About Us
Flying radio-controlled aircraft in the Southtowns since 1962.
The Flying Knights fly radio-controlled model aircraft in southern Erie County. We fly everything from trainers to scale, electric to glow, and we welcome anyone who wants to learn.
The club started in a Boston Valley bean field in the spring of 1962 and was chartered by the AMA on May 23, 1963 with 16 charter members. The first airstrip was in Boston, but a 1967 town ordinance ended flying there. In 1968 the club built a new field in North Collins, which we still fly today, and in 1973 it added the field at the Hamburg town park on Lakeview Rd., known as The Nike Base.
Meetings
Club meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm at St. James United Church of Christ, 76 Main St., Hamburg, NY. Summer meetings may be held at one of our flying fields instead. Dates for the whole year are on the schedule page.
After the business portion of the meeting there are usually demonstrations, talks or show-and-tell. Visitors are welcome: if you would like to join, bring a completed membership application along.
How the club is run
We have five club officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor) and five board members, elected by the membership. Club business is decided at the monthly meeting, where any member can raise something or vote.
How the club is organized, what each officer does, and how members join and stay in good standing are all set out in the Constitution and Bylaws, which you can read along with the rest of our club documents on the Resources page.
Our fields
We fly at three sites. Addresses, maps and weather links are on the Our Fields page.
- Nike Base, Hamburg: owned and maintained by the Town of Hamburg.
- North Collins: owned and maintained by the Flying Knights.
- Emerling, Springville: private land whose owner graciously lets us fly there.
Current AMA membership is required at all three. Club rules are in the Knights Safety Rules on the Resources page.
What we do through the year
- Club fun flies at North Collins, Emerling, and The Nike Base
- August Open Fun Fly
- Annual Auction
- Club Christmas party
- Indoor flying over the winter
We also turn out for other clubs' events around western New York, such as the Kanakadea Park float fly and the RC Aircrafters auction. Dates for everything are on the schedule page.
New to the hobby?
Flight instruction and building help are always available from one of our members. Come out to a field or a meeting and ask. You do not need your own aircraft to come and watch.
You can also email the club at info@theflyingknights.net with any question about joining, instruction, or visiting a field.