This is a purpose-built Catalina XC sailplane by Mike Ward with motor launch.
Flying at the AMA/LSF soaring Nats has been the highlight of my flying season for several years now. I spend two weeks camping and relaxing under the sunny/starry Indiana sky. I made it out after years of “next year, I’ll go next year.” Now, it's every year…because “Glider Camp” is awesome!
The 2025 AMA RC Scale Nationals is in the books. We’ll look back at a few of the highlights. There were 34 registered pilots. Thirteen pilots flew in more than one class. In total, there were 47 potential flights scheduled for each round.
Fast Combat winners (L to R), 1st place Neil Simpson, 2nd Brian Stas, 3rd Bill Maywald, 4th Chuck Rudner.
There were 11 entries in this wild and crazy, fast event. Some airplanes were hitting 130 mph and pulling on your arm like a whale on a harpoon. These monsters take some real concentration and muscle to maneuver.
Steve Petrotto’s Carbon Cub FX performs a touch-and-go.
Today was the final day of the 2025 RC Scale Nationals. Yesterday of course, it was cut short around noon by excessive winds, occasional heavy downpours, and a thunderstorm or two. There was even a brief power outage around 3:00 PM.
We knew the weather could be problematic today. However, we were hoping for the best. Arriving at the field around 7:30 AM, the skies were clear with a breeze. By the 8:00 AM pilot meeting, the had wind picked up to a stiff direct crosswind and was forecast to become even stronger.
50% Super Starduster, powered by a DLE 170 engine, designed, built, and flown by Tom Lowrie.
We have four flight lines in place this year. Assigning pilots to a flight line is a task that is never easy. Some of the pilots have entered several airplanes, When assigning the flight order, the CD must ensure that a pilot is not assigned to fly in two different places at the same time.
Two Fast Jet models waiting their turn on the circle.
This was our last day of Speed. We would usually fly three classes of Speed. But alas, two of the fliers were so worn out from the day before, they elected not to fly Class C Speed and Class D Speed. Three other competitors wanted to fly their Fast Jet models, and that was all the noise you could hear coming from Site 2.
The rooster crows, and the sun rises one last time for the 2024 AMA Control Line (CL) Precision Aerobatics Nats. The light brightens, and the words on the last page of the Nats’ history book come into view.