NatsNews

By Monte Richard (mrichard@compassengineering.com)

Day 3 of the Nats, our second day of flying competition, went well. We shut down flying at 8:30 a.m. to allow a Learjet to come in and land. The show was worth the slight delay.

The sky was overcast, which kept temperatures cool. All sites started flying and we completed FAI about 11 a.m. Advanced is the longer class and didn’t finish its second round until roughly 1 p.m., just in time for the start of Intermediate and Masters.

By Phil Cartier

F2D Fast is a favorite with some F2 fliers. Any F2D plane from 2010 to present is allowed. They all have the same technical specs. The rules are AMA Fast Combat rules otherwise.

The bugs have been worked out. The planes fly the same as F2D. The shorter line length makes up for the slower speeds. Flying seems just as fast as AMA combat, but the line pull is a lot less. The planes have to be trimmed a little better because they don’t pull 15 or more pounds.

By Tim Stone (stone-tim@sbcglobal.net)

Two events are being flown today, Super Slow Rat and Texas quickie Rat. Racing conditions were very good with moderate winds & temperatures.

Texas Quickie Rat was run first. All entrants used pretty standard planes & motors.

By Matt Neumann (mrstuka@cinergymetro.net)

Wednesday morning greeted the contestants with clouds and light wind. It had rained fairly hard at 4 to 5 in the morning, so the area was wet, but at least the sky was not falling at the time that the contestants got to the field.

By William Drumm (midair72@hotmail.com)

Mother Nature did not let up with the rain overnight.

Day 2 of RC Combat started off with puddles all around. This again led us to start out using the red flagging tape streamers for the remaining three rounds of SSC. We continued flying all up and even with all of the planes up in the air. The scores were kept a little on the low side. This helped keep the rankings close together and the importance of every cut that much more important.

By Monte Richard (mrichard@compassengineering.com)

Hurricane Barry had its effects on the RC Aerobatics Nats, taking place in Blytheville, Arkansas. But despite the rain, we managed to process all of the planes on Tuesday. The airport authority at the Arkansas Aeroplex sponsored a barbecue dinner with fried catfish, barbecue brisket all the fixings, and banana pudding for dessert. Quite a treat.

By Phil Cartier

The closing day for the F2D Nats went pretty slick right up to the end. Flying started promptly at 8:04 a.m. It ended just before 1 p.m., before the rain came.

The early weather was very nice—about 80° with mild breezes. It got windier before noon, and the last 45 minutes or so were flown with gusts up to 25 mph. Most of the fliers handled it pretty well. The crashes were mainly dead-stick, or when the wind mixed the planes up and the lines tangled.

By Matt Neumann (mrstuka@cinergymetro.net)

Tuesday did not have any official events happening, but that does not mean that there was not any activity at the L pad.

By Tim Stone (stone-tim@sbcglobal.net)

There were two events being run Tuesday, Slow Rat and Goodyear. Slow Rat has been run with the maximum .25 engine size for a few years now. The powerful .36 engines previously used were getting hard to find and heavy, which made for a hard-pulling airplane.

By Dick Perry (tailhooker@comcast.net)

To say that the Profile class of the Navy Carrier event was exciting for the contestants would be a bit of an understatement. The forecast storms held off through the morning on Tuesday, but the wind did not. Wind speeds of around 10 to 12 knots steady state were tolerable, but the gusts in excess of 20 knots through the morning made flying precarious. Those who completed landings were few, and, of course, they occupied the top spots.