This trophy was originated by Joe Edwards and presented Memphis Soaring on the occasion
of Chris Podbielski's L-33 flight from Forrest City to Joe Edwards' Field (north Little Rock) in 1997/8?.
Award
This trophy was originated by Joe Edwards and presented Memphis Soaring on the occasion
of Chris Podbielski's L-33 flight from Forrest City to Joe Edwards' Field (north Little Rock) in 1997/8?.
The Arkansas Traveler is a traveling trophy. That means it moves from site to site. To claim it, a club must have a member soar from its home field to the trophy's location. That club then claims the Arkansas Traveler and keeps it until someone from another club arrives to claim it. Each flight that claims the Arkansas Traveler is engraved on its pedistal.
A point of ongoing controversy is whether or not it is necessary to land in order to claim the Arkansas Traveler. The prevailing opinion is that the claimant should not be penalized for flying, or trying to fly, back home again without landing, since that represents an even greater achievement than the required one-way task. Therefore, on a few occasions, the Traveler has been graciously delivered to the winning club by a member of the losing club, though not always without a little grumbling.
Recipients
| Date | Person | Task | Comment |
| 1998 | Chris Podbielski | Forrest City to Joe Edwards | one way |
| 4/29/2000 | Tim McNamara | Jonesboro to Forrest City | returned |
| 4/29/2000 | Jim Hendrix | Forrest City to Jonesboro | one hour later returned |
| 8/12/2000 | Tim McNamara David Cahoon |
Jonesboro to Forrest City | team flight returned |
| 8/30/2000 | Jim Hendrix | Forrest City to Jonesboro | returned |
| 6/23/2001 | Ed King | Joe Edwards to Forrest City | one way |
| 8/25/2001 | Jim Hendrix | Forrest City to Joe Edwards | one way |
| 9/2/2002 | Ed King | Joe Edwards to Forrest City | one way |
| 9/4/2002 | Jim Hendrix | Forrest City to Joe Edwards | returned |
Footnote
Honorable mention goes to Bob and Charlene Moore who flew from Forrest City to Joe Edwards' Field late in 2002. However, Bob has two problems with his claim. First, he flew in the wrong direction. The trophy was not at Joe Edwards' Field, it was at Bob's point of origin. And second, Bob got a high tow to a point seven miles out from Forrest City. Nevertheless, undaunted by these discrepencies, to this day Bob contends that the Traveler really should have moved to Little Rock. Keep trying Bob!
| Memphis Soaring | Back |