Southwest Columbia neighborhood in conflict over R/C planes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Remote-controlled planes have been filling the sky in the Longview neighborhood in southwest Columbia, causing some residents to take their noise complaints to city hall.

Several homeowners belonging to the Longview neighborhood association have debated selling their homes because an R/C club, the Mid-Missouri Radio Control Association, uses property nearby to fly its planes, said Doug Linebaugh, a former president and current secretary of the local homeowners' association.

Radio-controlled aircraft can range from less than $100 to $30,000 or more. Some are made from the most basic materials like styrofoam or balsa wood while others incorporate small-scale jet engines and computers. The hobby has been around since the 1930s but gained popularity in the 1970s.

Parents in the homeowners' association are concerned for the safety of their children, after at least one plane has gone down in the forest near the neighborhood where many children play.

"There's no way the people flying the planes can see where the children are running around to avoid them," Renee Kelly, a resident of the neighborhood said. "You can see them flying over parts of our neighborhood, and you can certainly hear them."

However, members flying planes at the airfield explained the safety measures in place both in the planes as well as that the pilots' must abide by while flying.

"We'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't follow the rules. We wouldn't have an airfield. We follow the rules strictly the Aeronautical Modeling Association and the Federal Aviation Administration gives us," Mark Johnston, the club's president, explained.

"It's called line-of-sight," one pilot said. "You never fly your plane to a point you cannot see what direction it is traveling in or facing."

Along with the personal responsibility, there are also safety measures within the planes as well.

"Technology has progressed so much since the beginning," another pilot said. "There are planes with self-guided landing systems now that will land in a safe area if connection to the control, or mechanical failure occurs," he said.

He described it as two computers working hand in hand, one on the ground, another in the air. Both are meant to prevent accidents.

"You can hear them even if you don't see them," Linebaugh said. "I believe this is why people are most upset about, the noise."

Homeowners are concerned not only about the noise the planes create and the safety of their children, but also the risk of fires if one was to crash on a house.

"The city council has tabled the issue in the past, and during past votes, the club was invited to attend, unlike the members of the HOA," Linebaugh said.

"It feels like we're being sidelined. They finally bring it up, but we don't even get invited," he said.

Another meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, where discussions will begin between the club members, and the residents of the neighborhood. No outcomes are expected to be made at the meeting, however it will serve as a starting point whether or not the Mid-Missouri Radio Control Association will be allowed to keep their lease.

The land is leased to the group for use by the City of Columbia. The organization is responsible for not only all construction fees, but also maintenance fees, totaling close to 35,000 dollars so far since 2012.

Check back for updates to this developing story.