FAC Nats
With more than 140 contestants and 250 models, 2012 proves the FAC Nats is still going strong!
By Glen Simpers & Tom Nallen II PHOTOGRAPHY: BONNIE SIMPERS, TOM NALLEN II & DON DELOACH “T
he award may be given to a mod- eler who displays the casual and humorous attitude toward com- petition, that has been the bind- ing characterstic of the Flying Aces Club which has set us aside from all other com- petitive modeling. May this spirit prevail!” These are the closing words in the cover letter to the Founding Fathers Award of the Flying Aces Club and they best describe the lighthearted spirit of competition at the 2012 Flying Aces Club Nationals at Gene- seo, New York this past July 18 through 21. This year, Roy Courtney and Ara Dedekian won the coveted Founding Fa- thers Award and in doing so represent the best the Flying Aces Club has to offer. Yes, all the top freeflight rubber modelers were there, traveling cross-country and cross-con- tinent to fly strings of maxes and show mu- seum-level scale models that really fly—and fly quite well indeed!
But the real attraction at the FAC Nats is the modelers themselves, from all walks of life, who gather every other year in this quaint upstate New York town to celebrate the simple joy of stick and tissue freeflight rubber-powered scale models. (On off years a somewhat smaller group gathers at the same location for a shorter, two-day event
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affectionately called the FAC Non-Nats). Held on a grass airfield the participants are frequently wowed by the operation of unique full-scale aircraft, including the B-17 that is based at the field.
For many, a highlight of the Nats is the FAC Scale judging which this year, as in pre- vious years, took place on Wednesday, July 18, at the Quality Inn in Geneseo. Here, con- testant registration takes place, and models entered in events such as FAC Rubber Scale, Peanut Scale, and Power Scale are exhibited on tables filling a large meeting room while they await scale judging. Vendors hawking a wide-variety of free flight rubber kits and supplies, plans, magazines and books line the main judging room while larger Jumbo Scale models are displayed and judged in a smaller adjacent room.
Veteran contestants, newcomers, and ca-
sual observers all mingle freely among the models, sharing tips and observations amid the incessant clicking of cameras. Old friendships are reignited and new ones are formed in a sensory experience unmatched in freeflight scale aeromodeling and perhaps anywhere in the aeromodeling world. Each Nationals the level of complexity, beauty, and variety displayed in the models has in- creased. Flying wings, canard-pushers, and
multi-engine airplanes have all been mod- eled in rubber power. The first day of the FAC Nats typically ends with everyone feeling charged up and anxious to see their favorite models take to the sky over the next three days in competi- tion. Certainly, the scale judging and regis- tration volunteers end the day a bit tired—more than 140 contestants were reg- istered and more than 250 models were judged at the 2012 FAC Nationals. Many thanks go out to these volunteers who give up their time so that others may enjoy the FAC Nats experience. Innovations in the op- erations of running the contest have posi- tioned FAC for ever-growing contests in the future.
Following the successful introduction to computers for registration, score-keeping, and operations at the Non-Nationals FAC event last year by the DC Maxecuters, Stew Meyers again led the charge to use technol- ogy for smooth operations. Special thanks to the DC Maxecuters and Dave Mitchell, 2012 FAC Nats Contest Director, for doing a fine job running the event.
The FAC 2012 Nats was blessed with mostly excellent flying weather. Except for a brief period of rain on Friday afternoon, contestants enjoyed light winds and strong
DECEMBER 2012
2012
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