Pete Callas

UNDER THE BACKDROP of the Reno skyline, nestled beneath the High Sierras, six rounds of Pattern competition were completed at the 1984 edition of the AMA National Model Airplane Championships. Approximately 150 of the best Pattern fliers from across the country braved the temptations of Reno's nightlife (well, some of us didn't) and some exaggerated stories about the effects of flying at high altitude to compete in the biggest contest of the year. You may not recognize the authors' names, so let us have an introduction before we really get into this article. Together, we have been competing in Pattern for approximately eight years, and one or both of us have attended the three Nats prior to Reno. We have been competing in close to 20 local Pattern contests a year for the last several years, and we are really enjoying Pattern competition (especially the AMA pattern) more than ever before. We currently write the District 7 column for the NSRCA (National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics) newsletter. We are highly critical of each other's flying, and we set high standards for ourselves at all times. We were both very pleased at our placing first and second in Masters at this year's Nats. We hope we will be able to relate some of the flavor and excitement of national-level competition, both in general and specifically this year's Nats at Reno. We were right there, and we have all the facts.