NatsNews

Charles Thomas, Contest Director Wally Adasczik, and Bob Burson setting up the winch lines Friday afternoon for the weekend’s Quadfecta competition.

By Mike Bergerson

The weather gods have granted mercy! What a beautiful day to fly gliders. There were quite a few flights made from the winch, and just as many were electric flights.

Day four of the AMA RC Scale Aerobatics (International Miniature Aerobatic Club [IMAC]) Nats greeted us with cooler temperatures in the mid-50s and steady wind gusts of 5-10 mph. The weather held steady, allowing for a full day of flying, and tomorrow's forecast looks promising as well.

We now have day two of the 2024 AMA Cross Country (XC) Soaring Nats firmly in the books. There were Explorers, Maxas, a couple of purpose-built XC Catalinas, and even an old House of Balsa “2T” Crunchie. Rick Bothell, of “Hands Free Retriever” fame, was out flying his 2T, AVA, and others as the day progressed.

Day two of the AMA RC Scale Aerobatics (International Miniature Aerobatic Club [IMAC]) Nats started with a low ceiling, delaying our flights until 1:30 p.m. While waiting for the skies to clear, pilots swapped stories and jokes, including a baffling tale about getting a negative score on a maneuver—say what?!

Everybody is on their weather app the day before Cross Country (XC) Soaring is scheduled to start. “It’s gonna be great” … “Nah, the weather’s gonna be lousy” … well, it’s the weather—you take what you can get! That’s what we did, and we made the best of it with tons of fun flying and swapping stories!

Day two of the RC Scale Aerobatics (International Miniature Aerobatic Club [IMAC]) Nats in Muncie, Indiana, brought high drama and high winds! With 29 pilots vying for top spots, last night’s stormy weather had everyone holding on tight, with a few downed porta potties adding to the excitement.

The 2024 AMA RC Scale Nats is now in the books. The conditions were as good as could be hoped for. The winds were light every day, and any rain came when the contest was done for the day.

The end of the 2024 AMA RC Pylon Nats has arrived. We ended up with days of great weather, some with wind and rain. The workers performed nearly perfectly all week. We flew 63 heats of AMA 424, 70 heats of EF-1, 80 heats of AMA 426, and 144 heats of AMA 422 for a total of 357 heats of racing.

The International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) Nats at the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie, Indiana, is a spectacle of precision and skill.