So I finally made the trip out to Flushing Meadow Corona Park today. It is one of only 5 designated places in the immediate NYC area. I was just trying get my MA2 in the air for the first time since getting it and I was really pleasantly surprised with how vibrant the RC community was there! On one side of the designated field was group of FPV flyers, on the near side (where I was) were 4 other Mavic flyers, two with Mavic Pros one with a Mavic 2 Pro and another with a Mavic Air. There were also two fixed wing flyers and just outside the fencing of the flight area was a group of RC car enthusiasts. Everyone seemed to know one another for the most part and the ages were all over the board. I kind of observed and let people do their thing for a bit, so I could get a feel for the lay of the land but was immediately approached by an older gentleman asking what I was flying and showing interest in the wrap I had on it. Really friendly group of folks over there, with many coming from RC copters and a few with 20+ years of flight experience. Just wanted to share that I had a really good experience and even exchanged information with a couple of folks out there and it really made me feel better about the local community at large because I was feeling like an outlier because of the restrictive nature of flying in the area. Apparently they are out there every weekend when the weather is flight-worthy. I hope someone can find use with this information and join the rest of the decent folks out there.
