August 1, 2024: RC Precision Aerobatics (Pattern)

By Justin Wells

If you have been following NatsNews closely, you will have noticed that there is a trend with the 2024 AMA RC Precision Aerobatics (Pattern) Nats—weather delays. Today did not fail us on that trend! The rain started at 10:30 a.m. and shut all of the flying down. A further delay occurred with the low ceiling. Flying started back up just after lunchtime, allowing pilots to complete the morning rounds. All of the morning classes, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and Advanced, were able to complete their rounds. The Masters pilots did not get to finish round 6, as the rain moved in around 5:30 p.m. and did not stop. With the exception of Masters, all classes are caught up and have currently flown 6 rounds.

Tomorrow (Friday, August 2) is a busy day, as the Masters finalists need to complete three finals rounds to determine the winners. FAI pilots have to complete three rounds of finals (Unknowns) as well, while all other classes (Sportsman, Intermediate, and Advanced) will need to complete two. The current weather forecast will make this a challenging day. 

The event wraps up with a banquet in the evening, during which the volunteers are thanked and the winners in each class are celebrated before everyone begins their journey home. Friday is the longest day of the event.

One class that was great to see returning to the AMA Nats this year was the Sportsman class. This is the entry point into flying Precision Aerobatics, and I’m glad to see that it was offered at the Nats this year.

Masters Finalists: 

• David Lockhart 
• Mark Atwood 
• Chuck Edwards 
• Ken Velez 
• Gary Courtney 
• Chris Hogue 
• David Snow 
• Dan Underkofler 
• Robert Green 

FAI Finalists: 

• Andrew Jesky
• Jason Shulman 
• Peter Collinson 
• A.C. Glenn 
• Brett Wickizer 
• Juan Lopez 
• Mark Hunt 
• Christopher Gini 
• Joseph Walker 

Current scores can be found at https://www.nsrca.us/documents/nationals/2024/Day3/contestResults.xml.

Note from AMA: Do you have photos from the Nats that you’d like to share? If so, email them to Clarissa Poston at clarissap@modelaircraft.org. Please include a brief description in your email, naming any individuals pictured in the photo(s), the name of the event that the photo(s) were taken during, and the name of the individual who took the photo(s). Your submission(s) might be posted on AMA’s Flickr page, which can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/modelaircraft/albums!