2023

Welcome back. I think that will be our motto this week. There is a buzz in the air regarding the 100-year celebration of the first Nats, and people have taken the time to make the annual trek to Muncie, Indiana

The Control Line (CL) Navy Carrier events for the 100th anniversary of the first National Championships (Nats) kick off this week, with three days of competition in all AMA events and a variety of unofficial events as well. The Navy Carrier events originated with sponsorship by the U.S. Navy seventy years ago.

The 2023 AMA Nationals (Nats) is the 100th anniversary of the first Nats, and it is also the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Miniature Aircraft Combat Association (MACA). The F2d Team Trials have been expanded from the normal two days for the triple elimination contest to three days for this cycle. The regular AMA events will follow the team selection starting on Monday. That's eight days of combat!

The RC Scale Nats officially began on Thursday, July 6. While more than just a few pilots arrived on Wednesday to set up and get in some practice flying, the majority began arriving early Thursday morning. John Boyko, the event’s contest director, calls this “processing day.”

The 2023 AMA Control Line (CL) Scale Nationals (Nats) is the 100th anniversary of the first Nats. This might be your first Nats, or maybe you have been flying at the Nats for many years. Some pilots live really close to Muncie, while some have to drive more than 1,000 miles to get here. Just to name a few, pilots have come from California, Oregon, Colorado, Florida, and around the Midwest to compete. You will see a wide variety of models being flown, including warbirds, civilian, single engine, and multiengine.

We had a great Nats at the AMA International Flying Sites last year. Mike Barbee Concrete had finished a lot of earth moving and grading, and then grass was planted to this tough ground at Site 4. The site is looking better now, but some projects are still in construction.

The morning hours saw the final flights in the F1N and F1N-150 World Cups.

The morning kicked off with a mess of Nats trophies being awarded for the AMA events held on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The screen-printed, acrylic tabletop trophies are an elegant and unexpected change from recent Nats.

Wednesday's flying at the Kibbie Dome was a flurry of activity.

Nats are a big enough deal here that the Best Western Plus has a big welcome screen for the AMA members. Cool to see!