2023

As we roll into our last event—AMA 422, the fastest of our events—we shift gears for the format.

Many of the competitors who had flown in the Team Trials or the F2d National Championship headed home, but their ranks were filled with new faces. Many are specialists in the event and fly nothing other than Speed Limit Combat.

Today was the top 20 day for the Open class and the finals day for the Advanced class. The day started out cool with a light breeze. God's curtains again obscured the big, bright lightbulb in the sky. Every once in a while, it would peek out but otherwise it was hidden. Winds stayed light throughout the morning, making for some great weather to fly in.

Today was the second day of qualifying. The best score today gets added to the best score of yesterday. Since the Open class is divided into four groups, the top five from each group get to move on to Thursday for top 20 day. The Advanced group is divided into three groups, and the top four from each group get to move on to Thursday. Those twelve get to have a flyoff to determine the winner in the Advanced class.

This morning, we started finishing up what we had left over from the day before. Luckily, that was only five rounds of GNAT. We were able to get those rounds done relatively quickly, as there were only three pilots competing. The points were getting racked up pretty well considering sticky is not allowed and so few planes were up in the air.

After a short pilot’s meeting, the first F2d Fast Combat match started right on time. Arlene Mears was taking the day off and there was a panel of new judges on the scene. There was beautiful weather too, making another perfect day for Combat.

The weather went from being a real challenge on Tuesday to being a really good flying day on Wednesday. Control Line (CL) Navy Carrier enjoyed light winds all day with reasonable temperatures that allowed for some good flights. Where weather dominated the late-day competition on Tuesday, Wednesday saw equipment problems keeping some contestants grounded and preventing others from completing their flights.

The final day of 426 was fast and furious.

Wednesday turned out to be a much more successful race day than the previous two. Quickie Rat had six Open entries and two Juniors. Everyone scored a presentable race time. FAI racing requires fixed pilot and pitman combinations, whereas in AMA racing, the entry is based solely on who enters the model.

F2d Combat at the AMA Nationals is the most prestigious of any event flown in the USA. The winner is deemed the National Champion, and Austin Minor was destined to take the top spot. He remained undefeated until his final challenger, Andrey Nadein, gave him his first loss. Austin came back from his narrow loss and took the final match. The crowd agreed, Austin was hot!