The West Michigan Soaring Society Club has exclusive flying privileges at two sod farms. We have paid to register both fields with the Academy of Model Aeronautics, AMA. This provides the landowner liability insurance. As a glider club we have other annual expenses paid for by dues paying members. The landowner has every right to remove anyone from their property at any time for any reason. Flying RC gliders is a privilege we respect.
Exclusive to fly at either field means you will need:
- To be member in good standing with the West Michigan Soaring Society. Please keep your club card with you when you fly.
- Additionally you need to be a current member of the AMA to fly at these fields. This provides AMA liability Insurance for you and liability protection for the club. There are a number of other benefits to enjoy as an AMA member.
- We ask you abide by the WMSS Club bylaws, safety and field rules. These are not restrictive; just common sense. Flying sites are extremely difficult to find these days and we are protective of ours.
- You may fly as a guest while accompanied by a WMSS Club Member 2 times. If you do not have an AMA card liability becomes the responsibility of the Club Member you are flying with.
- Rules vary for each field. These are communicated individually for each field.
Having gotten the business out of the way we fly gliders to have fun. There are opportunities to compete but with the same goal – for enjoyment of the sport.
Things to know about flying the AAA sod farm:
The AAA Turf, Inc. is located at 6041 36th Ave, Hudsonville, MI 49426. This is a great place to fly gliders evenings and weekends. Typically when the wind is out of the East, we fly near the office building parking lot off of 36th Ave. When the wind is out of the West we fly one of the open fields on the east side of 40th Ave. Please pull well off the shoulder of 40th when flying that field. Do not park anywhere on the field or the berm at Rush Creek. The owner doesn’t want others to think they can park there when we are not flying. Please also do not fly over homes or businesses and stay around 200′ altitude flying over any road. Thank you. Park in the office parking lot when flying off 36th. If the office is in operation check in and politely ask if you are clear to fly…they are running a business and we don’t want to interfere.
Pilots be aware not to fly on a soggy field or freshly planted field. The grass should be well established. This land was once muck farm land and can be very soft during rainy spells. Note: no restroom available.
AAA Turf Sod Farm Map: Wind: http://wx.ikitesurf.com/map#42.871,-85.865,10,1 hover over arrow head 11 and select OR http://www.windalert.com/map#42.85,-85.973,11,1 Hover over an arrowhead for location. Should be arrowhead in center. Click to see graph. Weather: https://www.wunderground.com/us/mi/hudsonville/zmw:49426.1.99999?MR=1
Things to know about flying the Ledema & Boyink sod farm:
The Ludema & Boyink sod farm is located at 6312 Clarksville Rd, Clarksville, MI. This is a crazy great place to fly. The lift is generally excellent, the area very rural and quiet, the grass smells wonderful and it almost feels like you are in another land if you are use to city living. Flying at this field requires 2.4 frequency radio equipment. This is because Walter’s RC Park is just a short distance away. People flying there using 72 MHz will definitely be in range of this sod farm and vice versus. Please no 72 MHz radios here. New members please arrange to fly with any of our seasoned members the first time to understand what fields are available and other considerations.
This will be the field we use for any level of competition we have scheduled. There is more room for parking and more open for ranging out to fly. Note: no restroom available. The small town of Clarksville is just down the road where there is gas, food and ice cream!
Ledema & Boyink Sod Farm Map: http://wx.ikitesurf.com/map#42.939,-85.076,13,1 OR http://www.windalert.com/map#42.856,-85.3,11,1 Hover over an arrowhead for location. Should be arrowhead in center. Click to see graph. Weather: https://www.wunderground.com/us/mi/clarksville/zmw:48815.1.99999
Static Map of Clarksville Sod Farm
There are 3 flying areas we can use at this sod farm. When we post plans to fly there we will try to identify which field by the letters A,B,C. Sometimes we don’t know until we get there. Keep in mind that these are active grass fields to be harvested so we may be surprised to find that we can’t fly where we planned and have to choose an alternate field.
West Michigan Soaring Society 