Ballito radio control club takes off

Radio control model enthusiasts came together on a hill overlooking the M4 to celebrate the opening of the Ballito RC Club’s new premises on Saturday morning.
Club members were out at the crack of dawn, setting up open tents, making provision for visitors who were coming out to see the RC planes, helicopters and cars in action.
Simon Povey, the Ballito RC Club chairman, was proud to finally unveil their very own piece of land, which is situated behind Povey’s RC shop on Garlicke Drive.
“We have 15 members already, but a lot of people in Ballito travel to Verulam or Durban to use their RC’s,” he said. The club’s facilities include two airstrips for RC planes and a dirt track for RC cars. They also plan to build more tracks for cars on the plot.
“It is going to be great for Ballito,” Povey said.
Steve Long, the club’s treasurer, echoed Povey’s sentiments.
“The people of Ballito are always looking for something to do and this is good, clean, outdoor family fun, kids are able to play from a young age.”
Long also feels that the hobby is more affordable than it used to be.
“You can now get a nice car and a remote for R2500 to R3000,” he said.
However, as club member Rob Moore points out, RC models are not only used for fun.
“Some farmers want to use them for monitoring crops and they are even being used to track rhinos in some reserves,” he said.
Long also said some residential estates are looking to use RC helicopters to check perimeter fences instead of using human patrols.
Mervyn Roberts, a member and pilot, had not flown his RC plane for about 12 years. After recently refurbishing his pride and joy, he had the pleasure of flying it again, much to the delight of the other members and enthusiasts.
Roberts not only flies planes, but also builds them with some friends. So far they have put together four planes.
Owen Philpott, owner of Owen’s TLB, helped clear the land for the club. He had his RC car out on the dirt track and was beaming.
“It is good family fun, perfect for some father-son bonding,” he said, “We just need to get the word out that the club is up and running.”
However very upset Povey told the Courier on Tuesday that two off-road motorcyclists tore up the runways on Sunday afternoon, leaving trenches up, down and across the runways.
According to Povey, off-road bikers often use the trail to get to the cane and veld in the area.
“Most of the guys are respectful and do not do any damage,” he said, “Unfortunately, two guys have gone and given everybody a bad name.”
The chairman was quite disappointed with the turn of events after such a successful launch on Saturday.
Contact Simon on 032-5863861 or 071 322 6155 for more information about the club.