The Victoria Radio Control Modelers Society, a group that has been flying model aircraft in the region since 1966, now operates from an airfield off Lochside Drive that sits on land rented from Michell’s Farm. The club, whose runway lies between Martindale and Island View roads, blends hands-on craftwork, technical curiosity and neighbourhood social life for its membership.
From schoolyards to a permanent field
Club treasurer Duncan Ferguson said the society’s roots are modest. For its first decade the group flew wherever space could be found — schoolyards, unused fields and other provisional locations. Over time, the search for a reliable site culminated in the present arrangement off Lochside Drive, where members say they have room for takeoffs, landings and the workshops that precede flight.
Today the club lists 48 members, alongside a small number of associate members and three or four junior members. The blend of participants ranges from builders who craft detailed scale replicas to hobbyists content to get a plane airborne and keep it there.
Why people fly model aircraft
For many members the attraction is technical and tactile: building airframes, tuning engines or electric systems and learning the physics of controlled flight at small scale. For others, the motive is chiefly social.
"Sometimes I describe it as a social club that masquerades as a flying club, and for a lot of people that’s true,"
Ferguson, who joined the society in 2012 after retirement, said his own interest was piqued by a lifelong fascination with aviation and the practical affordability of model flight compared with pursuing a full-size pilot’s licence. He emphasised the visual and spatial challenge of flying:
"I love the flying. It’s the challenge of trying to move an object in three dimensions that you can see, but you don’t, you’re not actually in it,"
Club footprint and community context
The airfield’s placement on Michell’s Farm land off Lochside Drive places it within a patchwork of agricultural, residential and recreational uses characteristic of parts of Saanich. The site gives the club a more permanent base after decades of transience, but it also means the society must balance activity with neighbours, landowner arrangements and aviation regulations governing small unmanned aircraft.
Members say the site has enabled continuity between generations: younger pilots and junior members can learn hands-on skills from long-tenured enthusiasts, while older members continue to apply technical knowledge and mentoring.
- Founding year: 1966
- Membership: 48 members (plus associate members)
- Junior members: three or four
- Location: runway off Lochside Drive, between Martindale and Island View roads
- Land: rented from Michell’s Farm
| Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Year established | 1966 |
| Current official membership | 48 |
| Junior members | 3–4 |
| Field location | Off Lochside Drive (between Martindale & Island View) |
Local fit and future
The Victoria Radio Control Modelers Society represents a strand of local recreation where technical hobbyism meets neighbourliness. Its placement on leased farmland reflects broader land-use dynamics in Saanich: recreational uses accommodating agricultural operations, and community clubs negotiating stable access to outdoor space.
For residents curious about model aviation, the club’s airfield offers a visible reminder of hobbyist culture anchored in craft, mentorship and community. As the society continues to welcome members across age groups, it also preserves a continuity of local aviation interest that began more than half a century ago.
