The Pahrump Valley Model Aviators are flying some really cool toys in the desert south of Gamebird Road and are available to help others get involved in the sport.

"We want to offer options for the kids," said Chuck Murray, president of the club. "It's fun and I'd rather see them involved with us and stay out of trouble."

The toys for the boys aren't really toys at all. Some of them are six-feet long and are built to 35 percent scale of the original aircraft. The airspeeds run between 40 and 120 mph.

"It takes skill to fly one of these airplanes," said Arlen West, treasurer and longtime model aviator.

The club owns a training model with dual controls and West is the instructor. It's kind of like a student-driver equipped car where the instructor has a brake. West can take control of the plane before something detrimental happens.

"We invite anyone to come out and try it to see if it's something they want to do before investing in an aircraft," West said. "Let them get the feel for it." He laughed, "Once they get hooked, they'll be flying every chance they get."

The experience is free, those interested just need to call either Murray, 751-8257, or West, 751-9689, and set a time to meet at the field. If the wind is calm enough for members to fly, someone is usually at the field anyway.

The group has about 20 members but new members are welcome.

The club is sanctioned by the Academy of Model Aeronautics and membership to the AMA is required of all members of the club.

The cost of joining AMA is $58 per year and it includes a $2 million liability insurance rider.

Dues for the local membership are $25 per year and the funds go towards maintaining the flying area. Club members drag the field to keep it smooth and occasionally get a water truck to help pack the surface and keep down the dust.

Some of the funds go to purchase fuel. Some of the aircraft use regular gasoline, but others require a mixture of nitro, oil and methanol at the cost of $25 to $28 a gallon.

The aircraft themselves can range is price from $100 for a simple model to $25,000 for a jet. Most of the bigger planes belonging to local members run about $5,000.

For an application, go to www.pvmodelaviators.org. To learn more about the Academy of Model Aeronautics, visit www.modelaircraft.org.

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