NatsNews

The 2019 AMA Nats Thermal Soaring Unlimited took place August 7-8 at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.

Photos by Jenni Alderman.

By Rick Pangell (themaxout@aol.com)

One word to describe the day: windy! Well maybe another for the last part: stormy.

The 2019 CL Speed Nats were held July 15-19 at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. See all the highlights of this year’s event and final results with our NatsNews 2019 CL Speed edition.

NatsNews: 2019 CL Speed

By Rick Pangell (themaxout@aol.com)

Waking up and not being able to see across the street from my motel room made me want to just toss the covers back over my head. But, having a cup of coffee and driving to the field made a world of difference.

It was dead flat and no rain! Everyone had basically gathered up on the knoll just west of the Control Line circles. The Catapult pen was set up on the hill just east of there.

The 2019 AMA Nats F5J RC Soaring took place August 6-7 at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.

Photos by Jenni Alderman

By Rick Pangell (themaxout@aol.com)

The morning started out with some “iffy” weather, and choosing a launch line for the F1 events was being debated. F1C and F1Q were sharing the same starting positions but the issue wasn’t that, it was the prevailing wind direction. F1H was on its own but piggybacked on the big model location. The first round was delayed until it got straightened out and a suitable place was found. The wind blew southwest to northeast, so much of the flying came from the southwest corner of the complex.

By Santiago Panzardi and Dan Kane

As the week heated up, the weather moved in. There were storms all around and rain soaked the field.

AMA 426 Super Sport Q-500 is spec class racing with only one approved engine. That is a Dub Jett Super Sport Quickee engine. There are many different airplanes available for this class, most being of the composite wing variety. The most popular design seems to be the Vortex built by Chuck Bridge, with the next being the R-200 made and sold by Randy Etken of Minnesota.

by Santiago Panzardi and Dan Kane Helsel did it again! Congrats! He is now two for two in winning the Nats. Two three-pole events are in the books and Mike has won them both. Stay tuned for what happened next. This year we had 34 entries in EF-1. This event falls under the unofficial event category, as it is not in the AMA rule book.

By Santiago Panzardi and Dan Kane

By Rick Pangell (themaxout@aol.com)

I guess that when you come to the Nats, there is a growing anticipation of energy in the crowd. Plus, it’s an excitement that comes from seeing all of the “usual suspects” of fellow fliers from last year. And then seeing the new fliers come into the ranks, and this is their first Nats and they make great showing.