Nats 2026

Togetherness is the theme for this year's winch-launched events. AMA introduced its new competition rules for flying electric and winch together this year… mixed launch!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The sun is shining, the winds are light and variable, and we all pulled our ballast from our little wooden contraptions.

The closing day of the 100th FF Nats was basically a carbon copy weather-wise of Thursday: We had northeast winds under 5 mph, scattered clouds, and very comfortable temperatures only topping out around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Oh man, F5J was intense! I'm exhausted from three days of hard-core flying. F3L began today with a bit of damp ground, fog, and it was really chilly.

It was the day we’d been waiting for all week. Temperatures were in the 60s-70s, wind was light and variable, and there were copious thermals. Heaven is Muncie, Indiana for the FF Nats.

The 2026 IMAC Nationals are officially in the books!

First and foremost, a big “Thank you.” to the LSF and AMA. Also, a huge thanks to Norm Poti and his crew for keeping this a smooth-running contest. You guys are the best!

Wednesday at the Nats brought significant weather changes. The wind started out of the north, and stayed that way all day. Temperatures were also much cooler (60s until after 1pm—then it only reached the 70s). It was a wonderful surprise for the dog days of July. Skies were cloudy most of the day, which made thermal picking tough, but there will still many maxes posted by careful flyers.

The forecast was correct. There was a thunderstorm. It just wasn't here! The pilots that woke up expecting rain, thunder and lightning were now rushing to the field.

The forecast for Tuesday was grim when I awakened. Rain chances were 80% starting at 8 a.m. and lasting until 2 p.m. I donned my Gore-Tex boots and rain shell and emerged from my tent expecting the worst from the jump.