Foreigner flying in the SF Bay Area & ordering from Hobby King Intl.

[redguy]

Hello,

I'm going for an extended business trip to San Francisco and I'm thinking about buying a cheap rc plane (Bixler or similar) and having some fun flying it. And that brings up some questions:

- Is it legal for me (a non-US citizen) to fly a small RC plane in California? Am I required to fly at a designated field or can I fly anywhere? (Of course, by "anywhere" I mean "nice, empty, open, publicly accessible field, beach or a meadow, far from buildings, busy roads, powerlines etc")

- How does ordering from Hobby King International warehouse works in US? Are there any extra customs? Will it get delivered directly to my address? (When ordering from Czech republic, the package ends up at a customs office and I have to pay customs and either pick it up there myself or do some extra paperwork to have it processed and delivered by the post office)

- And finally, any recommendations on a good RC brick&mortar store in the Bay Area?

thanks,
Bob

 

[RoyBro]

As far as I know, it is legal for you to fly anywhere that is not prohibited. Obviously, state parks are prohibited. City parks may or not be prohibited, depending on local rules. But I don't like to fly in city parks due to the possibility of kid involvement. Also, city parks around here are all about the trees.

You can order from Hobby King's international warehouse and you shouldn't have any issues with customs. I've never had to pay customs fees on any of my orders from Hong Kong. And they will deliver to your door. You won't have to go anywhere to pick it up.

Lately however, there has been a lot of issues with orders from the international warehouse in general. I usually received my items in two-three weeks. I've read reports, however of people having to wait the full 49 days to receive their order. I would suggest ordering from the US West Warehouse. The selection isn't as great as the International Warehouse, but as you and it are near the western coast of the US, delivery should be in a week or so.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I would suggest ordering from the US West Warehouse. The selection isn't as great as the International Warehouse, but as you and it are near the western coast of the US, delivery should be in a week or so.

Second this. Although there should be no issues with customs, the shipping time is long enough that I usually find a U.S. supplier if I can't get the item I want from one of HK's US warehouses. Not everybody feels this way, though.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Regarding where to fly, your best bet would be to hook up with local flyers and find out where they fly. There are two places that I fly--one, a small park that has a mostly un-mowed field that is usually empty; the other, an empty field adjacent to a soccer complex. I only know about these areas because I'm a local, though. In the San Francisco area, there is so much population density, that I suspect happenstance areas like this are less likely to be found. If you hook up with a local flight club and explain your situation, they will probably be happy to let you fly at their field, for a small fee, or possibly for free out of a sense of hospitality.