Xyndi Eberenz during an official flight.
By Matt Neumann
That rooster is at it again. It woke up the sun bright and early, so that the sun can illuminate the words on the last page of the 2024 AMA Control Line (CL) Precision Aerobatics Nats’ history book. The skies were clear, the temperature was not quite so cold, and the wind was low. It was just right for the “yawn patrol” to arrive. However, with so few contestants left, there were only a few who arrived early. Everyone else decided to sleep in a bit longer today. However, the spectators arrived by 8 a.m. to make sure that they got a good seat to watch the show.
Today is Top 5 day in Open, plus we will also crown a Senior and Junior Champion. The Juniors are kids that are 13 years old and younger. The next event, Seniors, is a little misleading. It is not those over 65 but those between 14 and 18 years old. Today, all of the classes are basically defined by age instead of skill. This is also the day that the youngsters get to shine, along with the top five pilots in Open.
All groups today will fly three flights, with the top two out of three getting added together to determine the final score. So, the fliers of today have one chance and one chance only to goof up and recover. No scores from previous days count, and the flight order was determined by a random order program from a computer.
There were two Junior competitors and one Senior competitor that competed today.
The day started off clear for the fliers, with comfortable temperatures and light wind. It was almost a perfect day for Stunt. First up was Derek Barry. He put up a really good flight and put everyone on notice that this was going to be a real battle from the start. After the first round, Todd Lee was in first place by 1 point, with only 11 points separating the top five fliers and 4 points between the top four fliers. Things were starting off close, but there were two more flights to go.
At the start of the second round, the winds were still light but picking up. It was nothing drastic, but it was enough to keep the fliers on their toes, especially up top. Sauce for the goose, as it were. I noticed that Derek got into some heavier wind in his overhead eights. I could notice him getting slowed down a little as he did the maneuver. Others also had this issue. Some turbulence was also coming up down low. The wings were starting to wiggle a little in level flights. By the end of the second flight, it was still quite close among the leaders. It was way too close to call.
At the start of the third flight, the wind was still up a little bit but had not gotten any worse. So, at this point, the fliers knew what they had to deal with. As the flights progressed and the scores got posted, it was obvious to everyone that we were going to have to wait until the last score was posted to find out who had won.
In the end, Orestes Hernandez came in first place with just over 4 points separating him and Todd Lee in second. David Fitgerald came in less than a point behind Todd for third. Derek Berry was 10 points behind David in fourth, and Paul Walker was less than 5 points behind Derek in fifth. Total points were well over 1,100 points for each flier. So, that makes the percentage between each flier very, very small. It was your typical Top 5 day nailbiter. Congratulations to everyone. It was quite a show.
Over in the other circle, where the Junior and Seniors flew, Gabriel Alimov came in first in Senior, while Angstrom Eberenz beat Xyndi Eberenz for the Junior Champion title. Congratulations to everyone. A job well done.
Once the champions from each group were crowned, one more contest was held. This contest was for the Walker Cup. This trophy is awarded to the winner of the contest between the Open, Senior, and Junior Champions. There were again three flights between the three fliers, with the top two scores getting added together for the final score. In the end, Orestes won the trophy.
I am glad to say that we had no accidents today. Everyone came home with their equipment intact.
And so, the sun now sets, and the final page in the history book of the 2024 AMA CL Precision Aerobatics Nats is written. I have to say, it was a very enjoyable Nats. The sun will rise and write one more page for the conclusion of this year’s Nats. Until then, it is time for everyone to get some well-deserved rest.
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!