Event

Opening report by Tim Stone

The sun shines once again on Muncie! Last year’s Nats for Control Line Racing was run, but the turnout was dismal. If I believe the forum vibe that I get, there is a greater sense of enthusiasm for this year’s contest than there has been for quite a while! Pre-entries in some events are double from 2020.

By Rich Whitlow

Friday started out blustery, but with no rain. So 8 a.m. came and pilots hit the air … and LOTS OF AIR there was! The wind was brutal, and pilots had to use all of their skills to get through their Unknowns … and LAND! Many pilots had to land across the runway the short way! That was quite a site.

Then the rain came. 

We had a flying break until around noon. Then the rain let off and flying started again.

We were able to get through one Unknown round and on Known round—well accomplished rounds, I might add.

By Rachelle Haughn

Strong wind gusts prevented flying on Friday. After testing the air, the RC Scale Nats were called for the day. Friday evening was the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers banquet and two pilots were inducted into the RC Scale Hall of Fame.

By Fred Cronenwett

As predicted, the storms came in Friday and we were presented with very windy conditions and rain headed our way. It was decided by all of the pilots to call the CL Scale Nats after the two rounds that were flown the day before.

By Fred Cronenwett

We started out with the plan to do the static judging and then fly rounds 1 and 2 on Friday, but the weather forecast indicated that we should consider flying as much as possible on Thursday after all of the static judging was done.

Photos by Joe Vermillion

Thursday, June 17, was the first day of the RC Scale Nats. Static judging and flying took place.

James Gibboney’s TBM Avenger takes to the sky.

By Rich Whitlow

Thursday, June 17, was another beautiful day at the IMAC Nats!

We have had sunshine and light wind for the second day in a row. There seem to be some rain and storms that may come in, but we will hope for the best for the upcoming days.

Event preview by Fred Cronenwett

(All photos taken at previous Nats.)

Welcome to the 2021 CL Scale Nats. I am excited that we can fly together once again. We will see what is new and what is the same. It seems like it has been a really long time since we have all flown together at the Nats because the 2020 CL Scale Nats was canceled due to COVID-19.

By Rich Whitlow

This first day of competition turned out to be a beautiful day to be flying! The winds were light, the temperature was moderate, and the sun was shining. There was no complaining about the weather on Wednesday, June 16!

The day started with a short pilots’ meeting. Everyone was informed, prepared, and ready to go.

The first round was a Known Round and was flown to perfection. David Moser was our first pilot in the air, and he mentioned that he wouldn’t have had it any other way!

The 2020 Outdoor Nats took place July 12-August 5 at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. Although the pandemic made for an interesting and complicated year, several events still took place safely, allowing competitors and AMA members to continue to enjoy our hobby.

We have created a photo gallery for this year's event. Please feel free to like, share, download, and print a few!