News
20 May, 2025
Flight plans ‘are good’
THE Sports Aeromodellers Association Moreton Bay Region (SAAMBR) committee has moved to distance itself from members who have expressed concern over the loss of the club’s lease at Sid Bray Field, citing the new Burpengary location as “suitable for everyone”.
Club member, Warner Summerton, raised concerns with The Sentinel after Moreton Bay Council opted not to renew SAAMBR’s lease at the Griffin-based flying field.
Despite the lease not being renewed, SAAMBR will continue to operate out of the Jim Gibson Field in Burpengary East.
Mr Summerton claimed Council had “blindsided” the club, and argued it was unfair for the lease not to be extended.
He also expressed concerns that not all model aircraft could be flown at the Jim Gibson site due to differences in aircraft size and field suitability.
However, committee member and former SAAMBR president, Phil Adames, said the committee was surprised by the reaction of Mr Summerton and another small group of members.
“We’ve known about the closure for over a decade and we’ve had three holdovers on the lease,” Mr Adames said.
“That’s the very reason why we got given Jim Gibson Field.
Because Council said Sid Bray was going to be a sports complex.”
Mr Adames contested claims made, maintaining the Burpengary East facility was suitable for all model aircraft flyers.
“I fly everything from tiny little hand launch planes, all the way up to 100 size jets and we fly out of Jim Gibson,” he said.
“It’s suitable for absolutely everyone and the fear of the committee is we’ve been painted out not to be a suitable club for people to learn, because the field is allegedly not suitable.
We spent a lot of time increasing our junior membership and so far we have the second highest number of junior membership in Australia.”
He said the committee had adopted a pragmatic view on the Griffin lease ending, adding they are “quite happy with the situation”.
“Ultimately I wish there was a flying field on every corner, but everything comes to an end,” he said.
“I’m a realist, and we’ve had multiple holdovers.
We’ve fought to keep the field and Council gave us another field.
The committee is in a space where we accept it, and we would much rather have multiple fields, but the reality is we can’t sustain it with 230 members.”
Mr Summerton said he and a small group of likeminded members were looking to establish a new club, separate from SAAMBR, citing a growing divide with the current leadership.
“The SAAMBR committee said they no longer want to use that field, that’s up to them,” he said.
“But some of the people who fly at Sid Bray Field still have a connection with that field, and it’s been in our DNA for quite some time.
We would like to continue using it and we would like to form our own club down there and operate separately to SAAMBR, with Council approval.”
A Moreton Bay Council spokesperson previously told The Sentinel Council was supporting SAAMBR’s transition to sole use of the Jim Gibson Field in Burpengary.
“Not only does this ensure continuous operations for SAAMBR but also opens up opportunities for growth of their club,” they said.
“Council will continue planning for future opportunities at the Griffin site and new information will be made available on Council’s Your Say Moreton Bay website as community engagement opportunities arise.
