2018 Pattern NATS
07-21-2018, 11:51 AM
#1
2018 Pattern NATS
Would like to congratulate all the winners at the NATS and thank the contest management- Al Glenn, Peter Vogel, Tim Jesky, both Jeff's, Monty and so many others that made the NATS a success.
Steve Maxwell came by - so nice to see Steve after all these years. I thanked him for giving Joseph that DLG some 10 years ago. Joseph got so much flying out of that plane! After talking to Steve, I was inspired to write down some thoughts about attending the NATS.
Challenge.
Challenge motivates focused activity in order to meet set goals. By participating in the NATS this year, I have been reminded how focused preparation for the NATS increases flying skills. This spills over to others we come in contact with as well. Coaching sessions at the local flying fields. It spreads. It was fun seeing some of the local modelers bring out their old pattern planes (talking Kaos and Summit vintage) after watching, talking, coaching and helping me with my preparations for the NATS. The result is local clubs having "club class" events this fall. Talk of attending future NATS is often the topic of conversation at these sessions. Someone once told me that flying at the NATS (and the preparation leading up to) advanced their flying skills significantly.
Memories and nostalgia.
This one hit me hard this year as I was packing up the plane upon completion of practice just before sunset on Tuesday evening. The air was perfectly calm and the sun was setting. It was beautiful weather. It's more than just a tradition of going to the NATS. The memories- particularly of site 1 and all those FAI finals over the years... all the U.S. teams that were selected at this site....standing next to Michael Rommel at Site 1 as he watched one of the flights at the 2011 World Championships-- as he was admiring one of the flights that day with the new Contra system... . Site 4 and the memories there of so many pilots that started in Intermediate and Advanced and are now top level FAI and Masters pilots...the potato guns, the Cajun meals, the ice cream, pictionary games using an i-phone, the unknowns selections at the FARM house... the museum and all the history there. Took a step into the Lee Renaud library. Randomly pulled a red hard-bound book off the second shelf from the top, flipping open to mid-1960s section. Noticed the cover picture of Ralph Brooks and his wife. Read the article, round by round articulate account- and how Ralph Brooks nailed the tail slide and came out on top of that F3A worlds.
New friendships and rekindling old ones.
I got to meet several pilots for the first time. As I drove up to site 4 last Sunday I met Forrest. He is pretty excited about pattern and showed his flying skills by winning Advanced. He was gracious enough to call for me during the prelims. There was another pilot, an intermediate pilot, I had not seen him in years. We had met briefly at the Sayre contest in 2001 when I brought the big CAP out of the back of the Ford Taurus and proceeded to do a demo flight. He remembered all those details that from that contest that took place 17 years ago. Rekindling friendships and talking about some of those past contests was fun. It was REALLY cool getting to see Ivan Kristensen. I remember the first NATS I attended in 1983 when Ivan and Dave Brown were battling it out for the win. It was great that Ivan is back into Pattern again and seeing him compete at the NATS. So many others.
The adrenaline.
Competing at the NATS just steps up the game. It came back again- how to suppress the butterflies- the nerves- and transform that into quiet confidence. All the pilots have to go through that same feeling. The NATS brought back those feelings and the competitiveness to fly at an absolute best. It's just plain exciting to be flying in the same field with many of the best pilots in the country and in fact, the world.
The banquet and socials.
The banquet was awesome. The tribute to Ron Van Putte was so nice. His family was there to hear some of the stories. I never knew he was a Doctor-- a PhD. Pretty cool. I remember how he always used to tell the story about that Augusta, GA contest in 1990 when he came so close to "beating Don Szczur". It came down to the last round- it was a great competition but I was somehow able to beat Ron in the last round. He loved to tell that story. I also recall the Model Aviation articles from the 1970's and 1980's that shaped me as a pattern pilot. Yes, I did follow his advice and get a Kaos as my first pattern plane. Thanks John Fuqua for the presentation. The auction was well administered by Mark- short and productive. I came so close to bidding on that Brio, but how many more planes could I fit in the station wagon? (no Dave, it's a newer Taurus than the one I had 18 years ago at Sayre). The BBQ at the Wed evening social. I did NOT REALIZE that BBQ was flown in by Al Glenn (Memphis BBQ?) - it was awesome!
Technology. I finally got on the computer today to check the websites, emails and facebook posts after being away for a week. It may be time to replace my 10 year old tracfone. One must be connected to keep up with the happenings. The successful part about staying away from technology is that I was able to stay focused on flying at the NATS, but the trend is that the NATS will continually evolve into a technology driven operation. This is a new technology driven experience. With wifi perhaps I can use the Spektrum ix-12 transmitter to get app and email updates in the future.
Kal and Tom. Welcome to the pattern community and congratulations on the junior team slot. Looks like Kal is flying very well in FAI. Good luck at the IMAC worlds. For those who got to witness Kal demonstrate the unknowns on Thursday, of the many words I heard, the one word I heard most was "wow". I was talking earlier in the week to Mike Wickizer. I noted how Brett moved from Advanced straight to FAI and how, in his first NATS, made the finals. But that was not it. I told him how after watching him do those first rolling circles in the first unknown, that Brett would be a world class competitor. That was back in the mid- 2000's. I say the same comment about Kal now.
Congratulations to Andrew, Jason and Brett as the U.S. F3A team in Italy.
Steve Maxwell came by - so nice to see Steve after all these years. I thanked him for giving Joseph that DLG some 10 years ago. Joseph got so much flying out of that plane! After talking to Steve, I was inspired to write down some thoughts about attending the NATS.
Challenge.
Challenge motivates focused activity in order to meet set goals. By participating in the NATS this year, I have been reminded how focused preparation for the NATS increases flying skills. This spills over to others we come in contact with as well. Coaching sessions at the local flying fields. It spreads. It was fun seeing some of the local modelers bring out their old pattern planes (talking Kaos and Summit vintage) after watching, talking, coaching and helping me with my preparations for the NATS. The result is local clubs having "club class" events this fall. Talk of attending future NATS is often the topic of conversation at these sessions. Someone once told me that flying at the NATS (and the preparation leading up to) advanced their flying skills significantly.
Memories and nostalgia.
This one hit me hard this year as I was packing up the plane upon completion of practice just before sunset on Tuesday evening. The air was perfectly calm and the sun was setting. It was beautiful weather. It's more than just a tradition of going to the NATS. The memories- particularly of site 1 and all those FAI finals over the years... all the U.S. teams that were selected at this site....standing next to Michael Rommel at Site 1 as he watched one of the flights at the 2011 World Championships-- as he was admiring one of the flights that day with the new Contra system... . Site 4 and the memories there of so many pilots that started in Intermediate and Advanced and are now top level FAI and Masters pilots...the potato guns, the Cajun meals, the ice cream, pictionary games using an i-phone, the unknowns selections at the FARM house... the museum and all the history there. Took a step into the Lee Renaud library. Randomly pulled a red hard-bound book off the second shelf from the top, flipping open to mid-1960s section. Noticed the cover picture of Ralph Brooks and his wife. Read the article, round by round articulate account- and how Ralph Brooks nailed the tail slide and came out on top of that F3A worlds.
New friendships and rekindling old ones.
I got to meet several pilots for the first time. As I drove up to site 4 last Sunday I met Forrest. He is pretty excited about pattern and showed his flying skills by winning Advanced. He was gracious enough to call for me during the prelims. There was another pilot, an intermediate pilot, I had not seen him in years. We had met briefly at the Sayre contest in 2001 when I brought the big CAP out of the back of the Ford Taurus and proceeded to do a demo flight. He remembered all those details that from that contest that took place 17 years ago. Rekindling friendships and talking about some of those past contests was fun. It was REALLY cool getting to see Ivan Kristensen. I remember the first NATS I attended in 1983 when Ivan and Dave Brown were battling it out for the win. It was great that Ivan is back into Pattern again and seeing him compete at the NATS. So many others.
The adrenaline.
Competing at the NATS just steps up the game. It came back again- how to suppress the butterflies- the nerves- and transform that into quiet confidence. All the pilots have to go through that same feeling. The NATS brought back those feelings and the competitiveness to fly at an absolute best. It's just plain exciting to be flying in the same field with many of the best pilots in the country and in fact, the world.
The banquet and socials.
The banquet was awesome. The tribute to Ron Van Putte was so nice. His family was there to hear some of the stories. I never knew he was a Doctor-- a PhD. Pretty cool. I remember how he always used to tell the story about that Augusta, GA contest in 1990 when he came so close to "beating Don Szczur". It came down to the last round- it was a great competition but I was somehow able to beat Ron in the last round. He loved to tell that story. I also recall the Model Aviation articles from the 1970's and 1980's that shaped me as a pattern pilot. Yes, I did follow his advice and get a Kaos as my first pattern plane. Thanks John Fuqua for the presentation. The auction was well administered by Mark- short and productive. I came so close to bidding on that Brio, but how many more planes could I fit in the station wagon? (no Dave, it's a newer Taurus than the one I had 18 years ago at Sayre). The BBQ at the Wed evening social. I did NOT REALIZE that BBQ was flown in by Al Glenn (Memphis BBQ?) - it was awesome!
Technology. I finally got on the computer today to check the websites, emails and facebook posts after being away for a week. It may be time to replace my 10 year old tracfone. One must be connected to keep up with the happenings. The successful part about staying away from technology is that I was able to stay focused on flying at the NATS, but the trend is that the NATS will continually evolve into a technology driven operation. This is a new technology driven experience. With wifi perhaps I can use the Spektrum ix-12 transmitter to get app and email updates in the future.
Kal and Tom. Welcome to the pattern community and congratulations on the junior team slot. Looks like Kal is flying very well in FAI. Good luck at the IMAC worlds. For those who got to witness Kal demonstrate the unknowns on Thursday, of the many words I heard, the one word I heard most was "wow". I was talking earlier in the week to Mike Wickizer. I noted how Brett moved from Advanced straight to FAI and how, in his first NATS, made the finals. But that was not it. I told him how after watching him do those first rolling circles in the first unknown, that Brett would be a world class competitor. That was back in the mid- 2000's. I say the same comment about Kal now.
Congratulations to Andrew, Jason and Brett as the U.S. F3A team in Italy.
07-22-2018, 05:53 PM
#2
A few pictures from the finals. I got to judge the first two rounds. It was very close between Andrew and Jason. Jason was flying a Brenner contra extremely smoothly and with constant speed throughout, Andrew a single prop with a slightly different presentation with wind corrected lines during the first round which had a wind coming from the right and slightly cross from behind.. Both were flying smooth with constant speed.
AC changed his flying style from previous years. He flew in close and flying meneuvers very slow with smooth graceful maneuvers. Dave was flying an Allure Bipe with Brenner Contra and steady speed and excellent control during the unknown maneuvers.
Pilots stayed later and got to fly the glow Allure Biplane. I got a couple of flights on it and it was smooth and very light on all the controls. It flew well.
AC changed his flying style from previous years. He flew in close and flying meneuvers very slow with smooth graceful maneuvers. Dave was flying an Allure Bipe with Brenner Contra and steady speed and excellent control during the unknown maneuvers.
Pilots stayed later and got to fly the glow Allure Biplane. I got a couple of flights on it and it was smooth and very light on all the controls. It flew well.
07-22-2018, 06:28 PM
#6
On site 4 it was interesting to see the fun activities that this site has to offer. I think the game played was pictionary. It was very neat to see Danny Landis helping some of the Intermediate pilots with coaching. Some ended up in the winners circle.
07-23-2018, 11:39 AM
#7
Source: patternscoring.com/f34104b6-a027-4f28-83ec-c7b840b3110---awebsite
Contest:2018 NATS Masters Prelims and F3A Prelims thru Finals
Date:07/15/2018 - 07/19/2018
404 - Masters
NameFinal Score123456Joseph Walker4111121David Snow5241411Jeff Carder7513152Chuck Edwards7121333Hunter Jones8732214Vincent Bortone14444733Charles Hochhalter144211625Evan Krause14363375Donald Ramsey14267552George Asteris3881.21955.66971.77987.68966.11911.1948.28Jonathan Carter3789.48862.4923.72910.17930.18978.52957.06John Fuqua3748.14837.96942.88953.8945.65905.82886.79Ronald Barr3730.4898.24840.64931.21888.55954.7946.25Michael Mueller3651.22903.36833.85921.12895.75903.83922.9Joe Dunnaway3618.21913.24887.06897.94852.64906.95900.08Robert Satalino3597.73861.24911.36899.73898.02888.63785.62James Willing3526.33816.27895.93789.44802.77912.76901.37Robert Kane3486.23799.04682.52837.44846.11868.38934.3Lynn Burks3480.13865.39806.96831.46853.6907.87853.27Jonathan Bruml3469.75818.88815.32842.24861.97942.83822.71Gary Switala3465.85664779.49861.4869.31872.67862.47Frank Capone3455.54839.87910.7830.25865.34825.18839.62Ronald Van Putte0000000406P - F3A - Prelim
NameFinal Score1234Andrew Jesky300010001000992.581000Jason Shulman30001000100010001000Brett Wickizer2963.9995.74983.19976.65984.97Chad Northeast2934.52971.08983.8979.64948.03Albert Glenn2923.13969.59984.77968.76955.13Peter Collinson2905.74961.44929.351000944.29David Lockhart2891.82951.29966.68970.31954.83Mark Hunt2823.1945.45931.18931.14946.46Christopher Gini2818.58942.16945.28931.14883.84Kal Reifsnyder2817.95956.74905.91932.57928.64Donald Szczur2810.62930.9951.39881.22928.33Kenneth Velez2798.81915.98942.53939.99916.29Greyson Pritchett2794.23919.12926.31948.8909.83Mariano Gostanian2794.18924.2938.25931.74867.88Andres Pantarotto2773.85908.98922.65942.22823.89Paul Villarrubia2772.14934.8903.17929.79907.56Daniel Landis2763.36920.69919.91922.75913.28Brenner Sharp2728.75893.46911.34923.95839.07Facundo Coppede2719.29905.33903.09879.68910.87Carlos Silva2712.25899.37910.78902.1857.86Derek Emmett2695.04874.92886.11912.87896.06Will Gross2624.42852.05879.55892.81798.69Ivan Kristensen2623.79859.67893.3755.95870.82Mark Atwood2617.9868.34876.07873.49556.46Harry Ells2584.67828.01857.54838.85888.29Sergio Velasquez2573.63852.97870.68849.98849.44Marcelo Velez2543.15853.27903.09778.74786.79Michael Harrison2528.5879.94825.21823.35796.18Mark Mendonca2462.25839.81813.64787.81808.79Marcos Malloy Resende2344.4801.25768.88649.7774.26Stephen Lelito1971.68587.77528.93698.42685.49Tomas Rivera1209.73327.27882.4600406S - F3A - Semi Finals
NameFinal Score123Andrew Jesky2000100010001000Jason Shulman1990.031000990.03987.98Brett Wickizer1956.02987.97968.06949Albert Glenn1943.25974.38961.16968.87David Lockhart1900.67963.94936.73896.71Chad Northeast1898.54978.17911.55920.37Peter Collinson1895.33968.58926.75874.42Mark Hunt1849.22941.03860.85908.19Donald Szczur1849.02936.87912.14899.76Christopher Gini1848.2939.53908.67891.52Kal Reifsnyder1830.87939.32891.55872.72Greyson Pritchett1826.66931.41895.25889.92Daniel Landis1814.15921.12893.03861.69Mariano Gostanian1804.61931.39746.1873.22Carlos Silva1772.66904.08868.57845.88Paul Villarrubia1760.33924.05825.83836.28Andres Pantarotto1757.85924.62833.24807.16Facundo Coppede1743.27906.43836.84697.25Kenneth Velez1715.34932.94782.41781.45Brenner Sharp1609.98909.58700.39669.62406F - F3A - Finals
NameFinal Score1234Andrew Jesky3125.231022.641039.441027.171058.62Jason Shulman3043.311010.461051.62996.68981.23Chad Northeast2937.19989.93974.62842.09972.64Brett Wickizer2909.29976.96934.29987.52987.48Albert Glenn2798.01956.55876.02988.61933.38Peter Collinson2740.27948.63920.93968.49850.85David Lockhart2670.03878.59918.29953.1798.64Mark Hunt2413.56836.34688.51904.88820.17
07-23-2018, 11:45 AM
#8
Semi's on the bubble to see who made the finals was close:
8th Mark Hunt 1849.22
9th Donald Szczur 1849.02
10th Christopher Gini 1848.29
Junior slot was close too:
Kal Reifsnyder1830.87
Greyson Pritchett1826.66
8th Mark Hunt 1849.22
9th Donald Szczur 1849.02
10th Christopher Gini 1848.29
Junior slot was close too:
Kal Reifsnyder1830.87
Greyson Pritchett1826.66
07-23-2018, 03:43 PM
#9
Some more pictures. The finals were exciting in both Masters and FAI. Advanced was a battle between Forrest and Tim Pritchett during day 1. Wind was a factor with the stall turn maneuvers. Lots of practice at Site 4 with intermediate and advanced pilots. Several FAI pilots also flew or helped at Site 4. Jason preparing for his Unknown with stick planes and discussing the maneuvers with Kevin and Tuny..
