RC Pattern

By Jim Quinn

Our fourth and final day of RC Precision Aerobatics always starts with a special and newly fresh atmosphere. The 2021 Nats was no exception, but the SPECIAL had a whole new meaning this year.

Kevin Young, a regular at our Nats and World Championship competition, made this year extra special. Yes, Kevin is special, but … Kevin was joined this year by his wife, Sarah, and their beautiful daughter Allee. Thank you Sarah and Kevin for this extra special start to Day 4.

By Jim Quinn

Let’s meet our Event Director for the 2021 RC Aerobatics Nats! Jon Dieringer was asked if he would like to become the Nats ED. It took all of 20 seconds for Jon to answer, “Yes.”

As he disconnected the line, he thought to himself, “What have I done?” In the weeks and months ahead, he contacted many people for advice. Monte Richard, a former ED himself, Charlie Barrera, the NSRCA president, and many of the AMA staff, to name a few.

By Jim Quinn

After the long, 2-hour weather delay Wednesday, we all woke up to a sunny and clear morning for our second day of flying. It looked like a perfect morning. Little did anyone anticipate a new delay on day two.

A crop-dusting helicopter took over the sky at AMA, dusting all of the surrounding cornfields! As though our new ED didn’t have enough to deal with on our first day with the weather, now there was a helicopter in our airspace. Jon handled it well and within the hour, we were back in the air.

By Jim Quinn

All preparations have been completed. Now it is time for flying.

Who will be the first pilot to test the sky over AMA’s IAC in 2021? Ken Velez was the first up on Site 3 after the better part of 2 hours of waiting for the sky to clear.