About the Club ....

The name PANDAS is an acronym of Pontefract and District Aeromodellers
(OK so we cheated with the 'n')

'PANDAS' (as we now know it) was formed on Tuesday 19th March 1974.
Model flyers had been using Pontefract park as a flying site since the second world war. The club at that time was called the 'Pontefract & Castleford Aeromodellers', which was a free-flight club.
This club lapsed in the early fifties, but interest was rejuvenated with the advent of radio control in about 1958. The present President of PANDAS, Lister Fearnley was the first to use radio control at Pontefract. Since then there has been a steady increase in R/C flyers.

In the inaugural year, PANDAS had a total of 74 members. In the past few years the club membership rose to about 230, but now stands at around 180,
making us the largest club in the U.K.

PANDAS actively encourages the training of new members, and 'juniors' are especially welcome - we even have a lady member who has built and flies her own model. We employ a 'buddy box' system to get newcomers started. We have ample examiners for both fixed wing and helicopters to help members pass their BMFA 'A' & 'B' certificates. The 'A' cert. is now mandatory to anyone wishing to fly at the park without supervision. Flying is allowed at ANY TIME (24/7) except when there is a horse race meeting, or any other public event - see the Coming Events page for details. Sunday mornings are set aside for gliders to get in some practice.

Club nights are held on the First Tuesday of each month commencing at 8.00pm, at the Roundhill Working Men's Club, Beancroft Road, Castleford. A club night is the ideal place to meet and discuss new projects, get help from the experts, listen to a guest speaker, join in a quiz or sell your unwanted bits and pieces.