First Nats-2007/12

THE FIRST NATIONAL Aeromodeling
Championships (Nats) was held more than 82 years
ago, several years before AMA was even formed.
The event comprised FF competition and rubberband-
powered aircraft. Aviation itself was in its
infancy, and the goal of model builders was similar
to the goal of full-scale airplane designers: to keep
the aircraft in the air as long as possible.
The purpose of the competition was to bring
people with similar interests together to share one of
the fun things about aviation: modeling. Through
modeling they could compare ideas and test them
for the fun of it, and, quite naturally, competition
ensued. Back then they were probably happy just to
have an open field and decent flying weather and to
go home with their models in the same condition in
which they brought them.
Today’s AMA Nats consists of much more than
FF competition. As aviation evolved, so did
modeling. The outdoor portion of the Nats is now
known for being the largest modeling event in the
Above: Jeff Szueber completes a low
knife-edge pass with his AirWild 40%
SU29 in Unlimited RC Scale Aerobatics.
Brendan Jones is his caller.
Left: RC Aerobatics winners (L-R)
Andrew Jesky, Jason Shulman, and Quique
Somenzini went on to compete in the
2007 F3A World Championships in
Argentina.
Above right: Orestes Hernandez won the
CL Aerobatics Open class and the
prestigious Walker Cup. His Legacy
model is all molded composite.
Right: Ashley Wilk stands proudly with her
father Tom and their CL Combat models.
Windy Urtnowski’s new Novanta CL Aerobatics airplane scored well in appearance
judging. It is a tribute to those with a passion for excellence.
RC Combat is a high-adrenalin sport. The
talented Nicholas Windsor’s young fingers
proved to be up to the challenge.
Cody McLean primes his Dalton Extra 260’s engine for a round of Intermediate RC Scale
Aerobatics. Brendan Jones, the Intermediate-class winner, assists.
John Shailor launches his F1B Wakefield
model into an early-morning thermal.
Mike Barbee entered his 37% AirWorld Yak-54 in RC Fun Scale Open. The sound from
the 250cc five-cylinder radial four-stroke engine was extremely realistic.
David Moser’s Aircraft International Quique Somenzini Yak-54 is almost 38%
scale. He flew it in the RC Scale Aerobatics Unlimited class with a 3W engine.
David Lockhart powered both of his Prestige RC Aerobatics models with electric
motor systems: one geared and the other direct drive. Both used 10S packs.
Above: RC Soaring events typically
have more than 100 radios to track and
Right: Ivan Kristensen and his wife
Dianne await the call to move into the
flight box for another round of
Unlimited-class RC Scale Aerobatics.
• Read the AMA rule book!
• Register in advance.
• Contact your SIG and practice with other
members in your district.
• Fly with a friend.
• List the tools and parts you use most in a
three-month period, and plan on bringing
those to the contest.
• Simulator time is as good as airtime.
• For shelter and seating take cover and
comfort; bring a pop-up tent.
• Take plenty of liquid refreshment.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to do
research for a hotel room.
• Come for the fun of it! MA
—Michael Ramsey
TIPSforNEW NATS CONTESTANTS
Bob Hatschek’s assistant points to the direction of the headwind.
FF ROW (rise-off-water) events are fun to watch.
FAI-class competitor John Buckley readies his Interstate Cadet for
a second day of flying in RC Scale.
Bill May relaxes as he pilots his 1/2A Texaco model into the
stratosphere during the RC Electric Soaring All-Up/Last-Down
event.
Hand-Launch Gliders are amazing pieces of composite
technology. This Vandal is made primarily from Kevlar.
Dan Kane’s son, Jack, closely inspects Dan’s Quickie 500
HurriKane Pylon racer. It looks like racing is in the blood!
Michelle Radziunas follows in her family’s footsteps of great FF
Wakefield-class competitors.
RC Pylon enjoyed a new state-of-the-art timing
system that was built for the F3D World
Championships.
Cody Remington placed third in the RC Soaring F3J competition.
Last year he won the Junior class at the FAI F3J World
Championships in Slovakia.
Mike DeBoer built this Lanzo Bomber for some 1/2A Texaco fun in
the RC Electric Soaring event.
Emile Sheriff brings his Blackhawk down for the flyby sequence of his RC Scale
Helicopter routine.
Pete Mazur competed in the .15 Profile CL Navy
Carrier event with a Sig Skyray that was modified for
electric power.
Paul Ferrell finished his CL Aerobatics aircraft in UltraCote and trendy
vinyl graphics.
Marc Gellart (in the background) is
spotted by a timer and a judge during the
RC Soaring F3J event.
The RC Soaring Nostalgia event brought out vintage wood sailplanes of all
types. The weather was perfect.
RC Electric Soaring competitors Ernie Schlumberger (L) and Ric Vaughn with their
Starduster Specials. Ric designed the model for the event.
Walt Fletcher competed in RC Fun Scale with a highly detailed Hangar 9
Hellcat.
Jack Iafret competed in
RC Electric Soaring with
two sailplanes made by
Kennedy Composites.
The Super AVA is for
light to moderate winds.
RC Combat competitors have to be prepared for anything. This
modified wagon helps keep the trusted models in order.
Thomas Neff mentors new RC Slow Survivable Combat contestant
Norm Names. Competition is all about keeping your cool.
If you missed the event this year, get a view from
the flightline by reading NatsNews. This publication
will give you a good idea of what the winners used
to get on the podium. Dig a little deeper and you’ll
see what might be needed to be the next contender.
Visit www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats/nats
news.aspx to read each day’s highlights.
For the first time AMA captured some of
what happened during the Nats on video.
These special segments show just a small part
of the action, but they are accompanied by
commentary that was developed by
interviewing some of the top competitors.
Besides all the imagery you’re enjoying in
this article, there are even more photos online
that will provide you with an overview of the
events that took place each week. The pictures
and video are free to view and download, but they
will be available for only a limited time. Go to
www.modelaircraft.org/news/natspics.aspx. MA
—Michael Ramsey
December 2007 25
CATCH the NATS ONLINE!
I went to the Nats and a World
Championship broke out!
The atmosphere at the AMA
International Flying site is revved up. It’s
day one of the Nats, but things have been
jumping on site for weeks already. After the
successful XFC and Summer Heat Festival
two weeks before that covered the AMA
field with 25,000 people, hundreds of
vendors, hot air balloons, carnival rides,
and state-of-the-art RC Giant Scale Aircraft
and helicopters, AMAofficials and site
crew organized and executed the World
Championships F3D Pylon event.
Nats Event Director Ron Morgan saw fit
to organize the schedule so that RC Pylon
would run back-to-back off the World
Championships (an
excellent plan).
All of the
workers are
well tuned and
hyper
focused for the Nats competitors and all the
equipment is set up for what should be an
unprecedented National Racing
Championships.
Now that the Worlds are over, a lot of
the International Pylon competitors are
ready to relax and fly Quarter-40. Roughly
six pilots were planning to stay for the
AMANats. This means that the regular
competitors are in for a treat having to
contend with pilots from Austrialia, Canada,
South Africa, Italy, and the Netherlands.
This means that the competition is not
only stepped up, but so is the camaraderie.
Lyle Larson has already helped Britain team
members rebuild some of their engines—
he’s just that good of a guy—and will likely
help other deserving pilots even though he’s
shedding his Team USAskin to pilot his
own models in the Quarter-40 and
coming Quickie 500 events.
Randy Bridges and Travis Flynn are
sticking around after their
tremendous performance at the
World Championships. Randy
and Travis were not only
teammates, but they also call
for one another. The fact
that they finished #1 and #2
individually in FAI with
just a 0.5 second lead
over the other not
only makes them
June 30, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon Day 1
Indoor Nats
Recognition
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RCScale Aerobatics
RC Pylon Day 1
1
Randy Bridge (L) and Travis
Flynn are the #1 and #2
finishers respectively of
the F3D Pylon World
Championships. Now
it’s time for fun with
the Quarter-40s!
Johnson City TN
makes an
Aeromodeling Day
proclamation.
Saturday
Hi 80 F
Lo 58 F
Partly Cloudy
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 80 F
Lo 56 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com
Frank Wong, Hong Kong F3D
Pylon competitor, used the tin of
a Coke can to repair the wing of
his Dago. Cool idea!
Mark this day in Nats history: the
weather is sunny with light crosswinds
and temperatures in the low 80s. The
second day of Quarter-40 preliminary
rounds is expected to have more of the
same. David Boyd and his band of
volunteers are doing a great job keeping
things running smoothly. He mentioned
being short a gold dollar coin for some
reason. I’m sure the Pylon brotherhood
would be glad to come to his aid.
The comfortable weather
is certainly nice but
what the top pilots
recognize is that
consistent
atmospheric
conditions
mean that aircraft performance remains
constant. At the Nats, winning a heat is
sometimes only a hundredth of a second
faster than the number two guy.
Understanding the conditions and the
variables allows a pilot to add up those
fractions of a second and become the
National Champion.
Interviewing a number of pilots, they
all commented on how flying at Muncie
is different from
any other
track in the
country. The
altitude and air
density typically
slow the models
down making the
course times roughly a
full second slower than
the national record.
But this year the new
Nelson long-stroke engine is
taking that second back off the
heat time. The engine is so new that
most pilots running it haven’t quite
found the right propeller and
compression ratio. “Rocket” Ray
Brown was giving me a crash course
on the engine variables and I
think the
July 1, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RC Scale Aerobatics
RC Pylon
Jacob
Ramsey
hold’s Ray
“Rocket”
Brown’s Miss
Ashley II.
Right: The engine
on Ray’s model is the
new long stroke engine
from Nelson.
Young
entrepreneurs
provide
refreshments for
the contestants
and spectators.
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 81 F
Lo 55 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Wednesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 68 F
T-Storms
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com.
The record high for this date
is 97 set in 1970. The record
low is 48 set in 1885.
Randy Bridge checks out Lyle
Larson’s Proud bird, admiring
the single wing screw at the
leading edge.
1
It’s all about consistency!
Jason Bauer relaxes during the static judging portion of the CL
Scale competition. His Invader has electric power.
Travis Flynn’s Quickie 500 racer is fitted with the latest longstroke
engine from Nelson. Note the beautiful woodwork on the
tank hatch.
RC Scale Aerobatics competitor Baron Johnson was the only pilot to use
smoke in his Freestyle program. His versatility garnered him the win.
The Wilk family competed in three CL events during
the Nats. Tom awaits the start of his Sport Jet model.
Quique Somenzini designed his Euphoria RC Aerobatics biplane especially for the weather conditions expected at the F3A World
Championships in South America.
The Gilkey family comes completely
prepared for an RC Combat contest.
Canadian Ted Barrette dances through
the RC Scale Aerobatics Sportsman
Unknown sequence.
Joe Haas placed first in every round of RC Fun Scale Novice with his EZ Models Voodoo
Mustang. Many Nats events can be flown successfully with everyday models.
The unofficial Dakota FF event is a delight to watch. Joe Wagner, the model’s designer,
competed. The aircraft uses a Cox .049 engine for power.
Joe Howard of East Coast Scale Helicopters practices with his monster Vario Bell 47G III.
Since it has a 2,360mm rotor span, it uses a Zenoah G-23 gas engine for power.
George Kennie attends the RC Aerobatics Nats for the fellowship
and the judging practice. He takes home everything he learns.
Lee Liddle converted all his RC Combat models to electric power.
They were just as fast as the glow-powered aircraft.
Christian Fox and his father, Thomas, fly in the FF Dakota event
for fun. Their seasoned model did well in the competition.
Fred Burgdorf flew his Proud Bird Pylon racer with the
Spektrum DSS radio system. Many AMA visitors enjoyed the
use of DSS this season.
world. This year, for six weeks between the
months of July and August, it welcomed more
than 1,100 competitors from the US and
abroad to compete in CL, FF, and RC
categories.
The International Aeromodeling Center
(IAC) in Muncie, Indiana, is state-of-the-art,
with more than 1,000 acres of property. It
features eight paved and six grass CL circles,
three paved runways, and one grass strip. In
addition, any part of the manicured grounds
can be set up as an FF event headquarters at a
moment’s notice. It’s way better than an open
field, plus the site has electrical hookups for
campers and plentiful restroom facilities.
Most people who come to Muncie
comment that they couldn’t ask for anything
more in a contest site, yet the Academy is
always making little adjustments to support
the CDs, SIGs, and members who come to
enjoy a facility each AMA member should
consider his or her home flying field.
The Nats has an interest for every modeler,
yet many members choose to stay away from
it because of the stress or just plain disinterest
in competition in general. Many regularly
attend the Nats because of one inescapable
observation: the participants—even the
volunteers—have fun. In fact, many people I
talked with told me they came for the fun.
The largest aeromodeling event isn’t
about the stress involved with competition;
it’s about enjoying model airplanes with
people from across the country, as they
used to do when the first Nats was held
more than 80 years ago.
The intent of this article isn’t to give a fullblown
account of everything that happened
during the six-week period of the Nats. AMA
produced a daily publication called NatsNews
to provide reports from the flightline by
people who specialized in an interest at the
contest. Hundreds of pages, thousands of great
photos, and every score posted are available
for download from AMA’s Web site.
Nats Firsts: A large number of competitors in
all RC events flew with digital spread
spectrum (DSS) radios. Those systems had
proven to work so well at the local level that
participants were convinced that they would
be a benefit at the Nats. This was the first Nats
at which DSS was available, and it made a
noticeable impact on the events on a number
of levels.
In RC Combat, for instance, there are
times when two contestants might never fly
against each other because of frequency
conflicts; RC Pylon has a similar situation.
Because of DSS, frequency-control issues and
matrix systems might soon be a thing of the
past and CDs will be able to match all
contestants against each other, which will
more fairly determine a national champion.
DSS also permits the IAC to be used more
effectively. In the past AMA members who
traveled to the site to fly for sport had to be
turned away because the frequencies were
reserved for the contest. For the first time at
the Nats, space was made available for sport
modelers who wanted to fly for fun if they
had DSS radio equipment. The extra effort
made it possible to see multiple areas of the
1,000-plus acres overflowing with modeling
activity.
This national competition isn’t reserved
for US citizens. If a competitor from another
country wants to compete, all he or she has
to do is register as an AMA Affiliate
Member and pay an extra $28 fee.
Last year Len Mount of England
competed in RC Scale Helicopter at the Nats
for the first time and added number 18 to his
list of international scale-competition wins.
The experience was so positive for Len’s
caller, Matthew Reuben, that he decided to
return in 2007 to compete in the revised
Class I RC Helicopter event—his first
contest.
Matthew’s dedication to the effort had
him practicing well in advance, and he took
home the win. In second place was Baron
Johnson—the 2007 Nats RC Aerobatics
Unlimited runner-up and Freestyle winner.
He decided to stick around and try RC
Helicopter competition for the first time.
Competition isn’t for everyone, and
that’s okay. However, I gave it a try this
year. The stress and fear aren’t as big a part
of the Nats as I thought they were; at least
they don’t have to be.
And it was nice to know that if things
weren’t going my way, there were people
who wanted to help. Even though their first
Nats may have been sometime ago, they
wanted to see me have a good time. Their
attitude helped make the Nats an event I’d
like to come back to, perhaps so I can help
make someone else’s first Nats a fun
experience.
My First Nats: I used to be one of those who
didn’t care much for competition, and I used
just about every excuse not to attend the Nats.
There didn’t seem to be a point to using my
vacation time to go somewhere out in the
Midwest during the hottest days of the
summer to be stressed out at a contest.
After two years of watching other people
have fun at this event, I decided that maybe
spending my vacation time wasn’t such a bad
idea after all. I’m typically wishing I had
brought a model airplane with me no matter
where I go anyway.
I decided that 2007 would be my first year
as a Nats competitor. After working in
Muncie for the last two years, I was out of
excuses. Besides, I wanted to have fun with
the many people I had made friends with
during their annual Nats vacations. And I had
always wanted to try RC Scale. Who knows?
The experience might lead to a Top Gun title
someday.
During the beginning of the year I spent a
lot of time flying the International Miniature
Aerobatic Club (IMAC) Intermediate
sequences with a 1/4-scale Extra 330L, but the
RC Scale Aerobatics Nats didn’t fit into my
schedule. Mike Barbee, a world-class
competitor who is well known for his success
in scale competitions such as Top Gun, is a
Nats regular. To do well in Scale he practices
at precision aerobatics contests such as those
the IMAC runs.
“The flight time in front of the IMAC
judges helps me to be more relaxed when the
time comes to fly at a scale contest,” he has
said.
Remembering that statement, I decided to
do the same thing. However, I used the same
IMAC airplane I had flown in Scale
Aerobatics to fly in a Scale contest; its color
scheme and graphics were nearly identical to
those of a full-scale aircraft.
Since I was already familiar with the
model, basically all I needed to do was
assemble some documentation and show up at
the event. The minimal work kept the fun
factor high.
Going through the AMA rule book was
the next step. It looked like my best option
was to enter the Fun Scale Novice category, in
which static judging isn’t a large part of the
final score. Even though my Extra was an
ARF, the Builder-of-the-Model rule isn’t in
effect in that class; it’s more of a flying
contest than anything else. Since I was
comfortable flying the airplane, the event
seemed like it would be a lot of fun.
From there I talked with a number of
friends who flew Scale. They helped answer a
number of my questions and, best of all, we
figured it would be a good idea if we all flew
together at the Nats. The extra support of their
experience and familiarity would be an asset
to me when it came to learning the ropes.
I sent off my Nats entry form and fee,
which I found out was important to do early.
The event directors use the preregistration
roster to order the trophies; if a class isn’t
filled, they don’t order plaques.
I couldn’t practice every day before the
event, but there was time each day for a quick
sit-down at the RC simulator. In Scale,
mandatory moves have to be designed into a
10-maneuver program. It isn’t like Scale
Aerobatics, in which everyone flies the same
maneuvers. I could make up practically any
sequence I wanted, as long as the schedule
began with a takeoff and ended with a
landing.
This was new to me, so the simulator
proved to be extraordinarily helpful in
figuring out which maneuvers the airplane
could do and which ones I could do well.
Before long I had a sequence basically
mapped out, but it took several evenings for
me to memorize the whole routine.
The simulator didn’t replicate the way my
Extra flew. But the better that flight schedule
was burned into memory, the less likely I was
to forget when standing in front of the judges
for the first time.
It’s fortunate that I live close to the Nats
Headquarters, but many people drive hours,
sometimes days, to get to Muncie. Forgetting
a part or a tool can ruin the whole contest, so
they typically plan for the worst. It was
common to see spare engines, radio
equipment, and building materials crammed
into participants’ vehicles and trailers at
the Nats.
The field box I carry contains almost
every tool I could ever need. However, on
the first day of the competition I looked
down at the bottom of my engine to see oil
leaking around the spark plug. The engine
would flame out on the next flight for
sure.
Fun Scale Open competitor John Boyko
saved me since my 5/8 wrench was safe at
home. Next time I’ll go over every nut and
bolt of the model and put every tool I use
in my flight box.
The weather in Muncie can be
exceedingly unpredictable. Inside a week
the temperatures can go from a fall chill to
a summer swelter. A quick rain shower
happens every now and then too.
Do yourself a favor and bring
comfortable outdoor seating and a pop-up
tent if you decide to attend. There are
typically hours to spend between flight
rounds, so it’s a good idea to make
yourself comfortable. Bring a cooler filled
with your favorite liquid refreshment, and
then the downtime is like a relaxing
vacation.
What mattered most to me at my first
Nats competition was to enjoy myself. For
that to happen, my primary concern was to
go home with my airplane in the same
condition in which I took it. So I
convinced myself that above all else I
would fly in a safe manner. Therefore, I
thoroughly inspected my Extra and
checked it again before every flight.
In case you were wondering, crashes
did happen. However, this edition of the
Nats had the fewest accidents ever
recorded.
Dan Powell, an RC Scale Aerobatics
competitor, came to fly at his first Nats
and lost his beautiful Dalton Extra 260 on
the last day of the contest. We talked
before the tragedy, and I couldn’t help but
admire his meticulous attention to
maintenance; these things just happen
sometimes.
My first Nats competition had its highs
and lows. I managed to complete all four
rounds with the Extra returning to my
workshop without a scratch. I learned a
great deal from the experience and found
a new appreciation for the people who
have made this event an annual family
reunion.
Because the Nats was still a new
experience, starting off easy in a
beginner’s event was the smart choice. If
I compete in Scale next year, it will
probably be with a different model. The
warbirds are extremely popular, and given
that the wind is a large factor in how the
airplane presents itself, the faster it can be
flown, the better.
Competition is as much about attitude
as it is about being prepared with the right
equipment and experience. Many who did
well went for the fun of modeling and
tried not to get stressed about doing well
their first time out.
Even though problems come up,
staying calm and going with the flow will
keep your head in the game. It isn’t worth
getting aggravated or angry; that’s when
mistakes happen.
Participating in the Nats was a positive
experience, and I hope that sharing it will
encourage other AMA members to think
seriously about attending next year or in
the near future. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]

THE FIRST NATIONAL Aeromodeling
Championships (Nats) was held more than 82 years
ago, several years before AMA was even formed.
The event comprised FF competition and rubberband-
powered aircraft. Aviation itself was in its
infancy, and the goal of model builders was similar
to the goal of full-scale airplane designers: to keep
the aircraft in the air as long as possible.
The purpose of the competition was to bring
people with similar interests together to share one of
the fun things about aviation: modeling. Through
modeling they could compare ideas and test them
for the fun of it, and, quite naturally, competition
ensued. Back then they were probably happy just to
have an open field and decent flying weather and to
go home with their models in the same condition in
which they brought them.
Today’s AMA Nats consists of much more than
FF competition. As aviation evolved, so did
modeling. The outdoor portion of the Nats is now
known for being the largest modeling event in the
Above: Jeff Szueber completes a low
knife-edge pass with his AirWild 40%
SU29 in Unlimited RC Scale Aerobatics.
Brendan Jones is his caller.
Left: RC Aerobatics winners (L-R)
Andrew Jesky, Jason Shulman, and Quique
Somenzini went on to compete in the
2007 F3A World Championships in
Argentina.
Above right: Orestes Hernandez won the
CL Aerobatics Open class and the
prestigious Walker Cup. His Legacy
model is all molded composite.
Right: Ashley Wilk stands proudly with her
father Tom and their CL Combat models.
Windy Urtnowski’s new Novanta CL Aerobatics airplane scored well in appearance
judging. It is a tribute to those with a passion for excellence.
RC Combat is a high-adrenalin sport. The
talented Nicholas Windsor’s young fingers
proved to be up to the challenge.
Cody McLean primes his Dalton Extra 260’s engine for a round of Intermediate RC Scale
Aerobatics. Brendan Jones, the Intermediate-class winner, assists.
John Shailor launches his F1B Wakefield
model into an early-morning thermal.
Mike Barbee entered his 37% AirWorld Yak-54 in RC Fun Scale Open. The sound from
the 250cc five-cylinder radial four-stroke engine was extremely realistic.
David Moser’s Aircraft International Quique Somenzini Yak-54 is almost 38%
scale. He flew it in the RC Scale Aerobatics Unlimited class with a 3W engine.
David Lockhart powered both of his Prestige RC Aerobatics models with electric
motor systems: one geared and the other direct drive. Both used 10S packs.
Above: RC Soaring events typically
have more than 100 radios to track and
Right: Ivan Kristensen and his wife
Dianne await the call to move into the
flight box for another round of
Unlimited-class RC Scale Aerobatics.
• Read the AMA rule book!
• Register in advance.
• Contact your SIG and practice with other
members in your district.
• Fly with a friend.
• List the tools and parts you use most in a
three-month period, and plan on bringing
those to the contest.
• Simulator time is as good as airtime.
• For shelter and seating take cover and
comfort; bring a pop-up tent.
• Take plenty of liquid refreshment.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to do
research for a hotel room.
• Come for the fun of it! MA
—Michael Ramsey
TIPSforNEW NATS CONTESTANTS
Bob Hatschek’s assistant points to the direction of the headwind.
FF ROW (rise-off-water) events are fun to watch.
FAI-class competitor John Buckley readies his Interstate Cadet for
a second day of flying in RC Scale.
Bill May relaxes as he pilots his 1/2A Texaco model into the
stratosphere during the RC Electric Soaring All-Up/Last-Down
event.
Hand-Launch Gliders are amazing pieces of composite
technology. This Vandal is made primarily from Kevlar.
Dan Kane’s son, Jack, closely inspects Dan’s Quickie 500
HurriKane Pylon racer. It looks like racing is in the blood!
Michelle Radziunas follows in her family’s footsteps of great FF
Wakefield-class competitors.
RC Pylon enjoyed a new state-of-the-art timing
system that was built for the F3D World
Championships.
Cody Remington placed third in the RC Soaring F3J competition.
Last year he won the Junior class at the FAI F3J World
Championships in Slovakia.
Mike DeBoer built this Lanzo Bomber for some 1/2A Texaco fun in
the RC Electric Soaring event.
Emile Sheriff brings his Blackhawk down for the flyby sequence of his RC Scale
Helicopter routine.
Pete Mazur competed in the .15 Profile CL Navy
Carrier event with a Sig Skyray that was modified for
electric power.
Paul Ferrell finished his CL Aerobatics aircraft in UltraCote and trendy
vinyl graphics.
Marc Gellart (in the background) is
spotted by a timer and a judge during the
RC Soaring F3J event.
The RC Soaring Nostalgia event brought out vintage wood sailplanes of all
types. The weather was perfect.
RC Electric Soaring competitors Ernie Schlumberger (L) and Ric Vaughn with their
Starduster Specials. Ric designed the model for the event.
Walt Fletcher competed in RC Fun Scale with a highly detailed Hangar 9
Hellcat.
Jack Iafret competed in
RC Electric Soaring with
two sailplanes made by
Kennedy Composites.
The Super AVA is for
light to moderate winds.
RC Combat competitors have to be prepared for anything. This
modified wagon helps keep the trusted models in order.
Thomas Neff mentors new RC Slow Survivable Combat contestant
Norm Names. Competition is all about keeping your cool.
If you missed the event this year, get a view from
the flightline by reading NatsNews. This publication
will give you a good idea of what the winners used
to get on the podium. Dig a little deeper and you’ll
see what might be needed to be the next contender.
Visit www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats/nats
news.aspx to read each day’s highlights.
For the first time AMA captured some of
what happened during the Nats on video.
These special segments show just a small part
of the action, but they are accompanied by
commentary that was developed by
interviewing some of the top competitors.
Besides all the imagery you’re enjoying in
this article, there are even more photos online
that will provide you with an overview of the
events that took place each week. The pictures
and video are free to view and download, but they
will be available for only a limited time. Go to
www.modelaircraft.org/news/natspics.aspx. MA
—Michael Ramsey
December 2007 25
CATCH the NATS ONLINE!
I went to the Nats and a World
Championship broke out!
The atmosphere at the AMA
International Flying site is revved up. It’s
day one of the Nats, but things have been
jumping on site for weeks already. After the
successful XFC and Summer Heat Festival
two weeks before that covered the AMA
field with 25,000 people, hundreds of
vendors, hot air balloons, carnival rides,
and state-of-the-art RC Giant Scale Aircraft
and helicopters, AMAofficials and site
crew organized and executed the World
Championships F3D Pylon event.
Nats Event Director Ron Morgan saw fit
to organize the schedule so that RC Pylon
would run back-to-back off the World
Championships (an
excellent plan).
All of the
workers are
well tuned and
hyper
focused for the Nats competitors and all the
equipment is set up for what should be an
unprecedented National Racing
Championships.
Now that the Worlds are over, a lot of
the International Pylon competitors are
ready to relax and fly Quarter-40. Roughly
six pilots were planning to stay for the
AMANats. This means that the regular
competitors are in for a treat having to
contend with pilots from Austrialia, Canada,
South Africa, Italy, and the Netherlands.
This means that the competition is not
only stepped up, but so is the camaraderie.
Lyle Larson has already helped Britain team
members rebuild some of their engines—
he’s just that good of a guy—and will likely
help other deserving pilots even though he’s
shedding his Team USAskin to pilot his
own models in the Quarter-40 and
coming Quickie 500 events.
Randy Bridges and Travis Flynn are
sticking around after their
tremendous performance at the
World Championships. Randy
and Travis were not only
teammates, but they also call
for one another. The fact
that they finished #1 and #2
individually in FAI with
just a 0.5 second lead
over the other not
only makes them
June 30, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon Day 1
Indoor Nats
Recognition
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RCScale Aerobatics
RC Pylon Day 1
1
Randy Bridge (L) and Travis
Flynn are the #1 and #2
finishers respectively of
the F3D Pylon World
Championships. Now
it’s time for fun with
the Quarter-40s!
Johnson City TN
makes an
Aeromodeling Day
proclamation.
Saturday
Hi 80 F
Lo 58 F
Partly Cloudy
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 80 F
Lo 56 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com
Frank Wong, Hong Kong F3D
Pylon competitor, used the tin of
a Coke can to repair the wing of
his Dago. Cool idea!
Mark this day in Nats history: the
weather is sunny with light crosswinds
and temperatures in the low 80s. The
second day of Quarter-40 preliminary
rounds is expected to have more of the
same. David Boyd and his band of
volunteers are doing a great job keeping
things running smoothly. He mentioned
being short a gold dollar coin for some
reason. I’m sure the Pylon brotherhood
would be glad to come to his aid.
The comfortable weather
is certainly nice but
what the top pilots
recognize is that
consistent
atmospheric
conditions
mean that aircraft performance remains
constant. At the Nats, winning a heat is
sometimes only a hundredth of a second
faster than the number two guy.
Understanding the conditions and the
variables allows a pilot to add up those
fractions of a second and become the
National Champion.
Interviewing a number of pilots, they
all commented on how flying at Muncie
is different from
any other
track in the
country. The
altitude and air
density typically
slow the models
down making the
course times roughly a
full second slower than
the national record.
But this year the new
Nelson long-stroke engine is
taking that second back off the
heat time. The engine is so new that
most pilots running it haven’t quite
found the right propeller and
compression ratio. “Rocket” Ray
Brown was giving me a crash course
on the engine variables and I
think the
July 1, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RC Scale Aerobatics
RC Pylon
Jacob
Ramsey
hold’s Ray
“Rocket”
Brown’s Miss
Ashley II.
Right: The engine
on Ray’s model is the
new long stroke engine
from Nelson.
Young
entrepreneurs
provide
refreshments for
the contestants
and spectators.
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 81 F
Lo 55 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Wednesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 68 F
T-Storms
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com.
The record high for this date
is 97 set in 1970. The record
low is 48 set in 1885.
Randy Bridge checks out Lyle
Larson’s Proud bird, admiring
the single wing screw at the
leading edge.
1
It’s all about consistency!
Jason Bauer relaxes during the static judging portion of the CL
Scale competition. His Invader has electric power.
Travis Flynn’s Quickie 500 racer is fitted with the latest longstroke
engine from Nelson. Note the beautiful woodwork on the
tank hatch.
RC Scale Aerobatics competitor Baron Johnson was the only pilot to use
smoke in his Freestyle program. His versatility garnered him the win.
The Wilk family competed in three CL events during
the Nats. Tom awaits the start of his Sport Jet model.
Quique Somenzini designed his Euphoria RC Aerobatics biplane especially for the weather conditions expected at the F3A World
Championships in South America.
The Gilkey family comes completely
prepared for an RC Combat contest.
Canadian Ted Barrette dances through
the RC Scale Aerobatics Sportsman
Unknown sequence.
Joe Haas placed first in every round of RC Fun Scale Novice with his EZ Models Voodoo
Mustang. Many Nats events can be flown successfully with everyday models.
The unofficial Dakota FF event is a delight to watch. Joe Wagner, the model’s designer,
competed. The aircraft uses a Cox .049 engine for power.
Joe Howard of East Coast Scale Helicopters practices with his monster Vario Bell 47G III.
Since it has a 2,360mm rotor span, it uses a Zenoah G-23 gas engine for power.
George Kennie attends the RC Aerobatics Nats for the fellowship
and the judging practice. He takes home everything he learns.
Lee Liddle converted all his RC Combat models to electric power.
They were just as fast as the glow-powered aircraft.
Christian Fox and his father, Thomas, fly in the FF Dakota event
for fun. Their seasoned model did well in the competition.
Fred Burgdorf flew his Proud Bird Pylon racer with the
Spektrum DSS radio system. Many AMA visitors enjoyed the
use of DSS this season.
world. This year, for six weeks between the
months of July and August, it welcomed more
than 1,100 competitors from the US and
abroad to compete in CL, FF, and RC
categories.
The International Aeromodeling Center
(IAC) in Muncie, Indiana, is state-of-the-art,
with more than 1,000 acres of property. It
features eight paved and six grass CL circles,
three paved runways, and one grass strip. In
addition, any part of the manicured grounds
can be set up as an FF event headquarters at a
moment’s notice. It’s way better than an open
field, plus the site has electrical hookups for
campers and plentiful restroom facilities.
Most people who come to Muncie
comment that they couldn’t ask for anything
more in a contest site, yet the Academy is
always making little adjustments to support
the CDs, SIGs, and members who come to
enjoy a facility each AMA member should
consider his or her home flying field.
The Nats has an interest for every modeler,
yet many members choose to stay away from
it because of the stress or just plain disinterest
in competition in general. Many regularly
attend the Nats because of one inescapable
observation: the participants—even the
volunteers—have fun. In fact, many people I
talked with told me they came for the fun.
The largest aeromodeling event isn’t
about the stress involved with competition;
it’s about enjoying model airplanes with
people from across the country, as they
used to do when the first Nats was held
more than 80 years ago.
The intent of this article isn’t to give a fullblown
account of everything that happened
during the six-week period of the Nats. AMA
produced a daily publication called NatsNews
to provide reports from the flightline by
people who specialized in an interest at the
contest. Hundreds of pages, thousands of great
photos, and every score posted are available
for download from AMA’s Web site.
Nats Firsts: A large number of competitors in
all RC events flew with digital spread
spectrum (DSS) radios. Those systems had
proven to work so well at the local level that
participants were convinced that they would
be a benefit at the Nats. This was the first Nats
at which DSS was available, and it made a
noticeable impact on the events on a number
of levels.
In RC Combat, for instance, there are
times when two contestants might never fly
against each other because of frequency
conflicts; RC Pylon has a similar situation.
Because of DSS, frequency-control issues and
matrix systems might soon be a thing of the
past and CDs will be able to match all
contestants against each other, which will
more fairly determine a national champion.
DSS also permits the IAC to be used more
effectively. In the past AMA members who
traveled to the site to fly for sport had to be
turned away because the frequencies were
reserved for the contest. For the first time at
the Nats, space was made available for sport
modelers who wanted to fly for fun if they
had DSS radio equipment. The extra effort
made it possible to see multiple areas of the
1,000-plus acres overflowing with modeling
activity.
This national competition isn’t reserved
for US citizens. If a competitor from another
country wants to compete, all he or she has
to do is register as an AMA Affiliate
Member and pay an extra $28 fee.
Last year Len Mount of England
competed in RC Scale Helicopter at the Nats
for the first time and added number 18 to his
list of international scale-competition wins.
The experience was so positive for Len’s
caller, Matthew Reuben, that he decided to
return in 2007 to compete in the revised
Class I RC Helicopter event—his first
contest.
Matthew’s dedication to the effort had
him practicing well in advance, and he took
home the win. In second place was Baron
Johnson—the 2007 Nats RC Aerobatics
Unlimited runner-up and Freestyle winner.
He decided to stick around and try RC
Helicopter competition for the first time.
Competition isn’t for everyone, and
that’s okay. However, I gave it a try this
year. The stress and fear aren’t as big a part
of the Nats as I thought they were; at least
they don’t have to be.
And it was nice to know that if things
weren’t going my way, there were people
who wanted to help. Even though their first
Nats may have been sometime ago, they
wanted to see me have a good time. Their
attitude helped make the Nats an event I’d
like to come back to, perhaps so I can help
make someone else’s first Nats a fun
experience.
My First Nats: I used to be one of those who
didn’t care much for competition, and I used
just about every excuse not to attend the Nats.
There didn’t seem to be a point to using my
vacation time to go somewhere out in the
Midwest during the hottest days of the
summer to be stressed out at a contest.
After two years of watching other people
have fun at this event, I decided that maybe
spending my vacation time wasn’t such a bad
idea after all. I’m typically wishing I had
brought a model airplane with me no matter
where I go anyway.
I decided that 2007 would be my first year
as a Nats competitor. After working in
Muncie for the last two years, I was out of
excuses. Besides, I wanted to have fun with
the many people I had made friends with
during their annual Nats vacations. And I had
always wanted to try RC Scale. Who knows?
The experience might lead to a Top Gun title
someday.
During the beginning of the year I spent a
lot of time flying the International Miniature
Aerobatic Club (IMAC) Intermediate
sequences with a 1/4-scale Extra 330L, but the
RC Scale Aerobatics Nats didn’t fit into my
schedule. Mike Barbee, a world-class
competitor who is well known for his success
in scale competitions such as Top Gun, is a
Nats regular. To do well in Scale he practices
at precision aerobatics contests such as those
the IMAC runs.
“The flight time in front of the IMAC
judges helps me to be more relaxed when the
time comes to fly at a scale contest,” he has
said.
Remembering that statement, I decided to
do the same thing. However, I used the same
IMAC airplane I had flown in Scale
Aerobatics to fly in a Scale contest; its color
scheme and graphics were nearly identical to
those of a full-scale aircraft.
Since I was already familiar with the
model, basically all I needed to do was
assemble some documentation and show up at
the event. The minimal work kept the fun
factor high.
Going through the AMA rule book was
the next step. It looked like my best option
was to enter the Fun Scale Novice category, in
which static judging isn’t a large part of the
final score. Even though my Extra was an
ARF, the Builder-of-the-Model rule isn’t in
effect in that class; it’s more of a flying
contest than anything else. Since I was
comfortable flying the airplane, the event
seemed like it would be a lot of fun.
From there I talked with a number of
friends who flew Scale. They helped answer a
number of my questions and, best of all, we
figured it would be a good idea if we all flew
together at the Nats. The extra support of their
experience and familiarity would be an asset
to me when it came to learning the ropes.
I sent off my Nats entry form and fee,
which I found out was important to do early.
The event directors use the preregistration
roster to order the trophies; if a class isn’t
filled, they don’t order plaques.
I couldn’t practice every day before the
event, but there was time each day for a quick
sit-down at the RC simulator. In Scale,
mandatory moves have to be designed into a
10-maneuver program. It isn’t like Scale
Aerobatics, in which everyone flies the same
maneuvers. I could make up practically any
sequence I wanted, as long as the schedule
began with a takeoff and ended with a
landing.
This was new to me, so the simulator
proved to be extraordinarily helpful in
figuring out which maneuvers the airplane
could do and which ones I could do well.
Before long I had a sequence basically
mapped out, but it took several evenings for
me to memorize the whole routine.
The simulator didn’t replicate the way my
Extra flew. But the better that flight schedule
was burned into memory, the less likely I was
to forget when standing in front of the judges
for the first time.
It’s fortunate that I live close to the Nats
Headquarters, but many people drive hours,
sometimes days, to get to Muncie. Forgetting
a part or a tool can ruin the whole contest, so
they typically plan for the worst. It was
common to see spare engines, radio
equipment, and building materials crammed
into participants’ vehicles and trailers at
the Nats.
The field box I carry contains almost
every tool I could ever need. However, on
the first day of the competition I looked
down at the bottom of my engine to see oil
leaking around the spark plug. The engine
would flame out on the next flight for
sure.
Fun Scale Open competitor John Boyko
saved me since my 5/8 wrench was safe at
home. Next time I’ll go over every nut and
bolt of the model and put every tool I use
in my flight box.
The weather in Muncie can be
exceedingly unpredictable. Inside a week
the temperatures can go from a fall chill to
a summer swelter. A quick rain shower
happens every now and then too.
Do yourself a favor and bring
comfortable outdoor seating and a pop-up
tent if you decide to attend. There are
typically hours to spend between flight
rounds, so it’s a good idea to make
yourself comfortable. Bring a cooler filled
with your favorite liquid refreshment, and
then the downtime is like a relaxing
vacation.
What mattered most to me at my first
Nats competition was to enjoy myself. For
that to happen, my primary concern was to
go home with my airplane in the same
condition in which I took it. So I
convinced myself that above all else I
would fly in a safe manner. Therefore, I
thoroughly inspected my Extra and
checked it again before every flight.
In case you were wondering, crashes
did happen. However, this edition of the
Nats had the fewest accidents ever
recorded.
Dan Powell, an RC Scale Aerobatics
competitor, came to fly at his first Nats
and lost his beautiful Dalton Extra 260 on
the last day of the contest. We talked
before the tragedy, and I couldn’t help but
admire his meticulous attention to
maintenance; these things just happen
sometimes.
My first Nats competition had its highs
and lows. I managed to complete all four
rounds with the Extra returning to my
workshop without a scratch. I learned a
great deal from the experience and found
a new appreciation for the people who
have made this event an annual family
reunion.
Because the Nats was still a new
experience, starting off easy in a
beginner’s event was the smart choice. If
I compete in Scale next year, it will
probably be with a different model. The
warbirds are extremely popular, and given
that the wind is a large factor in how the
airplane presents itself, the faster it can be
flown, the better.
Competition is as much about attitude
as it is about being prepared with the right
equipment and experience. Many who did
well went for the fun of modeling and
tried not to get stressed about doing well
their first time out.
Even though problems come up,
staying calm and going with the flow will
keep your head in the game. It isn’t worth
getting aggravated or angry; that’s when
mistakes happen.
Participating in the Nats was a positive
experience, and I hope that sharing it will
encourage other AMA members to think
seriously about attending next year or in
the near future. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]

THE FIRST NATIONAL Aeromodeling
Championships (Nats) was held more than 82 years
ago, several years before AMA was even formed.
The event comprised FF competition and rubberband-
powered aircraft. Aviation itself was in its
infancy, and the goal of model builders was similar
to the goal of full-scale airplane designers: to keep
the aircraft in the air as long as possible.
The purpose of the competition was to bring
people with similar interests together to share one of
the fun things about aviation: modeling. Through
modeling they could compare ideas and test them
for the fun of it, and, quite naturally, competition
ensued. Back then they were probably happy just to
have an open field and decent flying weather and to
go home with their models in the same condition in
which they brought them.
Today’s AMA Nats consists of much more than
FF competition. As aviation evolved, so did
modeling. The outdoor portion of the Nats is now
known for being the largest modeling event in the
Above: Jeff Szueber completes a low
knife-edge pass with his AirWild 40%
SU29 in Unlimited RC Scale Aerobatics.
Brendan Jones is his caller.
Left: RC Aerobatics winners (L-R)
Andrew Jesky, Jason Shulman, and Quique
Somenzini went on to compete in the
2007 F3A World Championships in
Argentina.
Above right: Orestes Hernandez won the
CL Aerobatics Open class and the
prestigious Walker Cup. His Legacy
model is all molded composite.
Right: Ashley Wilk stands proudly with her
father Tom and their CL Combat models.
Windy Urtnowski’s new Novanta CL Aerobatics airplane scored well in appearance
judging. It is a tribute to those with a passion for excellence.
RC Combat is a high-adrenalin sport. The
talented Nicholas Windsor’s young fingers
proved to be up to the challenge.
Cody McLean primes his Dalton Extra 260’s engine for a round of Intermediate RC Scale
Aerobatics. Brendan Jones, the Intermediate-class winner, assists.
John Shailor launches his F1B Wakefield
model into an early-morning thermal.
Mike Barbee entered his 37% AirWorld Yak-54 in RC Fun Scale Open. The sound from
the 250cc five-cylinder radial four-stroke engine was extremely realistic.
David Moser’s Aircraft International Quique Somenzini Yak-54 is almost 38%
scale. He flew it in the RC Scale Aerobatics Unlimited class with a 3W engine.
David Lockhart powered both of his Prestige RC Aerobatics models with electric
motor systems: one geared and the other direct drive. Both used 10S packs.
Above: RC Soaring events typically
have more than 100 radios to track and
Right: Ivan Kristensen and his wife
Dianne await the call to move into the
flight box for another round of
Unlimited-class RC Scale Aerobatics.
• Read the AMA rule book!
• Register in advance.
• Contact your SIG and practice with other
members in your district.
• Fly with a friend.
• List the tools and parts you use most in a
three-month period, and plan on bringing
those to the contest.
• Simulator time is as good as airtime.
• For shelter and seating take cover and
comfort; bring a pop-up tent.
• Take plenty of liquid refreshment.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to do
research for a hotel room.
• Come for the fun of it! MA
—Michael Ramsey
TIPSforNEW NATS CONTESTANTS
Bob Hatschek’s assistant points to the direction of the headwind.
FF ROW (rise-off-water) events are fun to watch.
FAI-class competitor John Buckley readies his Interstate Cadet for
a second day of flying in RC Scale.
Bill May relaxes as he pilots his 1/2A Texaco model into the
stratosphere during the RC Electric Soaring All-Up/Last-Down
event.
Hand-Launch Gliders are amazing pieces of composite
technology. This Vandal is made primarily from Kevlar.
Dan Kane’s son, Jack, closely inspects Dan’s Quickie 500
HurriKane Pylon racer. It looks like racing is in the blood!
Michelle Radziunas follows in her family’s footsteps of great FF
Wakefield-class competitors.
RC Pylon enjoyed a new state-of-the-art timing
system that was built for the F3D World
Championships.
Cody Remington placed third in the RC Soaring F3J competition.
Last year he won the Junior class at the FAI F3J World
Championships in Slovakia.
Mike DeBoer built this Lanzo Bomber for some 1/2A Texaco fun in
the RC Electric Soaring event.
Emile Sheriff brings his Blackhawk down for the flyby sequence of his RC Scale
Helicopter routine.
Pete Mazur competed in the .15 Profile CL Navy
Carrier event with a Sig Skyray that was modified for
electric power.
Paul Ferrell finished his CL Aerobatics aircraft in UltraCote and trendy
vinyl graphics.
Marc Gellart (in the background) is
spotted by a timer and a judge during the
RC Soaring F3J event.
The RC Soaring Nostalgia event brought out vintage wood sailplanes of all
types. The weather was perfect.
RC Electric Soaring competitors Ernie Schlumberger (L) and Ric Vaughn with their
Starduster Specials. Ric designed the model for the event.
Walt Fletcher competed in RC Fun Scale with a highly detailed Hangar 9
Hellcat.
Jack Iafret competed in
RC Electric Soaring with
two sailplanes made by
Kennedy Composites.
The Super AVA is for
light to moderate winds.
RC Combat competitors have to be prepared for anything. This
modified wagon helps keep the trusted models in order.
Thomas Neff mentors new RC Slow Survivable Combat contestant
Norm Names. Competition is all about keeping your cool.
If you missed the event this year, get a view from
the flightline by reading NatsNews. This publication
will give you a good idea of what the winners used
to get on the podium. Dig a little deeper and you’ll
see what might be needed to be the next contender.
Visit www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats/nats
news.aspx to read each day’s highlights.
For the first time AMA captured some of
what happened during the Nats on video.
These special segments show just a small part
of the action, but they are accompanied by
commentary that was developed by
interviewing some of the top competitors.
Besides all the imagery you’re enjoying in
this article, there are even more photos online
that will provide you with an overview of the
events that took place each week. The pictures
and video are free to view and download, but they
will be available for only a limited time. Go to
www.modelaircraft.org/news/natspics.aspx. MA
—Michael Ramsey
December 2007 25
CATCH the NATS ONLINE!
I went to the Nats and a World
Championship broke out!
The atmosphere at the AMA
International Flying site is revved up. It’s
day one of the Nats, but things have been
jumping on site for weeks already. After the
successful XFC and Summer Heat Festival
two weeks before that covered the AMA
field with 25,000 people, hundreds of
vendors, hot air balloons, carnival rides,
and state-of-the-art RC Giant Scale Aircraft
and helicopters, AMAofficials and site
crew organized and executed the World
Championships F3D Pylon event.
Nats Event Director Ron Morgan saw fit
to organize the schedule so that RC Pylon
would run back-to-back off the World
Championships (an
excellent plan).
All of the
workers are
well tuned and
hyper
focused for the Nats competitors and all the
equipment is set up for what should be an
unprecedented National Racing
Championships.
Now that the Worlds are over, a lot of
the International Pylon competitors are
ready to relax and fly Quarter-40. Roughly
six pilots were planning to stay for the
AMANats. This means that the regular
competitors are in for a treat having to
contend with pilots from Austrialia, Canada,
South Africa, Italy, and the Netherlands.
This means that the competition is not
only stepped up, but so is the camaraderie.
Lyle Larson has already helped Britain team
members rebuild some of their engines—
he’s just that good of a guy—and will likely
help other deserving pilots even though he’s
shedding his Team USAskin to pilot his
own models in the Quarter-40 and
coming Quickie 500 events.
Randy Bridges and Travis Flynn are
sticking around after their
tremendous performance at the
World Championships. Randy
and Travis were not only
teammates, but they also call
for one another. The fact
that they finished #1 and #2
individually in FAI with
just a 0.5 second lead
over the other not
only makes them
June 30, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon Day 1
Indoor Nats
Recognition
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RCScale Aerobatics
RC Pylon Day 1
1
Randy Bridge (L) and Travis
Flynn are the #1 and #2
finishers respectively of
the F3D Pylon World
Championships. Now
it’s time for fun with
the Quarter-40s!
Johnson City TN
makes an
Aeromodeling Day
proclamation.
Saturday
Hi 80 F
Lo 58 F
Partly Cloudy
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 80 F
Lo 56 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com
Frank Wong, Hong Kong F3D
Pylon competitor, used the tin of
a Coke can to repair the wing of
his Dago. Cool idea!
Mark this day in Nats history: the
weather is sunny with light crosswinds
and temperatures in the low 80s. The
second day of Quarter-40 preliminary
rounds is expected to have more of the
same. David Boyd and his band of
volunteers are doing a great job keeping
things running smoothly. He mentioned
being short a gold dollar coin for some
reason. I’m sure the Pylon brotherhood
would be glad to come to his aid.
The comfortable weather
is certainly nice but
what the top pilots
recognize is that
consistent
atmospheric
conditions
mean that aircraft performance remains
constant. At the Nats, winning a heat is
sometimes only a hundredth of a second
faster than the number two guy.
Understanding the conditions and the
variables allows a pilot to add up those
fractions of a second and become the
National Champion.
Interviewing a number of pilots, they
all commented on how flying at Muncie
is different from
any other
track in the
country. The
altitude and air
density typically
slow the models
down making the
course times roughly a
full second slower than
the national record.
But this year the new
Nelson long-stroke engine is
taking that second back off the
heat time. The engine is so new that
most pilots running it haven’t quite
found the right propeller and
compression ratio. “Rocket” Ray
Brown was giving me a crash course
on the engine variables and I
think the
July 1, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RC Scale Aerobatics
RC Pylon
Jacob
Ramsey
hold’s Ray
“Rocket”
Brown’s Miss
Ashley II.
Right: The engine
on Ray’s model is the
new long stroke engine
from Nelson.
Young
entrepreneurs
provide
refreshments for
the contestants
and spectators.
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 81 F
Lo 55 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Wednesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 68 F
T-Storms
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com.
The record high for this date
is 97 set in 1970. The record
low is 48 set in 1885.
Randy Bridge checks out Lyle
Larson’s Proud bird, admiring
the single wing screw at the
leading edge.
1
It’s all about consistency!
Jason Bauer relaxes during the static judging portion of the CL
Scale competition. His Invader has electric power.
Travis Flynn’s Quickie 500 racer is fitted with the latest longstroke
engine from Nelson. Note the beautiful woodwork on the
tank hatch.
RC Scale Aerobatics competitor Baron Johnson was the only pilot to use
smoke in his Freestyle program. His versatility garnered him the win.
The Wilk family competed in three CL events during
the Nats. Tom awaits the start of his Sport Jet model.
Quique Somenzini designed his Euphoria RC Aerobatics biplane especially for the weather conditions expected at the F3A World
Championships in South America.
The Gilkey family comes completely
prepared for an RC Combat contest.
Canadian Ted Barrette dances through
the RC Scale Aerobatics Sportsman
Unknown sequence.
Joe Haas placed first in every round of RC Fun Scale Novice with his EZ Models Voodoo
Mustang. Many Nats events can be flown successfully with everyday models.
The unofficial Dakota FF event is a delight to watch. Joe Wagner, the model’s designer,
competed. The aircraft uses a Cox .049 engine for power.
Joe Howard of East Coast Scale Helicopters practices with his monster Vario Bell 47G III.
Since it has a 2,360mm rotor span, it uses a Zenoah G-23 gas engine for power.
George Kennie attends the RC Aerobatics Nats for the fellowship
and the judging practice. He takes home everything he learns.
Lee Liddle converted all his RC Combat models to electric power.
They were just as fast as the glow-powered aircraft.
Christian Fox and his father, Thomas, fly in the FF Dakota event
for fun. Their seasoned model did well in the competition.
Fred Burgdorf flew his Proud Bird Pylon racer with the
Spektrum DSS radio system. Many AMA visitors enjoyed the
use of DSS this season.
world. This year, for six weeks between the
months of July and August, it welcomed more
than 1,100 competitors from the US and
abroad to compete in CL, FF, and RC
categories.
The International Aeromodeling Center
(IAC) in Muncie, Indiana, is state-of-the-art,
with more than 1,000 acres of property. It
features eight paved and six grass CL circles,
three paved runways, and one grass strip. In
addition, any part of the manicured grounds
can be set up as an FF event headquarters at a
moment’s notice. It’s way better than an open
field, plus the site has electrical hookups for
campers and plentiful restroom facilities.
Most people who come to Muncie
comment that they couldn’t ask for anything
more in a contest site, yet the Academy is
always making little adjustments to support
the CDs, SIGs, and members who come to
enjoy a facility each AMA member should
consider his or her home flying field.
The Nats has an interest for every modeler,
yet many members choose to stay away from
it because of the stress or just plain disinterest
in competition in general. Many regularly
attend the Nats because of one inescapable
observation: the participants—even the
volunteers—have fun. In fact, many people I
talked with told me they came for the fun.
The largest aeromodeling event isn’t
about the stress involved with competition;
it’s about enjoying model airplanes with
people from across the country, as they
used to do when the first Nats was held
more than 80 years ago.
The intent of this article isn’t to give a fullblown
account of everything that happened
during the six-week period of the Nats. AMA
produced a daily publication called NatsNews
to provide reports from the flightline by
people who specialized in an interest at the
contest. Hundreds of pages, thousands of great
photos, and every score posted are available
for download from AMA’s Web site.
Nats Firsts: A large number of competitors in
all RC events flew with digital spread
spectrum (DSS) radios. Those systems had
proven to work so well at the local level that
participants were convinced that they would
be a benefit at the Nats. This was the first Nats
at which DSS was available, and it made a
noticeable impact on the events on a number
of levels.
In RC Combat, for instance, there are
times when two contestants might never fly
against each other because of frequency
conflicts; RC Pylon has a similar situation.
Because of DSS, frequency-control issues and
matrix systems might soon be a thing of the
past and CDs will be able to match all
contestants against each other, which will
more fairly determine a national champion.
DSS also permits the IAC to be used more
effectively. In the past AMA members who
traveled to the site to fly for sport had to be
turned away because the frequencies were
reserved for the contest. For the first time at
the Nats, space was made available for sport
modelers who wanted to fly for fun if they
had DSS radio equipment. The extra effort
made it possible to see multiple areas of the
1,000-plus acres overflowing with modeling
activity.
This national competition isn’t reserved
for US citizens. If a competitor from another
country wants to compete, all he or she has
to do is register as an AMA Affiliate
Member and pay an extra $28 fee.
Last year Len Mount of England
competed in RC Scale Helicopter at the Nats
for the first time and added number 18 to his
list of international scale-competition wins.
The experience was so positive for Len’s
caller, Matthew Reuben, that he decided to
return in 2007 to compete in the revised
Class I RC Helicopter event—his first
contest.
Matthew’s dedication to the effort had
him practicing well in advance, and he took
home the win. In second place was Baron
Johnson—the 2007 Nats RC Aerobatics
Unlimited runner-up and Freestyle winner.
He decided to stick around and try RC
Helicopter competition for the first time.
Competition isn’t for everyone, and
that’s okay. However, I gave it a try this
year. The stress and fear aren’t as big a part
of the Nats as I thought they were; at least
they don’t have to be.
And it was nice to know that if things
weren’t going my way, there were people
who wanted to help. Even though their first
Nats may have been sometime ago, they
wanted to see me have a good time. Their
attitude helped make the Nats an event I’d
like to come back to, perhaps so I can help
make someone else’s first Nats a fun
experience.
My First Nats: I used to be one of those who
didn’t care much for competition, and I used
just about every excuse not to attend the Nats.
There didn’t seem to be a point to using my
vacation time to go somewhere out in the
Midwest during the hottest days of the
summer to be stressed out at a contest.
After two years of watching other people
have fun at this event, I decided that maybe
spending my vacation time wasn’t such a bad
idea after all. I’m typically wishing I had
brought a model airplane with me no matter
where I go anyway.
I decided that 2007 would be my first year
as a Nats competitor. After working in
Muncie for the last two years, I was out of
excuses. Besides, I wanted to have fun with
the many people I had made friends with
during their annual Nats vacations. And I had
always wanted to try RC Scale. Who knows?
The experience might lead to a Top Gun title
someday.
During the beginning of the year I spent a
lot of time flying the International Miniature
Aerobatic Club (IMAC) Intermediate
sequences with a 1/4-scale Extra 330L, but the
RC Scale Aerobatics Nats didn’t fit into my
schedule. Mike Barbee, a world-class
competitor who is well known for his success
in scale competitions such as Top Gun, is a
Nats regular. To do well in Scale he practices
at precision aerobatics contests such as those
the IMAC runs.
“The flight time in front of the IMAC
judges helps me to be more relaxed when the
time comes to fly at a scale contest,” he has
said.
Remembering that statement, I decided to
do the same thing. However, I used the same
IMAC airplane I had flown in Scale
Aerobatics to fly in a Scale contest; its color
scheme and graphics were nearly identical to
those of a full-scale aircraft.
Since I was already familiar with the
model, basically all I needed to do was
assemble some documentation and show up at
the event. The minimal work kept the fun
factor high.
Going through the AMA rule book was
the next step. It looked like my best option
was to enter the Fun Scale Novice category, in
which static judging isn’t a large part of the
final score. Even though my Extra was an
ARF, the Builder-of-the-Model rule isn’t in
effect in that class; it’s more of a flying
contest than anything else. Since I was
comfortable flying the airplane, the event
seemed like it would be a lot of fun.
From there I talked with a number of
friends who flew Scale. They helped answer a
number of my questions and, best of all, we
figured it would be a good idea if we all flew
together at the Nats. The extra support of their
experience and familiarity would be an asset
to me when it came to learning the ropes.
I sent off my Nats entry form and fee,
which I found out was important to do early.
The event directors use the preregistration
roster to order the trophies; if a class isn’t
filled, they don’t order plaques.
I couldn’t practice every day before the
event, but there was time each day for a quick
sit-down at the RC simulator. In Scale,
mandatory moves have to be designed into a
10-maneuver program. It isn’t like Scale
Aerobatics, in which everyone flies the same
maneuvers. I could make up practically any
sequence I wanted, as long as the schedule
began with a takeoff and ended with a
landing.
This was new to me, so the simulator
proved to be extraordinarily helpful in
figuring out which maneuvers the airplane
could do and which ones I could do well.
Before long I had a sequence basically
mapped out, but it took several evenings for
me to memorize the whole routine.
The simulator didn’t replicate the way my
Extra flew. But the better that flight schedule
was burned into memory, the less likely I was
to forget when standing in front of the judges
for the first time.
It’s fortunate that I live close to the Nats
Headquarters, but many people drive hours,
sometimes days, to get to Muncie. Forgetting
a part or a tool can ruin the whole contest, so
they typically plan for the worst. It was
common to see spare engines, radio
equipment, and building materials crammed
into participants’ vehicles and trailers at
the Nats.
The field box I carry contains almost
every tool I could ever need. However, on
the first day of the competition I looked
down at the bottom of my engine to see oil
leaking around the spark plug. The engine
would flame out on the next flight for
sure.
Fun Scale Open competitor John Boyko
saved me since my 5/8 wrench was safe at
home. Next time I’ll go over every nut and
bolt of the model and put every tool I use
in my flight box.
The weather in Muncie can be
exceedingly unpredictable. Inside a week
the temperatures can go from a fall chill to
a summer swelter. A quick rain shower
happens every now and then too.
Do yourself a favor and bring
comfortable outdoor seating and a pop-up
tent if you decide to attend. There are
typically hours to spend between flight
rounds, so it’s a good idea to make
yourself comfortable. Bring a cooler filled
with your favorite liquid refreshment, and
then the downtime is like a relaxing
vacation.
What mattered most to me at my first
Nats competition was to enjoy myself. For
that to happen, my primary concern was to
go home with my airplane in the same
condition in which I took it. So I
convinced myself that above all else I
would fly in a safe manner. Therefore, I
thoroughly inspected my Extra and
checked it again before every flight.
In case you were wondering, crashes
did happen. However, this edition of the
Nats had the fewest accidents ever
recorded.
Dan Powell, an RC Scale Aerobatics
competitor, came to fly at his first Nats
and lost his beautiful Dalton Extra 260 on
the last day of the contest. We talked
before the tragedy, and I couldn’t help but
admire his meticulous attention to
maintenance; these things just happen
sometimes.
My first Nats competition had its highs
and lows. I managed to complete all four
rounds with the Extra returning to my
workshop without a scratch. I learned a
great deal from the experience and found
a new appreciation for the people who
have made this event an annual family
reunion.
Because the Nats was still a new
experience, starting off easy in a
beginner’s event was the smart choice. If
I compete in Scale next year, it will
probably be with a different model. The
warbirds are extremely popular, and given
that the wind is a large factor in how the
airplane presents itself, the faster it can be
flown, the better.
Competition is as much about attitude
as it is about being prepared with the right
equipment and experience. Many who did
well went for the fun of modeling and
tried not to get stressed about doing well
their first time out.
Even though problems come up,
staying calm and going with the flow will
keep your head in the game. It isn’t worth
getting aggravated or angry; that’s when
mistakes happen.
Participating in the Nats was a positive
experience, and I hope that sharing it will
encourage other AMA members to think
seriously about attending next year or in
the near future. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]

THE FIRST NATIONAL Aeromodeling
Championships (Nats) was held more than 82 years
ago, several years before AMA was even formed.
The event comprised FF competition and rubberband-
powered aircraft. Aviation itself was in its
infancy, and the goal of model builders was similar
to the goal of full-scale airplane designers: to keep
the aircraft in the air as long as possible.
The purpose of the competition was to bring
people with similar interests together to share one of
the fun things about aviation: modeling. Through
modeling they could compare ideas and test them
for the fun of it, and, quite naturally, competition
ensued. Back then they were probably happy just to
have an open field and decent flying weather and to
go home with their models in the same condition in
which they brought them.
Today’s AMA Nats consists of much more than
FF competition. As aviation evolved, so did
modeling. The outdoor portion of the Nats is now
known for being the largest modeling event in the
Above: Jeff Szueber completes a low
knife-edge pass with his AirWild 40%
SU29 in Unlimited RC Scale Aerobatics.
Brendan Jones is his caller.
Left: RC Aerobatics winners (L-R)
Andrew Jesky, Jason Shulman, and Quique
Somenzini went on to compete in the
2007 F3A World Championships in
Argentina.
Above right: Orestes Hernandez won the
CL Aerobatics Open class and the
prestigious Walker Cup. His Legacy
model is all molded composite.
Right: Ashley Wilk stands proudly with her
father Tom and their CL Combat models.
Windy Urtnowski’s new Novanta CL Aerobatics airplane scored well in appearance
judging. It is a tribute to those with a passion for excellence.
RC Combat is a high-adrenalin sport. The
talented Nicholas Windsor’s young fingers
proved to be up to the challenge.
Cody McLean primes his Dalton Extra 260’s engine for a round of Intermediate RC Scale
Aerobatics. Brendan Jones, the Intermediate-class winner, assists.
John Shailor launches his F1B Wakefield
model into an early-morning thermal.
Mike Barbee entered his 37% AirWorld Yak-54 in RC Fun Scale Open. The sound from
the 250cc five-cylinder radial four-stroke engine was extremely realistic.
David Moser’s Aircraft International Quique Somenzini Yak-54 is almost 38%
scale. He flew it in the RC Scale Aerobatics Unlimited class with a 3W engine.
David Lockhart powered both of his Prestige RC Aerobatics models with electric
motor systems: one geared and the other direct drive. Both used 10S packs.
Above: RC Soaring events typically
have more than 100 radios to track and
Right: Ivan Kristensen and his wife
Dianne await the call to move into the
flight box for another round of
Unlimited-class RC Scale Aerobatics.
• Read the AMA rule book!
• Register in advance.
• Contact your SIG and practice with other
members in your district.
• Fly with a friend.
• List the tools and parts you use most in a
three-month period, and plan on bringing
those to the contest.
• Simulator time is as good as airtime.
• For shelter and seating take cover and
comfort; bring a pop-up tent.
• Take plenty of liquid refreshment.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to do
research for a hotel room.
• Come for the fun of it! MA
—Michael Ramsey
TIPSforNEW NATS CONTESTANTS
Bob Hatschek’s assistant points to the direction of the headwind.
FF ROW (rise-off-water) events are fun to watch.
FAI-class competitor John Buckley readies his Interstate Cadet for
a second day of flying in RC Scale.
Bill May relaxes as he pilots his 1/2A Texaco model into the
stratosphere during the RC Electric Soaring All-Up/Last-Down
event.
Hand-Launch Gliders are amazing pieces of composite
technology. This Vandal is made primarily from Kevlar.
Dan Kane’s son, Jack, closely inspects Dan’s Quickie 500
HurriKane Pylon racer. It looks like racing is in the blood!
Michelle Radziunas follows in her family’s footsteps of great FF
Wakefield-class competitors.
RC Pylon enjoyed a new state-of-the-art timing
system that was built for the F3D World
Championships.
Cody Remington placed third in the RC Soaring F3J competition.
Last year he won the Junior class at the FAI F3J World
Championships in Slovakia.
Mike DeBoer built this Lanzo Bomber for some 1/2A Texaco fun in
the RC Electric Soaring event.
Emile Sheriff brings his Blackhawk down for the flyby sequence of his RC Scale
Helicopter routine.
Pete Mazur competed in the .15 Profile CL Navy
Carrier event with a Sig Skyray that was modified for
electric power.
Paul Ferrell finished his CL Aerobatics aircraft in UltraCote and trendy
vinyl graphics.
Marc Gellart (in the background) is
spotted by a timer and a judge during the
RC Soaring F3J event.
The RC Soaring Nostalgia event brought out vintage wood sailplanes of all
types. The weather was perfect.
RC Electric Soaring competitors Ernie Schlumberger (L) and Ric Vaughn with their
Starduster Specials. Ric designed the model for the event.
Walt Fletcher competed in RC Fun Scale with a highly detailed Hangar 9
Hellcat.
Jack Iafret competed in
RC Electric Soaring with
two sailplanes made by
Kennedy Composites.
The Super AVA is for
light to moderate winds.
RC Combat competitors have to be prepared for anything. This
modified wagon helps keep the trusted models in order.
Thomas Neff mentors new RC Slow Survivable Combat contestant
Norm Names. Competition is all about keeping your cool.
If you missed the event this year, get a view from
the flightline by reading NatsNews. This publication
will give you a good idea of what the winners used
to get on the podium. Dig a little deeper and you’ll
see what might be needed to be the next contender.
Visit www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats/nats
news.aspx to read each day’s highlights.
For the first time AMA captured some of
what happened during the Nats on video.
These special segments show just a small part
of the action, but they are accompanied by
commentary that was developed by
interviewing some of the top competitors.
Besides all the imagery you’re enjoying in
this article, there are even more photos online
that will provide you with an overview of the
events that took place each week. The pictures
and video are free to view and download, but they
will be available for only a limited time. Go to
www.modelaircraft.org/news/natspics.aspx. MA
—Michael Ramsey
December 2007 25
CATCH the NATS ONLINE!
I went to the Nats and a World
Championship broke out!
The atmosphere at the AMA
International Flying site is revved up. It’s
day one of the Nats, but things have been
jumping on site for weeks already. After the
successful XFC and Summer Heat Festival
two weeks before that covered the AMA
field with 25,000 people, hundreds of
vendors, hot air balloons, carnival rides,
and state-of-the-art RC Giant Scale Aircraft
and helicopters, AMAofficials and site
crew organized and executed the World
Championships F3D Pylon event.
Nats Event Director Ron Morgan saw fit
to organize the schedule so that RC Pylon
would run back-to-back off the World
Championships (an
excellent plan).
All of the
workers are
well tuned and
hyper
focused for the Nats competitors and all the
equipment is set up for what should be an
unprecedented National Racing
Championships.
Now that the Worlds are over, a lot of
the International Pylon competitors are
ready to relax and fly Quarter-40. Roughly
six pilots were planning to stay for the
AMANats. This means that the regular
competitors are in for a treat having to
contend with pilots from Austrialia, Canada,
South Africa, Italy, and the Netherlands.
This means that the competition is not
only stepped up, but so is the camaraderie.
Lyle Larson has already helped Britain team
members rebuild some of their engines—
he’s just that good of a guy—and will likely
help other deserving pilots even though he’s
shedding his Team USAskin to pilot his
own models in the Quarter-40 and
coming Quickie 500 events.
Randy Bridges and Travis Flynn are
sticking around after their
tremendous performance at the
World Championships. Randy
and Travis were not only
teammates, but they also call
for one another. The fact
that they finished #1 and #2
individually in FAI with
just a 0.5 second lead
over the other not
only makes them
June 30, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon Day 1
Indoor Nats
Recognition
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RCScale Aerobatics
RC Pylon Day 1
1
Randy Bridge (L) and Travis
Flynn are the #1 and #2
finishers respectively of
the F3D Pylon World
Championships. Now
it’s time for fun with
the Quarter-40s!
Johnson City TN
makes an
Aeromodeling Day
proclamation.
Saturday
Hi 80 F
Lo 58 F
Partly Cloudy
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 80 F
Lo 56 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com
Frank Wong, Hong Kong F3D
Pylon competitor, used the tin of
a Coke can to repair the wing of
his Dago. Cool idea!
Mark this day in Nats history: the
weather is sunny with light crosswinds
and temperatures in the low 80s. The
second day of Quarter-40 preliminary
rounds is expected to have more of the
same. David Boyd and his band of
volunteers are doing a great job keeping
things running smoothly. He mentioned
being short a gold dollar coin for some
reason. I’m sure the Pylon brotherhood
would be glad to come to his aid.
The comfortable weather
is certainly nice but
what the top pilots
recognize is that
consistent
atmospheric
conditions
mean that aircraft performance remains
constant. At the Nats, winning a heat is
sometimes only a hundredth of a second
faster than the number two guy.
Understanding the conditions and the
variables allows a pilot to add up those
fractions of a second and become the
National Champion.
Interviewing a number of pilots, they
all commented on how flying at Muncie
is different from
any other
track in the
country. The
altitude and air
density typically
slow the models
down making the
course times roughly a
full second slower than
the national record.
But this year the new
Nelson long-stroke engine is
taking that second back off the
heat time. The engine is so new that
most pilots running it haven’t quite
found the right propeller and
compression ratio. “Rocket” Ray
Brown was giving me a crash course
on the engine variables and I
think the
July 1, 2007
Academy of Model Aeronautics
International Aeromodeling Center,
Muncie IN
Web site: www.modelaircraft.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright Academy of
Model Aeronautics 2007
Inside
today’s
issue
Pylon
Outdoor Events
June 30-July 4
RCPylon
July 5-July 8
RC Scale Aerobatics
RC Pylon
Jacob
Ramsey
hold’s Ray
“Rocket”
Brown’s Miss
Ashley II.
Right: The engine
on Ray’s model is the
new long stroke engine
from Nelson.
Young
entrepreneurs
provide
refreshments for
the contestants
and spectators.
Sunday
Hi 81 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Monday
Hi 81 F
Lo 55 F
Clear
Tuesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 59 F
Partly Cloudy
Wednesday
Hi 86 F
Lo 68 F
T-Storms
Weather
Weather courtesy of WTHR’s
Skytrack Weather at
www.wthr.com.
The record high for this date
is 97 set in 1970. The record
low is 48 set in 1885.
Randy Bridge checks out Lyle
Larson’s Proud bird, admiring
the single wing screw at the
leading edge.
1
It’s all about consistency!
Jason Bauer relaxes during the static judging portion of the CL
Scale competition. His Invader has electric power.
Travis Flynn’s Quickie 500 racer is fitted with the latest longstroke
engine from Nelson. Note the beautiful woodwork on the
tank hatch.
RC Scale Aerobatics competitor Baron Johnson was the only pilot to use
smoke in his Freestyle program. His versatility garnered him the win.
The Wilk family competed in three CL events during
the Nats. Tom awaits the start of his Sport Jet model.
Quique Somenzini designed his Euphoria RC Aerobatics biplane especially for the weather conditions expected at the F3A World
Championships in South America.
The Gilkey family comes completely
prepared for an RC Combat contest.
Canadian Ted Barrette dances through
the RC Scale Aerobatics Sportsman
Unknown sequence.
Joe Haas placed first in every round of RC Fun Scale Novice with his EZ Models Voodoo
Mustang. Many Nats events can be flown successfully with everyday models.
The unofficial Dakota FF event is a delight to watch. Joe Wagner, the model’s designer,
competed. The aircraft uses a Cox .049 engine for power.
Joe Howard of East Coast Scale Helicopters practices with his monster Vario Bell 47G III.
Since it has a 2,360mm rotor span, it uses a Zenoah G-23 gas engine for power.
George Kennie attends the RC Aerobatics Nats for the fellowship
and the judging practice. He takes home everything he learns.
Lee Liddle converted all his RC Combat models to electric power.
They were just as fast as the glow-powered aircraft.
Christian Fox and his father, Thomas, fly in the FF Dakota event
for fun. Their seasoned model did well in the competition.
Fred Burgdorf flew his Proud Bird Pylon racer with the
Spektrum DSS radio system. Many AMA visitors enjoyed the
use of DSS this season.
world. This year, for six weeks between the
months of July and August, it welcomed more
than 1,100 competitors from the US and
abroad to compete in CL, FF, and RC
categories.
The International Aeromodeling Center
(IAC) in Muncie, Indiana, is state-of-the-art,
with more than 1,000 acres of property. It
features eight paved and six grass CL circles,
three paved runways, and one grass strip. In
addition, any part of the manicured grounds
can be set up as an FF event headquarters at a
moment’s notice. It’s way better than an open
field, plus the site has electrical hookups for
campers and plentiful restroom facilities.
Most people who come to Muncie
comment that they couldn’t ask for anything
more in a contest site, yet the Academy is
always making little adjustments to support
the CDs, SIGs, and members who come to
enjoy a facility each AMA member should
consider his or her home flying field.
The Nats has an interest for every modeler,
yet many members choose to stay away from
it because of the stress or just plain disinterest
in competition in general. Many regularly
attend the Nats because of one inescapable
observation: the participants—even the
volunteers—have fun. In fact, many people I
talked with told me they came for the fun.
The largest aeromodeling event isn’t
about the stress involved with competition;
it’s about enjoying model airplanes with
people from across the country, as they
used to do when the first Nats was held
more than 80 years ago.
The intent of this article isn’t to give a fullblown
account of everything that happened
during the six-week period of the Nats. AMA
produced a daily publication called NatsNews
to provide reports from the flightline by
people who specialized in an interest at the
contest. Hundreds of pages, thousands of great
photos, and every score posted are available
for download from AMA’s Web site.
Nats Firsts: A large number of competitors in
all RC events flew with digital spread
spectrum (DSS) radios. Those systems had
proven to work so well at the local level that
participants were convinced that they would
be a benefit at the Nats. This was the first Nats
at which DSS was available, and it made a
noticeable impact on the events on a number
of levels.
In RC Combat, for instance, there are
times when two contestants might never fly
against each other because of frequency
conflicts; RC Pylon has a similar situation.
Because of DSS, frequency-control issues and
matrix systems might soon be a thing of the
past and CDs will be able to match all
contestants against each other, which will
more fairly determine a national champion.
DSS also permits the IAC to be used more
effectively. In the past AMA members who
traveled to the site to fly for sport had to be
turned away because the frequencies were
reserved for the contest. For the first time at
the Nats, space was made available for sport
modelers who wanted to fly for fun if they
had DSS radio equipment. The extra effort
made it possible to see multiple areas of the
1,000-plus acres overflowing with modeling
activity.
This national competition isn’t reserved
for US citizens. If a competitor from another
country wants to compete, all he or she has
to do is register as an AMA Affiliate
Member and pay an extra $28 fee.
Last year Len Mount of England
competed in RC Scale Helicopter at the Nats
for the first time and added number 18 to his
list of international scale-competition wins.
The experience was so positive for Len’s
caller, Matthew Reuben, that he decided to
return in 2007 to compete in the revised
Class I RC Helicopter event—his first
contest.
Matthew’s dedication to the effort had
him practicing well in advance, and he took
home the win. In second place was Baron
Johnson—the 2007 Nats RC Aerobatics
Unlimited runner-up and Freestyle winner.
He decided to stick around and try RC
Helicopter competition for the first time.
Competition isn’t for everyone, and
that’s okay. However, I gave it a try this
year. The stress and fear aren’t as big a part
of the Nats as I thought they were; at least
they don’t have to be.
And it was nice to know that if things
weren’t going my way, there were people
who wanted to help. Even though their first
Nats may have been sometime ago, they
wanted to see me have a good time. Their
attitude helped make the Nats an event I’d
like to come back to, perhaps so I can help
make someone else’s first Nats a fun
experience.
My First Nats: I used to be one of those who
didn’t care much for competition, and I used
just about every excuse not to attend the Nats.
There didn’t seem to be a point to using my
vacation time to go somewhere out in the
Midwest during the hottest days of the
summer to be stressed out at a contest.
After two years of watching other people
have fun at this event, I decided that maybe
spending my vacation time wasn’t such a bad
idea after all. I’m typically wishing I had
brought a model airplane with me no matter
where I go anyway.
I decided that 2007 would be my first year
as a Nats competitor. After working in
Muncie for the last two years, I was out of
excuses. Besides, I wanted to have fun with
the many people I had made friends with
during their annual Nats vacations. And I had
always wanted to try RC Scale. Who knows?
The experience might lead to a Top Gun title
someday.
During the beginning of the year I spent a
lot of time flying the International Miniature
Aerobatic Club (IMAC) Intermediate
sequences with a 1/4-scale Extra 330L, but the
RC Scale Aerobatics Nats didn’t fit into my
schedule. Mike Barbee, a world-class
competitor who is well known for his success
in scale competitions such as Top Gun, is a
Nats regular. To do well in Scale he practices
at precision aerobatics contests such as those
the IMAC runs.
“The flight time in front of the IMAC
judges helps me to be more relaxed when the
time comes to fly at a scale contest,” he has
said.
Remembering that statement, I decided to
do the same thing. However, I used the same
IMAC airplane I had flown in Scale
Aerobatics to fly in a Scale contest; its color
scheme and graphics were nearly identical to
those of a full-scale aircraft.
Since I was already familiar with the
model, basically all I needed to do was
assemble some documentation and show up at
the event. The minimal work kept the fun
factor high.
Going through the AMA rule book was
the next step. It looked like my best option
was to enter the Fun Scale Novice category, in
which static judging isn’t a large part of the
final score. Even though my Extra was an
ARF, the Builder-of-the-Model rule isn’t in
effect in that class; it’s more of a flying
contest than anything else. Since I was
comfortable flying the airplane, the event
seemed like it would be a lot of fun.
From there I talked with a number of
friends who flew Scale. They helped answer a
number of my questions and, best of all, we
figured it would be a good idea if we all flew
together at the Nats. The extra support of their
experience and familiarity would be an asset
to me when it came to learning the ropes.
I sent off my Nats entry form and fee,
which I found out was important to do early.
The event directors use the preregistration
roster to order the trophies; if a class isn’t
filled, they don’t order plaques.
I couldn’t practice every day before the
event, but there was time each day for a quick
sit-down at the RC simulator. In Scale,
mandatory moves have to be designed into a
10-maneuver program. It isn’t like Scale
Aerobatics, in which everyone flies the same
maneuvers. I could make up practically any
sequence I wanted, as long as the schedule
began with a takeoff and ended with a
landing.
This was new to me, so the simulator
proved to be extraordinarily helpful in
figuring out which maneuvers the airplane
could do and which ones I could do well.
Before long I had a sequence basically
mapped out, but it took several evenings for
me to memorize the whole routine.
The simulator didn’t replicate the way my
Extra flew. But the better that flight schedule
was burned into memory, the less likely I was
to forget when standing in front of the judges
for the first time.
It’s fortunate that I live close to the Nats
Headquarters, but many people drive hours,
sometimes days, to get to Muncie. Forgetting
a part or a tool can ruin the whole contest, so
they typically plan for the worst. It was
common to see spare engines, radio
equipment, and building materials crammed
into participants’ vehicles and trailers at
the Nats.
The field box I carry contains almost
every tool I could ever need. However, on
the first day of the competition I looked
down at the bottom of my engine to see oil
leaking around the spark plug. The engine
would flame out on the next flight for
sure.
Fun Scale Open competitor John Boyko
saved me since my 5/8 wrench was safe at
home. Next time I’ll go over every nut and
bolt of the model and put every tool I use
in my flight box.
The weather in Muncie can be
exceedingly unpredictable. Inside a week
the temperatures can go from a fall chill to
a summer swelter. A quick rain shower
happens every now and then too.
Do yourself a favor and bring
comfortable outdoor seating and a pop-up
tent if you decide to attend. There are
typically hours to spend between flight
rounds, so it’s a good idea to make
yourself comfortable. Bring a cooler filled
with your favorite liquid refreshment, and
then the downtime is like a relaxing
vacation.
What mattered most to me at my first
Nats competition was to enjoy myself. For
that to happen, my primary concern was to
go home with my airplane in the same
condition in which I took it. So I
convinced myself that above all else I
would fly in a safe manner. Therefore, I
thoroughly inspected my Extra and
checked it again before every flight.
In case you were wondering, crashes
did happen. However, this edition of the
Nats had the fewest accidents ever
recorded.
Dan Powell, an RC Scale Aerobatics
competitor, came to fly at his first Nats
and lost his beautiful Dalton Extra 260 on
the last day of the contest. We talked
before the tragedy, and I couldn’t help but
admire his meticulous attention to
maintenance; these things just happen
sometimes.
My first Nats competition had its highs
and lows. I managed to complete all four
rounds with the Extra returning to my
workshop without a scratch. I learned a
great deal from the experience and found
a new appreciation for the people who
have made this event an annual family
reunion.
Because the Nats was still a new
experience, starting off easy in a
beginner’s event was the smart choice. If
I compete in Scale next year, it will
probably be with a different model. The
warbirds are extremely popular, and given
that the wind is a large factor in how the
airplane presents itself, the faster it can be
flown, the better.
Competition is as much about attitude
as it is about being prepared with the right
equipment and experience. Many who did
well went for the fun of modeling and
tried not to get stressed about doing well
their first time out.
Even though problems come up,
staying calm and going with the flow will
keep your head in the game. It isn’t worth
getting aggravated or angry; that’s when
mistakes happen.
Participating in the Nats was a positive
experience, and I hope that sharing it will
encourage other AMA members to think
seriously about attending next year or in
the near future. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]