2026 Outdoor Free Flight: Introduction

By Don DeLoach

The Free Flight Nationals are back July 20-24 at the IAC.

We will fly about 70 events over the five-day week, plus several ad hoc evening and morning "fun" events. The turnout looks excellent with over one hundred pre-entries. The weather forecast looks very promising for the week, with only a couple chances for rain during the competition days.

This year's Event Director is Jan Langelius of Haslet, Texas. Jan is a seasoned Free Flighter with many decades of experience running contests, and this is his second Nats in a row as ED. Thank you, Jan!

There's a broad spectrum of complexity in FF models. FAI events usually feature the most technically advanced models. AMA events are the next most technical. NFFS events are medium-tech. FAC and SAM events are for simple, old-fashioned balsa and tissue models. FAC features the only scale events for FF. Some are judged statically for fidelity to full scale, but most are not.

Most FF events are judged on pure duration. They are usually a total of three flights plus fly-offs to break ties. Competitors aim for a flight duration maximum (“max”), which is based on the wind conditions and the size of the field. For FF events at the Muncie Nats the standard max is 2 minutes. When a competitor attains three maxes in a row he or she may proceed to attempt fly-off flights, which get progressively longer and more difficult to attain. In FAI (F1x) events, the max is usually longer (3 or more minutes) and the number of regular flights preceding the fly-offs is either five or seven. Also, FAI competition is flown in 1-hour rounds, whereas all other FF events are not. The exciting mass-launch events feature all models launching together... fun!

Thermals!