Written by BB (03/2014); Reformatted and edited by JS (03/2014)
Mid-Arkansas Radio Control Society AMA Charter #107 www.themarcs.org
History
MARCS is the oldest RC club in Arkansas, and one of the early clubs to be chartered by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) with charter number 107.
The MARCS constitution dates back to the mid-1960s. Members flew at several locations prior to obtaining the present location, the site of the old North Little Rock airport. Over the years, the flying site has slowly been expanded and improvements added. Two metal buildings serve as a club house and storage facility, along with two sun shades with work tables and electrical power. The runway is approximately 125 feet wide and 450 feet long. The surface is grass that is mowed very short by the club members. The flying field meets AMA minimum standards. One of the original founders of the club was William Bishop. He worked to obtain the present location and his name appears in the original constitution. For his contribution to the club, the field was named in his honor, “Bishop Field.”
During the 1970s and through the mid-1980s, MARCS held an annual three-day Razorback Classic on Memorial Day weekend. Flyers came from a half-dozen states to compete in the Pattern and Scale events. They could use the points earned to work up to higher AMA Pattern events. In the 1990s, an annual spring event was held. MARCS has frequent Fun Fly and Swap Meet events and invites other local clubs.
MARCS is a nonprofit corporation in the state of Arkansas. As a chartered AMA club, each member must be a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. AMA members are provided liability and property insurance. It also provides a number of other privileges and services.
Organizational Structure Elected Officers:
- President
- Vice President
- Secretary
- Treasurer
Appointed Officials
- Tech Officer
- Safety Officer
- Field Maintenance Chairman
- Event CDs and Event Chairmen
- Newsletter Editor
- Web Master
- Others as needed
Membership
As required by the constitution, officer elections are conducted in November of each year.
The field is open daily for member flying except for the grass cutting day, which is normally on Thursday. Mondays, Fridays, and weekends are the heaviest use days. On Wednesdays, many of the members and others fly float planes at Lake Willastein Park in Maumelle, Arkansas.
Special activities are scheduled annually to include at least five events. Examples are:
- Chili fly-in on New Year’s Day
- Pancake breakfast fly-in
- National Model Aviation Day fly-in
- Two swap meet fly-ins
- Family picnic fly in
- Christmas dinner with wives/significant others
Instructors are available to help students, and in some cases to test fly a new plane. All types of RC planes are flown. The field is adequate for most RC planes up through quarter-scale.
In December 2002, MARCS became a Gold Leader Club in AMA. This is the highest leadership level for any club, and denotes that we do a number of community programs. Whatever member’s aeromodeling interests are, there is something for everyone. Citation: Bob Betzold, History of the Mid-Arkansas Radio Control Society, March 2014.
This page is a text transcription of the original document, made automatically and may contain errors. .