The Ottawa Remote Control Club is an organization of approximately 150 modelling enthusiasts around the Ottawa area. We operate one power flying field, one glider flying field, and one sailing location and actively participate in the surrounding community.

We offer free training to anyone who joins the club and run a number of social and competitive events throughout the year. Our fields are run in a safe and fun way to allow the maximum enjoyment of the hobby.

Club History

In the fall of 1956 six enthusiasts in radio and model aircraft got together with the idea of forming a club. The "Original Six" held three preliminary meetings at the Bruce McDonald Motel in Bell's Corners. These Included Lou McDonald, Don Prentice, Jim Zufelt, Don Dow, Ernie Brown and one other unknown.

The preliminary meetings concluded with the resolution to officially form the Ottawa Remote Control Club and the first official meetings of this club were held at the Independent Coal and Lumber Company. The first president was Don Pretice and the first official event was a "Concourse d'Elegeance" held in October 1957, but the winners prizes were withheld until the model had actually flown. In fact early members were only "temporary members" and weren't recognized as full members until their model had flown! Meetings continued at this location until the sixties when the South Westboro Community Centre was used and finally the club met in the McNabb Community Centre in late 1968 where it still holds monthly meetings.

The first operating field was at a farm off county road #8 in South Gloucester. This field was also a designated emergency field for RCAF Uplands. This location was used for about three or four seasons when the club of a dozen or so members by now received permission to fly from the airport at Carp. This continued until a mishap when someone's plane landed in the rudder of a full sized parked airplane. Remember in those days the equipment was tubes, relays and escapements with one or two venturing into pulse rudder and later the infamous galloping ghost system. The control and reliability was far from today's sets!

So the club found a field off Cedarview just North of Fallowfield where flying continued until 1974 when the Experimental Farm needed the land. The next site was a grass field south on Moodie. That field was used until Nepean granted the club the use of the current field at the landfill site in 1978. The club also operated an east end field off Anderson Rd from 1970 until 1984.

While the club has always been primarily focused on aircraft, the radio boat, yacht and car enthusiasts have always been a part of the club's interests. Early members also pioneered boats as part of the hobby. In recent years, the car fans have formed their separate club but there is still a model yacht group that operates at the Andrew Haydon Park in Nepean.

The ORCC has always sponsored contests and fun events as the times required. One of the peak achievements was the hosting of the world FAI Scale Championships at Ottawa in 1980. At the same time they also hosted one of the first International Yachting competitions. The ORCC continues today to provide a center of interest and a voice for radio control modellers.