Steve Petrotto’s Carbon Cub FX performs a touch-and-go.
By Gerry Garing
Today was the final day of the 2025 RC Scale Nationals. Yesterday of course, it was cut short around noon by excessive winds, occasional heavy downpours, and a thunderstorm or two. There was even a brief power outage around 3:00 PM. It wasn’t just RC Scale; all everts were cancelled. Some folks hung around under the pavilions, while others retreated to campers and off-site accommodations.
It was a good time to take in the AMA Museum (which did not lose power). I highly recommend it if you have never been through it. The nostalgia found in the displays can’t help but bring back memories. The displays are works of art.
Sunday morning brought early fog that quickly cleared. Conditions were much improved with sunny skies and very little wind. Round four got underway about 9:30. As mentioned yesterday, there was some attrition of planes. None of the incidents were attributable to pilot error. Most everyone else elected to fly the 4th round today.
There was some great flying demonstrated over the four-day event. My only observation was that there are pilots who haven’t seemed to incorporate the rudder as much as they should. This is particularly noticeable in turns and crosswind take-offs and landings.
The round ended by noon. Final scores were calculated, and the awards were handed out. First place winners include:
Rory Hartman - Carbon Cub (Sport Sportsman)
Ron Pound - Stuka (Expert Sportsman)
Tom Lowrie - Super Starduster (Designer Scale)
Tim Dickey - Waco Cabin (Team Scale)
Jeremy Arvin - Defender (Open Scale)
Tony Stillman - Moraine Saulnier (Pro-Am Sport)
You can see the complete lists of final scores in the photos.
For more than a few participants, this was their first Nationals and perhaps their first contest. Some did very well; beating out contest veterans. Hopefully they will return next year and we’ll bring back a few absentees and have an even larger Nats in 2026!
