The 1992 Nats Footnotes
LIKE MOST people, you probably have a memory of a military base. Long buildings with white wooden siding, shingled roofs, green grass, and streets named after yesterday's heroes and history's battlefields. Uniformed men and women sprinkled in and about those plain white buildings, which were sometimes only differentiated by the T-numbers affixed to the street-side corners.
General
WHEN does the Nats start? The competition results of the 1990 Mid-American National Model Airplane Championships and the coverage for all the events are reported elsewhere in this issue, but to share a look at the 1990 National Championships from a behind-the-scenes perspective, the reader must first be aware that Nats efforts began not on July 14, 1990, but back in October of 1989. Following the Executive Council approval to hold the 1990 National Championships in Lawrenceville-Vincennes, a Nats planning meeting was scheduled for November 17 through 19 at the site. There is a Nats Management Committee, which for the 1990 event included Chuck Foreman (Communications), John Guenther (Scale Category Manager), Bob Landry (Facilities Manager), Betty Stream (Radio Control Category Manager), and Bev Wisniewski (Control Line Category Manager). Al Williamson (Radio Control Category Director) and Dr. Sandy Frank (Free Flight Category Manager) were also present to assist in the planning.
'91 All American Nationals: General
WOULDN'T you like to have $1.00 for every hour spent preparing a site for the Nationals and for cleaning one up after it's over? The Academy of Model Aeronautics is built on volunteerism, and that rock bed foundation is apparent at the National Championships more than anywhere else. Because the 1991 Control Line and Radio Control events returned to Lawrenceville, Illinois, a certain amount of excessive labor was saved; however, there was still an incredible amount of work necessary to get someone else's site-Mid-American Air Center-modified for our use.
Grand Opening . . .
THE GRAND OPENING of the first National Flying Site was scheduled for the 13th and 14th of June, 1992. But people began arriving as much as a week early, and already something special was in the air. Probably as many as 500 people had arrived by late Thursday afternoon. Twenty-four hours later and a full day before the event, an estimated 2,000 people were on hand at times. We are told by the Muncie Visitors Bureau that between 6,000 and 8,000 people were onsite Saturday. That doesn't take into account the many who entered the site, stayed for a few hours, and then left!
Dateline: Muncie
An aerial view looking north shows the runway complex (the black lazy L just right of center in large photo at top). The three lighter rectangles are parking lots-one on the right side of the road and two on the south. The overflight areas are abundantly clear, and the road can be seen winding to the upper left center where the museum complex is located. Inset is a lower-angle shot looking to the northwest. The two parking lots on the south side (left of road) were split to allow the placement of tents, pits, etc. for those using the grass flying area south of the road. At the apex of the L-shaped runways, a 30 × 40-ft. pavilion can be seen.
