The Ventura County Comets flying facility, located at Lake Casitas, CA, is open for use to all current Ventura County Comet members 365 days a year except when required to be closed for scheduled events by either the Comets’ club or by request of Lake Casitas management. Our club has, and always will, abide by the rules and regulations as written by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) regarding proper field operations as a chartered club facility and will also operate under the guidelines and requirements as directed by the Lake Casitas management.
To be a member of the Comets also requires that you are also a current member of the AMA. Proof of membership for both organizations may be asked for at any time while flying at the Comets’ field. Direct access to the flying site and pit areas requires gaining access through combination locks at the field. Lock combinations are set by the Comet’s club and are made public to all Comets members that retain their field use privileges by paying their yearly club dues.
The Comet’s flying site is an AMA chartered club facility, with the AMA providing liability insurance while flying model airplanes at that field. The AMA will only cover liability claims for those individuals who have individual AMA membership. This insurance is only valid for current Comet members while flying their radio control model aircraft at the comets’ flying site. Non-Comet club members considered “guests”, who are able to control their model on their own, or those who are in flight training, are welcome to fly at the field as long as they have current AMA membership. Each guest is allowed to fly at the Comets’ field 3 times before joining the Comets’ club is considered mandatory. If they are in flight training with a current Comet’s member, that individual is allowed to fly for a period of thirty consecutive days at the Comets’ field before joining the Comets’ club is then considered mandatory. The AMA insurance will cover liability claims for guests at the chartered club field as long as there is a Comets’ club member in the presence of a guest.
Provisions have also been made through the AMA to allow non-AMA members, who are learning to fly radio controlled aircraft at chartered club fields, to be covered under the AMA insurance for 90 consecutive days while under the flight instruction of club designated “Intro Flight Instructors”.
At the end of those ninety days, that individual would then also be required to join the AMA and join the Comets’ club.
Comets’ club members who use the Comets’ flying site while flying their radio controlled model aircraft, have full access to the field through the above mentioned combination locks. It is the policy that when the last Comet club member at the Comets’ field is through flying for the day, that individual is required to close all of the entrance gates and lock all of the combination locks at the field before leaving the flying site.
If a guest is the last one to leave, they will be asked to park their vehicle outside of the flying site area so the Comet member may lock the entrance gate to the flying facility. The guest may continue to fly their aircraft at that point if they so desire.
If a non-AMA member is spotted flying at the field, he/she should be notified that they are not allowed to use the facility until they have acquired the necessary AMA membership. Non-Comets’ members, who use the Comets’ field without the Comets’ club knowledge are indicated by the entrance gate and pit area combination locks to the field having not been opened.
As a Comets’ club member you should help to enforce these guidelines. In the event a non-Comets member does not cooperate with the above procedures, the only recourse you have is to notify the Lake Casitas management before you leave the Lake Casitas recreation area that a non-Comets member is flying at the club field.