'91 All American Nationals: RC Electrics
HISTORY was made at the Nationals this year, and in a most historic place. Electric-powered RC planes flew for the first time in sanctioned events at Lincoln High School in Vincennes, Indiana. Vincennes, you may remember from grade school history, is where George Rogers Clark and an intrepid bunch of American frontiersmen ousted the British from Fort Sackville, hastening our victory in the Revolution and securing the Northwest Territories for future U.S. expansion. The Nationals was held in the Lawrenceville, Illinois/Vincennes, Indiana area for the second year in a row.
A Retrospective
HERE ARE MANY CLASSY Electric meets around the country, but only one National Championship. The 1993 Nats was a gas-a bunch of guys missed out by not attending. Flood waters and July temperatures contributed to some terrifically hot days at the Electric sites. Contest Director Frank Korman-taskmaster that he is-kept fliers going. Half the fliers gave him a hard time and the other half made his life miserable. Fortunately, he had a super crew in Mike Ettel and his dad Cal. The site of the Nats-Vincennes, Indiana's Lincoln High School-is in the "heart of the heart of the country," and as such seems to induce a nostalgia for older, simpler times when the pace of life was slower and people took more time to be together. Evidence of this abounded at the Electric soaring events.
Radio Control: Electrics
AT THE HEIGHT of the Vietnam war protest, posters appeared containing the question "What if they held a war and nobody came?" No one expected that this would ever happen, but at least the idea raised the possibility. "What if they held Electric events at the Nats and nobody came?" Unlike the war-protest question, this one may actually become reality, if the turnout at the 1994 Nats is an indicator.
Radio Control: Electrics
A RECORD TURNOUT. Friendly-but-spirited competition. Pilot-centered management. New, low-cost, low-tech events. The Muncie site. This, the sixth try at an Electric Nationals, was the most successful yet and suggests that we may have discovered an anomaly: a high-energy DC circuit with no negative poles. The Events: Seven events were conducted, each with a director, and all under the genial guidance of Ken Myers. Four AMA rule book events were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, while three demonstration events and sport flying were scheduled for Monday.
Radio Control: Electrics
AMA events were Limited Motor Run for 7-cell (Class A) Sailplane and Old-Timer and 30-cell max (Class B) Sailplane and Old-Timer. These followed the AMA rule book, using the option to include motor run times in flight times. A 40-foot landing circle was included. Eight minutes is the precision flight target, and making the landing circle was worth 20 points. A perfect flight time and landing registered 500 points. Three rounds of Class A Sailplane and Class B Old-Timer were flown on Saturday (8/2), and three rounds of Class B Sailplane and Class A Old-Timer were flown on Sunday (8/3). Three provisional National Electric Aircraft Council (NEAC) Speed 400 events were flown on Monday (8/4): LMR sailplane, old-timer, and pylon. All events are limited to Speed 400-type motors. The sailplane task is an eight-minute precision flight with a 20-point landing on a 90-second motor run with a seven-cell limit on batteries. Three rounds were flown.
