Hello, this is Peter of the TARMAC club.  We have been launching for over 10 years now and we will be having 4 launches in 2008 also. 
A member of an aeromodelling club affiliated with the Model Aeronautical Association of Australia has insurance cover the same as for free flight and radio control modellers, and also the possibility of competing in national and international competitions.  TARMAC is one such affiliated club.

The MAAA is the peak body for model aviation in Australia, affiliated with the Committee Internationale d'Aeromodelling based in Switzerland, part of the Federation Aviation Internationale, who cover all competition and records in Aviation around the world.
The MAAA Manual of Procedures MOP 031 covers the operation of model rockets in Australian affiliated clubs.  It has been written in consultation with CASR 101 and AC101 (rocketry) and with the aid of the old hands such as Dean of the NSWRA, Maurice of SA, Carl of Dawn Trading, and Trevor McIvor of the Toowoomba Space Pilots club who made pathways where there was none before.  My apologies to the others who are not named here, you know who you are.
The Aeromodelling guys voted in May 2005 to "give the rocketeers a go" and from that point on, the Manual of Procedures was developed and rocketry was insured under the same conditions as aeromodellers.  What this means is that the Aeromodellers - the ones who are committed to passing on a worthwhile hobby to others, and represent others at these higher up meetings - have thier hearts in the right place and rocketeers of the future can invest in the MAAA and make changes to the rules as they stand in 2008.

So, who is TARMAC ?  An aeromodelling club, who help out a local boys club when they want to launch model rockets that they have made.  The boys are called "Space Pilots" and as a club have been launching model rockets since there was a NASA/PMG tracking station in Toowoomba in 1969.  The launches stopped for 2 years while there was a major hiccough in the insurance industry in Australia (you remember the one?) after which the Aeromodellers of TARMAC took up the cause and said "Come and launch at our field".  (So this youth club has been launching for near on 40 years!)

I hope this answers the question of who is TARMAC.  Is there anything else you want to know?
Thanks Wolflair and Rocketball (and Paul) for all that you are doing for rocketry in Australia.

Welcome to the forum SaltPeter. I look forward to reading your clubs updates throughout the year. Feel free to add any photos of launches or of your members rocket fleets to help promote your club on this forum.

welcome peter good to see you here have a look around the ARA needs to have good relations with the MAAA

Thanks all for the welcome.  I have put up some favorite links and a self intro tonight.  23 March is our first launch this year, but after Anzac day I will be running another kids and dads rocketry workshop - consists of a boost glider and rocket body with a hook.  This way we get model rockets and a free flight glider with much to be learned from each. (see the Quest Flat Cat)

In your name you mention amayuer radio, are you also hams like me?

They're R/C guys so they do of course mess with the attenuation of their equipment to a degree but the days of DYI radio equipment is long behind R/C sports. You may find some old timers that know a thing or two though. Could take a while to get a response though they don't really use this forum much. Rocketry guys tend to go into that more and at the moment QRS is looking for someone thats good with UHF as they are having trouble with they're GPS recovery system design, signal drops out at high speed (doppler) and near the ground (attenuation). If you are any good at solving such problems contact Ari through http://www.qldrocketry.com. Tell him glorious Soviet General sent you. btw QRS is based in Bris.

Hi, Gonz

Glorious Soviet General is right.  Has to be or the KGB get him.
And, no the name comes from the 70s when the club started and there were some homebuild radios used.  These had typically the 1S3 type valves for small filament voltage but still needed 90v anode voltage.  So, the planes had to be large enough.

I tried making up a transmitter in the '80s, and it worked however that was when 36Mhz was just starting, and there is so much available in commercial rc sets that it makes it uneconomic to build your own.  I had the background from the Electronics and Comms Cert 1974 and various other courses.  I never did get my licence.
Nowadays most RC'ers will go straight for 2.4Ghz freq hopping etc and the channels are mixable, reversible, tx range is excellent rx sensitivity is excellent, diversity is available using two receiver front ends with thier own antenna.  I wouldn't contemplate a build your own.  It's a far cry from the 27Mhz regeneration rx using a CW pulse to release an escapement to make rudder only turns left center right center.
We are also on the verge of forward view feedback to the pilot, so the advances keep coming.

Peter.