Anatol Polillo flying his first Nats!
By Mike Bergerson
With the conclusion of the 2025 AMA/LSF Soaring Nats, I'm left with a feeling of joy! The seasoned attendees and first-timers all had a great time flying with old and new friends. Glider Camp is just awesome!
The three days of Cross Country (XC) had one of the best turnouts in years! We waited until 11 am every morning for the rain to stop and then flew all day. US F5J team member, John Butler, attended for the first time and acquired his 2K fly-and-return goal for level 4, then spent the next three days flying his 5J Challenger as far down the course as he could go. He even landed in a bull pen…just once. Yours truly flew the 1K fly-and-return goal for level 3 with a 20-year-old Pike Perfect. Gavin Trussell brought a one-off, purpose-built XC machine built by Noel Rossow. It is 10 pounds of tough bird that flew several times off the winch.
Altitude Limited Electric Soaring (ALES) flying at Site 5 had a great turnout, with 46 pilots opting for motors versus hand-launch, which flew at Site 4. The scoring was fairly tight, with the top 30 pilots finishing in the 90th percentile. ALES was won by Randy Everly and Mengchen Li won F3K.
F5J was as challenging as ever with unreadable air, but was blessed with decent flying weather. Fifty-six pilots took to the skies with Muncie madness in full swing. It was a great contest with world-class pilots flying with folks competing in their first F5J event! The Bradley boys, David Jr. and John, had their own low launch thing happening so much so that David won the most “zeros” scored award, with five total. Oleg Golovidov went on to take first place in a well-deserved win. A big thank you to Norm Poti who was contest director for both ALES and F5J. We all love the green envelopes!
Beautiful weather for F5J.
F5J landing.
F3L was a well-run contest, thanks to the efforts of Ryan Woebkenberg. Thirty hardcore pilots showed up for this one. The heat index all week was mostly in the 100s, but we still ran around the field shagging high starts and cheering on our teams. The entertainment factor alone is always worth watching grown men shoot tiny 2-meter wooden planes in the sky, trying to get that 6-minute flight within the 9-minute window. One round was actually won with a 2-minute, 7-second score and no landing points! That was a show with every pilot landing and relighting multiple times. Try F3L. It’s a hoot! Gordon Buckland won this one, with Josh Glaab only 35 points away in second place.
F3L pilots saying hello to Jeff Carr.
The Quadfecta, what can I say? We flew 13 rounds and one fly-off in three rain-shortened days and had an absolute blast. The purity of winch-launched sailplanes has its own challenge and charm. Unlimited was won by Josh Glaab, the first of his four trophies! RES was taken in grand fashion by Jim Martin flying his Topaz against Josh Glaab and his Super AVA in a tie breaker fly-off for 1st place. Josh finished second, his second of four trophies.
The RES fly-off launch.
The Two-meter class has its cult following every year. It's a staple event of the Nationals and never disappoints. The smaller models challenge a pilot’s ability to find and fly well in lift, as sometimes, just a few minutes can win a round in bad air. In this contest, Josh Glaab found the most air for 1st place and his third trophy.
Last but not least, NOS. Nostalgia class is a legacy class where we fly our favorite eclectic, or just a cool old sailplane, the way we did back in the day. It's where we come from as a sport and competition class.
There were Olys (2s and 650s!), Grand Esprits, and Sailaires. Sagittas, Maestros, and Birds of Time. The winches were tapping away, taking the classics into the beautiful Muncie skies. Tap, tap, tap… music.
Randy Everly, flying his big Foxbat, flew away with a 1st-place win. Josh Glaab placed in second for his fourth trophy of the contest, with his Maestro.
All in all, two weeks of Glider Camp can be a bit intense, while competing and relaxing in the time spent with wonderful friends over good food and quiet conversation. The Nationals are about friendship and camaraderie, while all enjoy the fun of competing with our favorite genre of model airplane. Until the 2026 AMA/LSF Soaring Nationals, remember, Glider Camp rules!
Blue Skies!