July 24, 2024: Outdoor FF

By Skilly DeLoach

Today was the third official day of flying at the 2024 AMA Outdoor Free Flight (FF) Nats, and numerous popular events were featured, including E-36, Catapult Glider, B Gas, and F1B. The most variable part of the day was the weather. It started out nice, overcast, and breezy, and then the rain came in, scaring away most of the flyers. Those who stuck around were pleasantly surprised to find that the weather was perfect after the rain cleared; the air was filled with buoyancy and lift.

The flying performance in E-36 was notable. Harry Grogan took the gold for E-36 with a striking 1,173 points, minus maxes, continuing the streak of impressive flying throughout the week. He flew the latest in his “E-lectron” design series. One of the most impressive E-36 models on the field was flown by Caleb Finn, a Junior. He launched the model, and it soared like a rocket every time, making him one of the youngest flyers with one of the fastest E-36 models.

Caleb maxed out in E-36 with 360 points and claimed the Junior victory, followed by Paul Finn with 345 points in second and Beckam Reuter with 25 points in third. The Adult placings saw Harry in first (1,173 points), Jon James in second (676 points), and Greg Thomas in third (461 points).

More rigorous competition occurred in Catapult Glider. The pen was in the middle of the west side, an ideal spot for most of the day. Many competitors flew in the middle of the day before the rain was forecasted. Many people were rushing to get their flights in, assuming that the rain would go on for so long and be so intense that their flying days would end when it began. The weather improved quickly after the small storm, but only a few flyers were left to take advantage of it.

The fight for the gold in Catapult was tough. The top two flyers, Kurt Krempetz and Don DeLoach, were both maxed out, so the last flight determined the placing. Kurt made his flyoff flight first, dropping the max with a 55-second flight. Don followed with a 54-second flight. The Adult catapult placings were Kurt in first (325 points), Don in second (324 points), and Stan Buddenbohm in third (264 points). Senior Catapult results saw the author in first (178 points), Steven Griggs in second (167 points), and Dev Goda in third (55 points).

The Flying Aces Club (FAC) kicked off its first of three days of events at the AMA Nats. Notching wins on Wednesday were Wally Ferral in Low Wing Military Trainer and Scale Towline Glider, Don in Old-Time Stick, and Pat Murray in Jimmie Alan.

Tomorrow kicks off with a couple of morning-long flight events. There’s a four-person flyoff in F1B at 7 a.m. tomorrow (Brian Pacelli, Evan Simon, Charlie Joines, and Alex Andriukov). Six more FAC events will be contested, in addition to five National Free Flight Society (NFFS) events and seven AMA events, including F1G and Hand Launch Glider.

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!