nats

Opening report by Tim Stone

The sun shines once again on Muncie! Last year’s Nats for Control Line Racing was run, but the turnout was dismal. If I believe the forum vibe that I get, there is a greater sense of enthusiasm for this year’s contest than there has been for quite a while! Pre-entries in some events are double from 2020.

By Rich Whitlow

Friday started out blustery, but with no rain. So 8 a.m. came and pilots hit the air … and LOTS OF AIR there was! The wind was brutal, and pilots had to use all of their skills to get through their Unknowns … and LAND! Many pilots had to land across the runway the short way! That was quite a site.

Then the rain came. 

We had a flying break until around noon. Then the rain let off and flying started again.

We were able to get through one Unknown round and on Known round—well accomplished rounds, I might add.

By Fred Cronenwett

We started out with the plan to do the static judging and then fly rounds 1 and 2 on Friday, but the weather forecast indicated that we should consider flying as much as possible on Thursday after all of the static judging was done.

Photos by Joe Vermillion

Thursday, June 17, was the first day of the RC Scale Nats. Static judging and flying took place.

James Gibboney’s TBM Avenger takes to the sky.

By Rich Whitlow

Thursday, June 17, was another beautiful day at the IMAC Nats!

We have had sunshine and light wind for the second day in a row. There seem to be some rain and storms that may come in, but we will hope for the best for the upcoming days.

Event preview by Fred Cronenwett

(All photos taken at previous Nats.)

Welcome to the 2021 CL Scale Nats. I am excited that we can fly together once again. We will see what is new and what is the same. It seems like it has been a really long time since we have all flown together at the Nats because the 2020 CL Scale Nats was canceled due to COVID-19.

By Rich Whitlow

This first day of competition turned out to be a beautiful day to be flying! The winds were light, the temperature was moderate, and the sun was shining. There was no complaining about the weather on Wednesday, June 16!

The day started with a short pilots’ meeting. Everyone was informed, prepared, and ready to go.

The first round was a Known Round and was flown to perfection. David Moser was our first pilot in the air, and he mentioned that he wouldn’t have had it any other way!

Dear members,

As you might be aware, AMA and the National Free Flight Society made the difficult decision to cancel May’s Indoor Nats because of COVID-19. Many members are wondering if the Outdoor Nats will be canceled as well. AMA continues to plan and prepare for the Outdoor Nats in July and August, including discussions about extra sanitation. We’ll share any changes or announcements as soon as they are made. June 10 is the final “go,” “no go” date.

RC Scale June 23-25(Radio Control only)

RC Scale Aerobatic June 28 – July 1

Control Line Scale July 14-16 – (Control Line only)

RC Pylon Racing: July 14-21

CL (Navy Carrier, Precision Aerobatics, Racing, Combat, Speed): July 16-22

RC Combat: July 17-20

RC Soaring: July 22 - 30

FF Outdoor: July 24-28

RC Aerobatics (Pattern) July 25-29 Blythville,AR

RC Helicopter: July 31 – August 3

Indoor Free Flight July 18-22 Rantoul, IL

Celebrating 90 years of competition Event coverage As seen in the November 2016 issue of Model Aviation. The 2016 Nats celebrated 90 years of competition, and ran from June 24 through August 4. The Outdoor Nats events were held at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) at AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana. The Indoor Nats took place at the Rantoul National Aviation Center in Rantoul, Illinois.