• MVMAC

Welcome to the Mesilla Valley Model Aircraft Club (MVMAC)

We are a club with 85+ members in Las Cruces and are enthusiastic about R/C model aviation. We range from the beginner to expert and enjoy flying: park flyers, helicopters, jets, aerobatic planes, war birds, and a flying wing or two. Located within the desert southwest in New Mexico not far from the Texas border, our weather provides excellent flying opportunities almost all year long. If you follow the "Academy of Model Aeronautics National Model Aircraft Safety Code (AMA Document #105)" you can fly from either of our two air fields. Visiting a typical day at the flying field a person would enjoy the sights and sounds of model aircraft ranging from; smaller electric powered planes, EDF jets, glow powered aircraft, to occasionally giant scale masterpieces.

Why join our club:

We work hard to provide decent, authorized, and safe flying venues without backstops or trees.

We offer training to novice flyers that will minimize the frustrations of trying to learn by yourself.

We are a great group of guys that you will enjoy sharing the hobby with. You can find new friends, mentors, and have lots of fun flying with the group. Sharing the hobby with likeminded group of enthusiasts multiplies the fun of the hobby.

We help each other sort out our models, teach each other techniques, and discover answers to questions we might not even know to ask! Our members are a priceless source of knowledge and guidance.

We organize and run several fly-in events where you can interact and compete with people who enjoy the hobby as much as you do.

You don't have to worry about: dog walkers, kids in the middle of flying activity, or having to look over your shoulder for cops and park personnel who want you to leave.

Why join the AMA:

It is a requirement for you to become a member of our club.

Gives you access to the Las Cruces radio airplane park with paved runways, taxiways, permanent sunscreens, and safety fences.

Gives you access to national contests, exhibitions, fun flies that contribute to the enjoyment of the hobby.

You get a nice monthly newsletter/magazine.

And some secondary insurance in case you nail someone or someone's property with your plane.

AMA is making terrific progress by laying down the foundation of 75 years worth of safe operations and securing the rights of modelers (not just AMA members) to share the skies with our full-scale brethren.

Whether you are a member, prospective member or just curious about model aircraft, we encourage you to take a tour of our website. We are doing our best to provide current, accurate information concerning the club, upcoming events, and topics of interest across the model aviation community. Guests are always welcome and our flying fields are open to anyone who would like to observe our members "in action" flying their model aircraft. Bring your AMA card and you can join us in the skies!

A proposal was brought before the membership to change the regularly scheduled meeting time from 7:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The membership voted on and approved this change.

The Unwritten rules of flying R/C

Even if you’re a member of the friendliest club around, that doesn’t mean there will be zero conflict amongst the membership. When you get a few dozen people together there are going to be, shall we say… “tensions”, from time to time. Just about any tension can be traced to the fact that someone did something that is considered “discourteous”, breaking one of the unwritten rules of RC field etiquette. In several cases the offender did not even know his/her actions upset anybody and thereby often repeats it.
 
Combining my personal observations of the last couple decades of flying R/C along with reading plenty of bitching and moaning on the forums, I’ve created a list of common R/C field etiquette when flying with other aeromodelers. Some of these may actually be written rules in certain clubs but all the same, violating them is considered universally discourteous and in many instances a safety concern.
 
• When starting or running up an engine, be conscious of the prop blast. Always be aware of where loose items and exhaust residue is being directed. Dust, grass clippings and oil can quickly coat other individuals and/or their equipment.
 
• Dogs and other pets are best left at home. Approximately 65% of the respondents to a message board poll agreed that a flying field is not a good place for a dog.  If you must insist on bringing a well behaved pet to the field, keep it leashed at all times. Always clean up any mess left by them and dispose of it appropriately.
 
• Children are the future of this sport and should never be discouraged from visiting a flying field. Good behavior, however, is paramount for their safety and keeping them from damaging some very expensive equipment. Pre-schoolers should always have an adult’s undivided attention. In other words, if you bring a child and you intend to fly, delegate your supervision to a trustworthy adult for the entire time you’re dealing with the airplane. For the very same safety reasons, children of grade school age should not be granted permission to wander the pit area without an adult.
 
• Keep the language clean! Remember this is a family sport. Many modelers have children grandchildren, nieces and nephews they are trying to involve in R/C. These individuals should not have to worry that profanity will be used in front of the younger ones.