Forsberg Field Dedication - North Mankato MN

On May 21st the City of North Mankato and the North Mankato Quiet Flyers held a dedication ceremony for the newly constructed Forsberg Field city park.  This is a RC flying park for use by the public with electric powered RC aircraft.

Back in early 2010 the club was flying off of the local middle school soccer fields.  However whenever they were in use by the soccer clubs, football teams, marching band or other groups the RC flyers would wait till the fields were clear to fly.  One day a soccer coach stopped to talk to a couple members about flying and how the fields are often busy.  They met again and did some flying together.  Well this coach got the club in touch with the city administrator and talks about a place for the RC flyers to fly without disruption ensued.  A year later the park has been setup in an industrial area where the planes have room to fly without obstruction and without bothering any neighbors.  There is a 120 x 70 foot paved runway area with grass overruns on all sides.

The dedication ceremony went well even with some rain early on.  The club put on a display of various aircraft including trainers, jets, warbirds, gliders, helicopters and more.  Many people enquired about learning to fly and the instructors were busy handing out information and setting up contacts.

This is a great partnership with the city and a bunch of local RC flyers to help grow the hobby and introduce more people to aviation and the RC hobby.