Kyle Gerspacher is the 2025 HLG champion.
By Skilly DeLoach
Muncie experienced a cool south-west breeze today, as we passed the halfway mark of the Outdoor Free Flight NATS. The first event of the day began at the crack of dawn, before the official contest. By 9 o’clock, the sun was shining, encouraging thermals and maxes. The air was thick and muggy, with a humidity level of 84%. As the day progressed, thunder began to rumble, but the flyers far from retreated. Even after the showers concluded, competitors flew triumphantly.
Dawn Unlimited, the free flyer-renowned event, is famously held every Thursday at the Nats. Competitors met at the AMA Museum at 6:15 am, “the crack of dawn.” The event began at 6:30, and the sun was barely up. Seven flyers arose before 6 am to compete in Dawn. Third place was Mike Kirda with 222 seconds, and Josh Finn was second with 260 seconds. George Daleki ended up winning, with 432 seconds. That’s over seven minutes…an impressive time.
There were lots of morning-focused events on Thursday, including F1G, also known as Coupe D’Hiver. All 11 competitors were snagging max after max. Five people made it to the fifth round but only two maxed– making it to 600 seconds. David Gerspacher came in third with 562 seconds. Chris Matsuno and Don DeLoach had a chilly, windy flyoff right after the awards, around 6 pm. They decided to attempt a four-minute max; neither flyer made it. Don claimed second while Chris came out on top.
For the small engine event, F1P, two Juniors and two Adults competed. In third, Mike Fedor finished with 415 seconds. With an astounding 519 seconds, Junior Caleb Finn placed second. Hayden Ashworth achieved gold with 608 seconds.
A Gas was competitive; seven flyers competed. Phil Calvert placed third with 458 seconds. Tom Stalick dropped his first flyoff max for second (463 seconds). Bob Sowder came through with a prominent win and 564 seconds.
Electric A had 10 flyers. The fourth, third, and second place flyers were set apart by mere seconds. In fourth was Mark Thomas (453 seconds), third was Phil Calvert (458 seconds), and second was Tom Stalick (463 seconds). First place, with a 101 second lead, was Bob Sowder (564 seconds).
C Nostalgia Gas launched an impressive 10 flyers, turning heads on the flightline. Denny Dock was third with 480 seconds; Neal Menanno won the silver with 696 seconds. The C Gas National Champion is Bruce Hannah with 717 seconds.
A highly anticipated event on Thursday was Hand Launch Glider (HLG). After about 1 pm, a serious downfall affected the ability of many flyers. Four Juniors, five Seniors, and sixteen Adults chased victory. For the Juniors, Caleb Finn was third (89 seconds), John Mah-Gersting in second (160 seconds), and Oliver Dillon brought home first (172 seconds).
In the Senior division, Wes Reuter placed third (150 seconds), eight seconds ahead was Dev Goda (158 seconds), and in first place was Adith Alagiri (179 seconds).
Adult HLG got competitive. Gene Ulm was third with 307 seconds, (Nats contest director) was next with 322 seconds, and the “Tulsa Glue Dobbers” HLG trophy was won by Kyle Gerspacher.
Jan Langelius, Don DeLoach, and Skilly DeLoach were the new winners of the HLG Team Trophy.
Enjoy the last day of the Nats!
