A room full of eager pilots ready for the “official” pilot meeting.
By Justin Wells
Monday hosts the official pilot check-in and the processing of all of the aircraft used in the 2024 AMA RC Precision Aerobatics (Pattern) Nats. Starting at 9 a.m., pilots have until 3 p.m. to check in and have their aircraft and batteries weighed and stickered. Each pilot will also pickup their pilot registration packet. This packet contains their very valuable flight number/badge that must be worn during competition, their judging assignments, and the schedule for the week. A pilot at the AMA RC Precision Aerobatics (Pattern) Nats is required to judge at least two rounds during the week.
From this point, they are free to fly on any of the sites open at the International Aeromodeling Center and practice before the event kicks off Tuesday, July 30, at 8 a.m. Flying on the sites after today is only allowed after the contest has ended. There should be plenty of daylight for those looking to get in some extra time before the next day’s event starts.
The pilot meeting started promptly at 6 p.m. and was kicked off by co-Event Directors Rusty Dose and Bob Kane, with Jerry Budd on the phone assisting throughout. The Nats team highlighted some critical rules that all pilots need to be aware of, including the rotating format of the larger classes, FAI and Masters. Don Ramsey and Mark Hunt, who make up the chief judges for the event, reviewed some specifics and clarified a few maneuvers. The floor was opened to the pilots with various questions being asked and answered by the pilot group. This could be anything specific on how to judge a particular maneuver based on FAI rules to what the downgrade would be for an airplane that has drifted out due to the wind in a stalled maneuver.
Current Pilot Count:
Sportsman—2
Intermediate—3
Advanced—14
Masters—28
F3A—22
A big thank-you was given to the RC Precision Aerobatics (Pattern) planning committee—Jerry Budd, Rusty Dose, Bob Kane, Jessy Symmes, and Jon Carter—as their work hasn’t gone unnoticed. I apologize if I missed anyone.
The 2024 Site Directors:
Site 1—Tim Jesky
Site 2—Al Glenn
Site 3—Joe Winterrowed
Below is the confirmed schedule for Tuesday, July 30:
8 a.m.-12 p.m.—Site 1 and Site 3: FAI (406), preliminary rounds 1 and 2
8 a.m.-12 p.m.—Site 4: Advanced (403), rounds 1 and 2
1 p.m.-5 p.m.—Site 1 and Site 3: Masters (404), preliminary rounds 1 and 2
1 p.m.-3 p.m.—Site 4: Sportsman (401) and Intermediate (402), rounds 1 and 2
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!