With the conclusion of the 2025 AMA/LSF Soaring Nats, I'm left with a feeling of joy! The seasoned attendees and first-timers all had a great time flying with old and new friends. Glider Camp is just awesome!
It was another action-packed day at the 2025 IMAC Nationals in Muncie, Indiana, as competitors returned to Site 3 at AMA Headquarters ready to tackle a full schedule.
The 2025 Outdoor Free Flight Nationals can only be described as a true success. From start to finish, the event ran with impressive efficiency. Every contest was organized, on schedule, and executed without a hitch.
The Moon clan (L to R): Max (Doug's son), Steve, Doug, and Jack (Steve's son). It is a true family affair that spans the globe. Jake resides in Singapore.
Today was “Top 20 Day” in Open class and “Top 12 Day” in Advanced class.
The final day of flying began again at 8:00am. Unfortunately, the fog was way too dense to begin flying on time, but it did not take long to burn off. I was elected to test the ceiling height with one of my models and we got started about 30 minutes later.
Lynn Boss flying his Top Flite Gold Edition P-47 Thunderbolt that uses a modern 2.4 GHz radio for throttle, flaps, retracts and bomb drop. OS-91 four stroke for power.
There are multiple Control Line (CL) events at the Nationals. They all share a bellcrank to control the elevator and fly in a circular pattern. But each CL event is very different in its purpose. The goal in a CL Scale event is to build a smaller version of a full-size aircraft in appearance and flight qualities.
This is the pit area between circles three and four.
Today, contestants were greeted with cool temps in the low 60's. It was cool enough that I even warmed the vent air just a bit in the car. No AC was needed this morning. On the way back to the motel, however, the car's AC was set to max, with all nozzles pointed at me!
The top five Intermediate competitors posed for a photo.
Beginner and Intermediate classes of Control Line Precision Aerobatics were flown on Sunday July 6th. There were two entrants in Beginner with seven in Intermediate. These events were flown on the grass circles. Grass is much more forgiving, than asphalt in case of an accident.