around the flight field, plus noise complaints, incidents with wildlife, and one notable incident where an off-duty state patrol lieutenant felt threatened by a pilot.

While Floth has said there has been little communication with the department about terminating the agreement, State Parks said there were two meetings — one in March 2023, and another in November that year — where they informed the Flyers that they did not intend to renew the agreement.

Floth holds that is “absolutely not true”.

Floth said that while the Flyers is pushing back against State Parks’ allegations of unsafe flying, the club is not trying to change the department’s mind about ending the park use agreement.

“We’re not looking to stay,” he continued. “All we’re looking to do is preserve our legacy, that we have been safe.”

SOME HISTORY

The Flyers club was formed about 31 years ago by Padrta, who used his own equipment to cut a runway at the park to fly his radio-controlled (RC) plane. More pilots began joining Pardta at the state park, and around 1999, the club and its members became official Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) members.

According to Floth — who was the club’s vice president in 2023 and is currently president — this means the club has to adhere to a national standard for RC airfields and all club pilots need to be pass an AMA written and practical flight test. Members and the club as a whole have to pay dues to the AMA, but on the flip side, receive personal liability insurance.

There are currently just over 100 members of the Flyers, but over the years, Floth said there’s been a total of about 350 members.

The club officially entered into an agreement with the State Parks in 2000.

According to the revised 2023 agreement, State Parks provides the field, located at the northwest corner portion of the park, and will allow flights at agreed-upon times; in return, the Flyers must keep their insurance and radio licenses up to date, conduct educational demonstrations for the public, maintain the grounds, and respect public access, among other rules.

“The state leveled the land, they put in a bathroom, but everything else… supplied for through donations,” and built by volunteers, Floth said. “Our club actually improved the area, with very little help from the state.”

Floth added that the club is also an extra pair of eyes for park rangers, which is not a part of the agreement they have with State Parks.

“There’s been many times I’ve picked up the phone… and let them know something’s happened,” like visitors lighting fires or drinking alcohol, Floth said.

SAFETY ISSUES

Threats and injuries

According to Floth, the club has had very few incidents that involved injury or the threat of injury of people.

Mostly, he said, it’s planes crashing into trees, and even those are few and far in-between, given the training club pilots are required to undergo.

“We’re maybe kissing double digits,” of crash incidents in the last four years, he continued, adding that this is impressive given the number of people flying with the club, and that there are planes flying at the field every day of the week “as long as there isn’t something coming down from the sky.”

These incidents don’t include complaints about noise or access to the field by non-members; those complaints are not shared with the Flyers club.

It appears that a 2022 incident spurred increased scrutiny from State Parks; Floth described it as one of the clubs’ most “egregious” violations of its agreement with the state.

According to the the State Parks report, two women were training dog for search and rescue near, but not on, the flying field. One pilot told them to leave, and the women told him the dog was working and they could not stop. At that point, the pilot flew his helicopter very close to them and the dog.

According to Floth, the pilot was not being aggressive. However, the pilot was found to be at fault, fined by the state, and banned from the park. His club membership was also revoked.

The Flyers’ management plan clearly states the public can access the field at any time.

“If somebody comes on the field, our membership is instructed to land their aircraft,” Floth said. “I’ve never encountered anybody who says, ‘I’m going to be out here anyway’… they end up leaving the field.”

“Since that incident, rangers have been much more sensitive” about potential safety incidents with the club, which includes tree crashes, Floth said. He said when there is a crash, members have to fill out an incident report and submit it to the state.

As for the planes themselves, Floth said the planes club members fly are, in general, electric powered, and all the planes’ bodies of the planes are foam. They can have up to 40-inch wingspans and weigh between two to ten pounds, but the larger aircraft are generally flown by more experienced pilots.

“These are not super high-powered, they’re not super large, they’re not super dangerous aircraft,” he said. “The chances of getting hurt… are extremely low. We’ve never had any incident with Joe Public.”

In his 30 years, Pardta could only recall one injury in the 2000s, when a pilot lost control of his plane during takeoff and hit another pilot’s daughter, causing a severe ear injury.

Noise and collisions

State Parks confirmed that since the 2022 incident, there have been no similar incident reports filed with park rangers.

But since 2018, there have been eight self-reported flying violations; six occurred in 2024, State Parks said, adding that tree crashes make park visitors feel unsafe.

“The self-reported violations include crash landings on neighbor properties and tree collisions and/or entrapments (the plane remained stuck in the tree) along the park’s trail system, which is frequented by other park visitors,” PIO Sarah Parks said in an email interview. “… Safety does not only mean in reference to collisions with people. Safety includes the ability to maintain full control of the RC aircraft, particularly because the field is in a public park where other visitors are using trails, accessing the river or hanging out around the field.”

The trail area loops around the flying field.

But Floth pointed out that four of those six crashes happened between April 29, when the termination letter was signed, and July 7, when he received the letter via email, which tells him again that safety is not the real issue why State Parks is no longer partnering with the Flyers.

The number of crashes have increased this last year because RC plane technology has become more accessible and people discovered they enjoyed flying RC planes during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading them to the club, Floth said. This has led to an influx of new pilots that, while AMA certified, are new to the hobby and have less control of their planes than more experienced pilots.

In addition to tree crashes, there are two recorded incidents of a plane crashing onto private property.

In 2008, State Parks received a complaint of a pilot, despite warnings about trespassing, retrieved their plane from the private property.

State Parks said another private property crash was made on Feb. 28.

While Floth said these are the only two incidents of this kind, State Parks said “numerous undocumented complaints from neighbors over the years alleging this happens often.”

Finally, there are noise complaints from neighbors and park visitors, but Floth said all their planes meet their agreement’s stipulation to stay under a 89 decibel limit, adding that most of the planes are electric and make little to no noise.

Wildlife

In addition to reported incidents regarding the safety of people, State Parks said the Flyers’ activities have also interfered with wildlife.

According to the department, a ranger personally witnessed planes interfering with four bald eagles flying around the airfield in 2023; this led to the club’s rules being amended to include that all planes bust be grounded when birds of prey are active in the flying area.

Floth said there are birds that fly into the area, “But the truth is, for the vast majority of our time I’ve been out there, birds stay away from our aircraft.”

SEARCHING FOR A NEW FIELD

As the Flaming Geyser Flyers are not seeking to return to the state park, they’re now looking a new place to fly.

In order to meet AMA guidelines, they need a 23 acres of open land.

The catch? While the club and its member pays dues to the AMA, members do not pay dues to the club — any money that the Flyers use for its operations is voluntary given, and totals in the low hundreds annually.

Floth said this means the club has already been priced out of potential agreements with locals.

If March 2025 comes around and a new flying field isn’t found, Floth believes the club will disband as momentum stalls.

While some pilots may join other clubs, Floth said that the Flyers are unique in that they’re public facing and that’s been instrumental to getting people involved in RC plane flying.

“We get so many people to come and spectate and ask questions; we entertain,” Floth said, adding that he hopes wherever the club lands, they can continue their public demonstrations. “The other clubs are not set up like that.”

Floth has seen spectators join the club with their first RC planes, but it doesn’t stop there.

“We have many members that have flown RC and then gotten the passion to go pursue their airplane certificate, learning how to fly a full-sized aircraft,” he continued. “It’s a gateway into what aviation is about.”

The Flaming Geyser Flyers can be contacted at geyserflyers.org.