RC SOARING
2024 NATS
AND F5J
TEAM
SELECTS
EXPERIENCE
By Gordon Buckland | gordon@gatorf3b.com
EVERY YEAR, the RC Soaring Nats at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, offers a unique opportunity to meet and fly with scores of other Soaring aficionados from around the nation. It is also virtually one of the last places a contest is available for those who want League of Silent Flight (LSF) Level V wins as the interest and participation in string-launch events wane. It is awesome that the LSF is continuing to provide this opportunity for Soaring pilots worldwide to make the trip to Muncie and enter in Level V qualifying events. Many of us are hopeful that this support of string-launch events will continue in the future.
The 2024 Nats began with a group of pilots attempting their 10K Goal and Returns on Thursday and Friday, July 18-19, with Ed Dumas completing his 2-hour Thermal Duration flight for Level V.
Saturday and Sunday, July 20-21, saw the advent of a new concept, the “Quadfecta,” where four classes were flown in successive rounds for a total of four rounds per class. In very favorable thermal conditions, Nostalgia, Rudder Elevator Spoiler (RES), Two-Meter, and Unlimited were flown in that order. Two rounds were completed for each class, each day.
It really is special to fly Nostalgia gliders in competition. For me, it is a real treat to guide these old birds through downwind thermals for 10 minutes and back home for a triumphant return to the landing zone. I flew an old Grand Esprit that I picked up on RCGroups and, although it is heavy and a bit beat up, it delivered me four great maxes to take the win, with Bernie Olsen in second place and Ed in third. RES was won by Kent Nogy, I came in second, and Claude Turner was in third. The sheer excitement of tapping these frail and heavy old models up the line brings me back every year.
The Two-Meter contest saw a great variety of models campaigning, with many pilots flying modern Sprites, but there were also some sweet nostalgic machines, such as the Sagitta and my very old Lawicki Wood Duck. The experienced Bob Burson prevailed for the win. Claude finished in second place, and I placed third.
The final leg of the Quadfecta was Unlimited. With fairly light string on the winches, every pilot had to be careful to avoid high-energy launches and broken lines. With some great, young helpers retrieving lines, Contest Director (CD) Wally Adaszick kept the winches working for two days, and the rounds were flown with little disruption. Claude was on fire again, winning in a tight contest; I was in second; and Randy Everly came in a close third.
Congratulations to Claude for also winning the Lee Renaud Award for the most points in Unlimited and Two-Meter.
I think the Quadfecta is a reasonable solution to reduce the workload that is required to run winch-launch events, but many of us think that the LSF should protect the history of our Soaring hobby and make the schedule more fitting of our origins by providing three days of Quadfecta if this format is kept in the future.
F3RES was flown over nine rounds on Monday and Tuesday, July 22-23, and it was a fun event. I flew a brand-new model from Slovakia called an Encanto—what a sweet design it is. It has a very limited amount of dihedral and a very thin section, and it returns upwind remarkably well. I made a mental error in round five, leaving too late on a restart to get the full time, but aside from that mistake, I was able to make every max for the win. Jonathan Garner made the same error in round six to finish behind me in second place, with Micky Nowell flying gallantly to third place. With 29 starters, it qualified as an LSF V event and became my third and final Level V win. Hooray!
The Altitude Limited Electric Soaring (ALES) event on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24-25, was very well attended, with 48 starters as a preclude to the F5J team
selection. Conditions, although hazy at times, were perfect for thermal soaring, and the scores showed that with just 37 points separating first through 10th places. Jonathan took the win, with Steve Willcox Sr. in second, and Steve Willcox Jr. in third.
The main event was the F5J team selection from Friday through Sunday, July 26-28. Ably directed by CD Norm Poti, the event was well attended by 58 pilots. The first couple of rounds were generally uneventful in smooth conditions and an overcast sky. By the third round, the legendary Muncie sink began to claim some victims, including my third-round flight, where, although I specked early in the flight, I was unable to negotiate the road home, flying a model too light. Six rounds were flown the first day, with Steve Willcox Jr. leading the way on top of the score sheet.
Saturday’s conditions were a repeat, with calm conditions to start and the breeze picking up to 5 to 10 mph later in the day. Many of us were holding drops, and caution was very necessary as the day progressed. A couple of great saves were made, with one by Tom Kiesling early in the day as he returned home early and low from a floating round to find just enough air near the landing zone to make his time. Steve Willcox Jr. also had a remarkable save from less than 20 feet with a few minutes to go in one round. The scores were tight at the top overnight, with Steve Willcox Jr. leading the way, Jeff Duval in second, and Tom in third.
Some rain was expected for Sunday, and four rounds were scheduled. Jeff finally fell to a sniping flight in round 14 to fall back to fourth place. With the impending rain, he went “all in” with a lowish launch on round 15 but succumbed to the clutches of Muncie’s strong fill-in after the thermal and failed to make it home.
In the end, all 16 rounds were flown and the experienced Tom triumphed, with Steve Willcox Jr. flying flawlessly for second place, and amazing piloting took John Butler to third. This is an awesome F5J USA team going in February to the world championships in Argentina. The entire country will be behind them to perform well. Please support the team by donating or purchasing apparel at the website listed in “Sources.”
The 2024 Nats was a huge success. A big thanks goes to the LSF board and AMA for doing a great job of running it again. Check out all of the scores on the GliderScore website. For a daily recap of the Nats excitement, check out the writings of our NatsNews scribe, Mike Bergerson, on the AMA NatsNews webpage.
Let’s hope that the future Nats schedule can be planned to accommodate pilots who are representing the US. It was a real disappointment that our F3J team pilots were unable to attend this year’s Nats. Don’t miss the AMA Nats next year; it’s a blast!
Go downwind and soar!
SOURCES:
GliderScore
www.gliderscore.com
Team F5J USA
www.teamf5j-usa.com
AMA NatsNews
https://nats.modelaircraft.org/nats-news
