RC Helicopter

By Tim DiPeri

The 2024 AMA RC Helicopter Nats and US F3C & F3N World Team Selections have concluded. In addition, Sportsman, Expert, and three different categories of Scale have also concluded. With a single flightline and about 150 “competition” flights in front of judges, all involved needed to be on top of it all.

By Tim DiPeri

Wednesday, day three of competition, began cold and windy with light rain. There was definitely a good deal of flying to do before the end of the day, and we got a little bit of a late start. The rain cleared about an hour after the planned start time. As the skies began to clear, the wind really kicked up!

Tuesday arrived way too early for many helicopter pilots (including me!). Today, the day before the final day, recorded the largest number of competition flights—50 formal flights!

On Monday morning, the first day of most people’s work week, we all began our second day of competition flying in the 2024 RC Helicopter Nats.

The 2024 AMA Nats has been in progress for several weeks. This week, at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, model helicopter pilots are arriving from all around North America to compete with model helicopters in a variety of classes and difficulties.

Well, this is it. Another Nats is in the books—a special one, considering it’s the 100th anniversary of the first Nats. Everyone had a great time, and I look forward to seeing everyone continue to improve with their flying in the future.

Wednesday morning, we started an hour later than normal. By the time we started, the temperature was a comfortable mid-70s, and the wind was slightly greater coming from the southeast.

Tuesday morning was another cool and calm day. Surprisingly, the wind held off until well into the afternoon. This resulted in everyone performing better in their rounds.

Monday morning brought us cooler weather and sunny skies. We started the day with the Sportsman class, followed by Expert, F3C, and F3N.

Today was the day that we set up the course and practiced. The day started windless in the low 70s. By noon, it was in the mid-80s with low humidity and light winds. Picture-perfect weather.