One of the beginning flights (between the rain) in front of judges.
By Tim DiPeri
The first day of the 2026 USA Model Helicopter Nationals began bright and early Sunday morning. That was the plan until some rainy conditions pushed us out a bit. Chris Goodin (contest director) gathered the pilots and prepared flight orders for the day. In addition, since this is a team selection event, Cliff Hiatt made sure that all of the criteria was met for that event. Finally, Darrell Sprayberry is the scale consultant to support that important venue.
The first day of competition is one of those times that some of the travel rust is removed and the “contest jitters” are felt the most. Since we didn’t have a full day (due to the rain) we did not get as much flying as anticipated. Overall, the day went well and most of us were ready for a rest.
