events

By Justin Wells

6:30 a.m.—it’s chilly and damp, not the greatest conditions for setting up your sailplanes (I hate it when the tape won't stick), especially when you haven't had enough coffee, yet the pits begin to fill up with pilots and airplanes getting ready for the 8 a.m. start.

As we ramp up to the 2024 AMA RC Precision Aerobatics (Pattern) Nats, it’s a great time to look ahead at the week of events, including some changes that are new to this year’s Nats.

The 2024 AMA Outdoor Free Flight (FF) Nats began at sunrise on Thursday, with Dawn Unlimited and the F1B flyoff. The day was jam-packed with exciting flying and high-entry events.

Day two of F3K is in the books, and we have a new National Champion. Mengchen Li won the title, followed by Joe Dougherty and Contest Director (CD) Mickey Nowell on the podium.

With the conclusion of the winched and bungee-launched events, the 2024 AMA RC Soaring Nats opens up for Altitude Limited Electric Soaring (ALES).

F3RES at the 2024 AMA RC Soaring Nats has concluded. The five-man teams have dispersed, and their exploits have all been recorded, certified, and placed into the history books for all to see many, many generations from now.

The Control Line (CL) Navy Carrier flying events start on Tuesday, August 6. While I was not involved with model airplanes when the Navy Carrier event came into being, this is what I have been told as to how the event came to be.

What has a 2-meter wingspan, is 99% wood, and gets shot into the sky on a big rubber band? If you said a glockenspiel, you might be correct, as I have no idea what the specs are … of course, it's an F3RES sailplane!

There be winches here! The Quadfecta, a competition consisting of four classes of sailplanes, began at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, July 20, and flew through Sunday afternoon, July 21. The weather was perfect!