July 23, 2024: RC Soaring F3RES

By Mike Bergerson

F3RES at the 2024 AMA RC Soaring Nats has concluded. The five-man teams have dispersed, and their exploits have all been recorded, certified, and placed into the history books for all to see many, many generations from now. A copy was also buried in a mayonnaise jar in the contest director’s (CD) backyard. It's over; some pilots went home, but most have stayed for the start of Altitude Limited Electric Soaring (ALES), which runs from July 24-25.

The last day of F3RES was a challenge, to say the least. The weather was, in my opinion, great! It was hot in the mid-80s with a bit of a breeze. Of course, that breeze was opposite our hi-starts, so we spent the morning launching downwind. The launches weren't as high as everyone would have liked, but the breeze did point us toward the new blacktopped circles that generated a few small thermals. They were enough for some and not for others, as they were small and difficult to stay with as they traveled further downwind. The state-of-the-art airplanes did well, able to traverse the distances back upwind to the landing tapes. The rest, if they couldn't find lift on the way back, endured the walk of shame. That's not a great scenario when you’re working a 9-minute window and your airplane has landed a distance away. It truly affected a few scores. 

There are some very interesting rules about using transportation to get your airplane from an out landing … you can't! Someone has to hoof it there and back. Another rule is that you can switch to a different airplane within the flight window, but the first airplane must be returned to the launch area first. Catch 22.

As the morning progressed, the “Muncie air” crept in. Really, it's a thing. Several folks use the phrase … usually when lift is sparse. Lol! I will say it again, “Some say the air for soaring in Muncie is different. Well, it sure isn't normal! Lol!”

After two completed rounds, we broke for lunch and swapped the hi-starts around. The launches improved, but that old “Muncie air” had many pilots relighting several times, trying to catch that 6-minute ride. The best made their times, while others struggled to find good air and settled for low times …

The outcome: Gordon Buckland prevailed over Jon Garber to take the top spot as F3RES National Champion. I overheard Jon say that Gordon's flights left nothing on the clock. Gordon flew and landed his Encanto extremely well. On most of his flights, you would see him climbing out and following his thermals very far downwind, well out of many pilots’ comfort zones. Way to go, Gordon! Final scores can be found below.

That concludes the winches and hi-started sailplane events for this year's AMA RC Soaring Nats. Time now for “winch in the nose!”

Oh man! I have to go charge my batteries!

Blue Skies!

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!