Mike Fearing’s 50% Christen Eagle.
By Gerry Garing
The AMA RC Scale Nats has seen a few significant improvements to Site 4 over the past few years, making for a better all-around experience for everyone. The new turf runway is in much better shape this year, and it’s scheduled to be cut at 3/4 inch for the contest. One set of new pavilions is completed and will serve as the contest headquarters.
Team selections were made for the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F4H RC Scale team at the 2023 AMA Nats. Ben Andrus, Mike Barbee, and Jack Buckley were selected for the F4H team, and Tim Dickey was selected for F4C. Static judging is much more significant in F4C.
Here is what you can expect to see this year. Thursday, July 11, is processing day, which includes registration, static judging, and practice flying. Static judging will continue Friday morning, July 12, in addition to practice flying. Round 1 of flying will be flown Friday afternoon and rounds 2 and 3 will be held on Saturday, July 13. Last year, a pizza party was held on Friday night at the field. Perhaps it will occur again? The contest concludes Sunday, July 14, with round 4 and the awards ceremony.
The Saturday night banquet and awards dinner will be off-site this year at The Clubhouse Muncie The AMA Nats is as much a social experience as it is a model airplane event. It is an opportunity for modelers to catch up with one another and exchange ideas and inspiration. Many of us follow projects through the RCScaleBuilder website and forums, and this is a chance to see them in person.
2024 promises to be an exciting year for the AMA RC Scale Nats. Pre-registration has been filling up with entries in all events. This will serve as one last practice and preparation for the FAI team’s return to world competition in Romania in August. Be sure to follow the contest through NatsNews!
Note from AMA: Do you have photos from the Nats that you’d like to share? If so, email them to Clarissa Poston at clarissap@modelaircraft.org. Please include a brief description in your email, naming any individuals pictured in the photo(s), the name of the event that the photo(s) were taken during, and the name of the individual who took the photo(s). Your submission(s) might be posted on AMA’s Flickr page, which can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/modelaircraft/albums!