That search ended this summer, when the Gastineau Aeromodelers Society worked with the U.S. Forest Service to designate the bus parking lot at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center as an official landing area for model airplanes.
"These airplanes are actually fast, and it can be dangerous," said Ray Rusaw, a longtime club member. "That's why we were trying to get a spot."
Having a specially designated space, away from cars, homes and unsuspecting pedestrians, allows club members to fly without worrying about damaging property or people when the planes crash, as they sometimes do, Rusaw said.
Club members and the Forest Service combined funds $1,131 from the club and $2,400 from visitor entry fees for the Mendenhall Visitor Center to build a special landing strip in the parking lot.
"It just looks like a well-packed surface that is a bit smoother than the rest of the parking lot," said Ron Marvin, a recreation staff officer at the Juneau ranger district for the U.S. Forest Service. He worked with the club to secure the area and build the landing strip.
"It was just a nice thing to do," Marvin said. "... We serve a lot of recreationists ... but radio control folks were ones that we never really spend any money on."
The Juneau Empire
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