July 21, 2026: RC Soaring

By Mike Bergerson

The forecast was correct. There was a thunderstorm. It just wasn't here! The pilots that woke up expecting rain, thunder and lightning were now rushing to the field. There is usually a bustle around 6 a.m., but the field was quiet. Then in a rush, everyone arrived, excited to get their planes assembled and up in the air. There was no pilots meeting, so “Round seven group one will begin in five minutes.” was announced and we began the day at 8 a.m. sharp. 

There wasn't a single drop of rain. Unfortunately I can't say there wasn't any wind. The entire day, with the exception of early afternoon, was worthy of planes ballasted from 50 to 60+ ounces! It was really gusty with strong uppers. Pilots were adding and removing portions of ballast all day until they found their ideal weight.

It was a crapshoot on launch, with the most daring pilots wrapping it up downwind to catch their ride to the next county. Those that decided to begin surfing upwind found that they needed to go really high to get their times. Sometimes, the air was better on the left and sometimes on the right heading upwind, but one very special thing was there, and Muncie is so well known for it. Can you guess what that is? Sink, the hand of God rife with smite. “Muncie Madness” was in full swing as always, well… not when you're practicing. 

One moment you had lift and your ride was there. The next second, it was gone and you were down and dirty screaming crosswind looking for anything. So why did the guys on either side of me get out? Welcome to Muncie! (insert evil laugh here) With five wind indicating streamers placed around the field, helping you determine where the lift is forming and where it's heading, you should have great tools to help you find that means to a 10-minute flight without flying up to Oz.

Those great, daring pilots were finding thermals either upwind and taking them back, or heading to a read downwind. Either way, if you decided to wrap it up in the small fast movers (and they were moving really fast, believe you me), you had to get really high if you even thought of getting back through that brutal headwind. We flew four rounds. There were several motor ups and land outs in virtually every round.

As you know, there are no guarantees in soaring and this venue keeps you on your toes. So many times, you had a group out front, then four out of the five were landing early and the only pilots that made it out had found something and took it back )or the guy who went back to begin with and was somewhere in Ohio). Yes, the winds were out of the west. The leader board kept changing and folks at the top beginning the day were not as close by the end.

I heard a lot of “There I was…” stories as I walked around obnoxiously taking random pics for the NatsNews. It was a brutal day and many were glad to be off spending the evening just practicing or enjoying a good meal with friends, because as we all know, that's what really makes this happen.

Thanks to Norm and the crew for another really exciting and challenging day. Please make the weather all better for us tomorrow.

Blue Skies!