Pilots take to the skies without leaving the ground at Marine Park radio control club in Brooklyn
There's an airfield in Marine Park that looks like it belongs somewhere much larger.
The runway is miniature, but the aircraft taking off from it can reach nearly 200 mph. And the pilots controlling them never leave the ground.
Members of the Radio Control Society of Marine Park have been flying from the park since 1969, operating and maintaining one of the few places in New York City where people can legally operate radio-controlled aircraft.
"Takeoffs are optional. Landings are mandatory," said Drew DeMarco, a member of the society.
He was one of several pilots along the runway, their eyes fixed on the sky and their thumbs controlling aircraft soaring overhead.
The club's most powerful jet is nearly 7 feet long and can reach nearly 200 mph. It belongs to automotive mechanic Owen Wong-Ken, who said flying gives him an escape from everyday life.
"There's no greater feeling when you're flying. I'm telling you, you forget all your problems. This is your moment," Wong-Ken said.
His jet costs more than $10,000 and requires a spotter during flight.
That spotter is Ramon Mendez, the club's Chief Field Officer and a competitive flyer who has spent decades in the hobby.
"So this is an F-15," he points proudly to his miniature jet. "It goes about 100 to to about 125 miles per hour."
Asked how long he's been part of this world, he responds, "This has been my life. I've been doing it 40, wow, 45 years."
The club brings together people with varying interests ranging from aviation and model building to electronics and painting.
"Whether you're into electronics, model building, painting, aviation in general, it's just a great intersection of all the different STEM activities into the one hobby," said Justin Errante, Vice President of the society.
The members operate and maintain the miniature airfield, whose main runway was designed to resemble a runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The aircraft flown there range from model warplanes, to jets, drones and helicopters capable of intricate maneuvers.
Members are required to have insurance, safety licenses and certifications to fly. Though members say they love welcoming amateurs to try their hand.
The field is also used for training. Members teach students through high school STEM programs, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has used the site to practice with drones, according to club members.
The club is also willing to put a controller in the hands of Brooklyn reporter Hannah Kliger, a complete beginner, with plenty of preparation and in-flight guidance.
For a first-time pilot, the flight did not go quite as planned. The wind whipped the craft around and the landing was rocky. But members say that is part of the fun.
"Sometimes the repairs are easy, sometimes they're beyond repair. But that's the nature of the hobby," DeMarco said.
Despite the need for more practice, Kliger left the field with an invitation to try again as an honorary member.
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