If you jump on Melrose Avenue and drive west out of Iowa City, you’ll pass Chatham Oaks, the historic Poor Farm and the National Reserve base. The speed limit is 35 mph, but I’ve never seen anybody go less than 50. You’ll know the dump is coming up when you see huge flocks of birds swelling and settling in the distance. Almost at the gates of the dump, there is a small green building. It’s solid, although somewhat brutalized by the weather.
On the other side of the building — it almost looks like a control tower — there is a small landing strip. This is the Aerohawks Flying Field, an official FRIA (Federal Aviation Administration Recognized Identification Area) and home to the Iowa City Aerohawks RC Flying Club.
When the gate is locked and no one is there, it gives the same feeling as the county fairgrounds in the off-season. But the Aerohawks have been flying here since before the first RAGBRAI. They’ve been around so long that members are unclear about the date the club was founded; there is even debate about the spelling of their name.
It was sometime in the ’50s that people first started getting together down at the Iowa City Municipal Airport to fly control-line planes — precursors to radio-controlled planes. Two cables attached the plane to a remote control. The range was limited to something like a kite, and members took turns flying in circles.
When the Aerohawks switched to RC, they had to find a new home, because it wasn’t safe to have small planes puttering freely around the airport. In 1972, the municipal landfill lent them the space. Since then, it has been a local quirk: When you go to the dump you might also get a mini airshow.
Utilizing small club dues, fundraising and the borrowed skills of its members, the Aerohawks constructed the clubhouse. They built and rebuilt the landing strip as the landfill shifted the ground under their feet. Perhaps because I had only seen them from a distance, they felt mysterious, the same way the dump is mysterious to kids. It seemed as though there was a secret waiting to be stumbled upon.
It turns out the Aerohawks are an open book. The club hosts float shows, barbecues, swap meets and an annual airshow out by the landfill. It’s open, free to the public and attracts as many as 2,000 spectators.
When I met longtime member Rich VeDepo at his workshop, there were two things I noticed: These RC planes are bigger than I expected, and these guys seem really nice.
VeDepo got involved with RC because of his kids. Together, they learned how to build and fly their own planes. Thirty-eight years later, VeDepo is still working on his collection, and a lot has changed in the RC world.
It used to be you bought kits of balsa wood parts, and everything was stuck together with Elmer’s glue. The engines were taken and modified from yard trimmers, running on a combination of nitromethane, methanol and castor oil. Building an RC plane took an entire winter, and there were no guarantees. If you crashed your plane on your first flight, you might be out of luck. Now, specialty retailers sell ARF — almost ready to fly — planes that can be put together over one or two weekends. You can find foam planes with built-in gyros, and tiny, light battery engines. The only tool needed is a screwdriver.
When VeDepo went to his first meeting, dragged by his eldest son, the Aerohawks gave him a list of things to buy and some flying lessons. It’s the same way now, he said — before you purchase anything, you should come to a meeting. The club is full of people who will point you in the right direction and work to save you from the pain of watching your first prized flyer fall out of the sky.
Two of VeDepo’s sons grew up to be actual pilots, and it’s not surprising. A lot of the knowhow translates, and there are many members who fly full-scale and model planes. A control stick between the legs is a lot like the joystick on a remote. The difference is, as VeDepo explained, “RC is a lot cheaper, and you walk away from all your crashes.”
VeDepo put me in contact with Marc Shelstrom, the former assistant vice president of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. The AMA represents flying clubs all over the country, and they tout a membership of nearly 200,000, but the future of RC still feels uncertain to Shelstrom. He’s noticed local hobby shops have closed down or face strain from tariffs. A good hobby shop used to be the heart of a flying community.
Even the companies behind the model kits are in flux. Dumas Products, a manufacturer in Tucson, Arizona used by many Aerohawks, will be closing operations in May after 70 years in business. With the advent of consumer drones, new regulations have limited American airspace. As of 2024, all drone and model aircraft use must be confined to FRIA-designated areas without Remote ID broadcast technology. As you might imagine, the government can be skittish about unmanned remote aircraft.
Another challenge for the RC hobby is time. Part of Shelstrom’s job involves visiting clubs around the Midwest, and he says a vast majority of membership is made up of retired men. It’s not such a terrible thing, except it seems there are too few newbies waiting to take up the mantle.
Shelstrom built his first balsa wood plane when he was 8 years old. He was taught to fly by his dad and, like VeDepo, he taught his own son. I heard a few stories like this talking to Aerohawks: dads passing the hobby down to their kids. It makes flying sound like an inheritance. But VeDepo and Shelstrom both agree that the future of the hobby depends on attracting a more diverse membership.
Sensing the strength of their community, Shelstrom joined the Aerohawks 10 years ago. There have been members as young as 11 and seniors pushing 100, high school kids and college students, working-class guys and actual rocket scientists. It’s decidedly male-dominated, but a few women have joined as well. Not so long ago, while still in high school, Liz Peters was acting president.
There’s turbulence ahead, however. The Iowa City Landfill is expanding and reclaiming their cell of land after more than 50 years. By June 2028, the Aerohawks have to be gone. They are on the lookout for a new field and following a lead on some private farmland, but it’s still unclear where they will end up.
It’s like 1972 all over again. What must the original members have thought when they first drove up the road to the dump, with all the birds, trash and mud? Trucks driving by all day, kicking up gravel? How long did it take them to make it the perfect airfield?
I asked VeDepo to describe the ideal situation, and he said it would be great to get some help from the city, perhaps access to a park or a baseball field. A lot of RC clubs can only exist if a city lends them flying space. The return is a public good, a place where community is fostered.
The Aerohawks are optimistic about the future, because the club has already renewed itself so many times. Adjusting to changing winds is old hat.
The municipal dump can do whatever it wants to do, the guys told me. It’s their land. But it reminds me of The Mill being torn down and replaced with a parking lot, or the Centennial Building being shuttered by state officials. In their place is left a shell. It’s too bad, because these novelties make our town unique.
Without this field, the Aerohawks won’t have enough room to host their annual airshow. It’s their biggest event, and this year’s show on July 12 may be their last. VeDepo will serve as announcer. His son will be one of the flyers. Members will come together from as far out as Wisconsin.
When talking about losing the field, VeDepo smiled and scratched his chin.
“Time marches on,” he said.
Iowa RC Clubs
Iowa City Aerohawks Inc
Airfield north of the Iowa City Landfill, 66 members
Cedar Rapids SkyHawks RC Club
Skyhawks Field, Marion, 88 members
Cedar Rapids Quiet Flyers
Seminole Valley Park, Cedar Rapids, 34 members
Lone Tree Flyers
Behind the American Legion, Lone Tree
Des Moines Modelaires
Knapp Learning Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines, 127 members
NW Iowa RC Club
Storm Lake Airport, Storm Lake, 20 members
Black Hawk RC Pilots
Prairie Lakes Park, Cedar Falls, 36 members
Cobras RC Club
COBRA Field, Council Bluffs, 55 members
Central Iowa Aeromodelers
Swallow Field, Cambridge, 30 members
Ottumwa Radio Control Flyers
150th Ave, Ottumwa, 21 members
Burlington Model Airplane Club
North 3rd Street, Burlington, 19 members
River City RC Club
North Iowa Fairgrounds, Mason City, 31 members
Club information gathered from modelaircraft.org. For corrections or additions please email editor@littlevillagemag.com
Hobby Shops
Crash’n Bash Hobbies
4601 6th St SW Ste B, Cedar Rapids, 319-377-1567
Dan’s RC Hobby House
2515 Horton Rd, Waverly, 319-352-1867
The Hobby Corner
1606 Sycamore St, Iowa City, 319-338-1788
Hobby Haven
2575 86th St, Urbandale, 515-276-8785
The Hobby Shop
200 Main St, Ames, 515-232-6321
HobbyTown
1701 SE Delaware Ave #100, Ankeny, 515-964-0443
Major Art & Hobby Center
201 E 2nd St, Davenport, 563-323-9042
Star Collectibles Hobby Center
810 Division St, Muscatine, 563-288-3429
This article was originally published in Little Village’s April 2026 issue.
