2012 NATS
2012 Scale Nationals Our AMA Scale National Championships is coming up quick! It will be held on July 13-15 at the AMA International Flying Site at Muncie, Indiana. No change there.

But there are other changes to encourage the novice or those who have been a little concerned about attending the Nationals, thus there are several new added classes some of which are unofficial at this point.

First Novice entries will only be charged the National $45 basic registration. All models will be processed by noon on Friday, July 13. Junior AMA members (15 years old but under 19 on July 1) will have free class fees.

There will be awards for the best Jr. and Senior flier in RC and CL classes. There is a new unofficial class this year Advanced class. This category is available using aircraft that are not governed by the Builder of the Model rule. This includes purchased, modeler-built, or factory-built scale models including ARF/ARC (almost ready to fly/cover). Judging criteria for both flying and static are identical to Expert and Team Scale. Contestants who placed in the top 30% of this class shall be qualified for entry in the Advanced class at the Scale Masters Championships being held this fall in Southern Indiana. As with most large scale contests the National Championships is also a qualifier for the U.S. Scale Masters.

At the Friday night NASA Jam there will be all sorts of entertainment. Our own Greg Hahn, AMA Technical Director/country music star, will sing for the group. Karaoke and scale flyers with their own music will be there too. Bring a picnic basket, cooler, and lawn chair for a great time.

On Saturday night the NASA banquet will be held at the Claude McCullough Learning Center, attached to the AMA Museum. Tickets are $15, children 12 and under are $10. Tickets will be on sale at the RC and CL sites during the day on Saturday and (I'm assuming on Friday also). Dale Arvin will be there to entertain us with an auction/roast of prominent AMA members.

So for a great time and a great place to fly and associate with others of us who are scale modelers also, come to this year's AMA Nationals!

from Stan Alexander with information provided by Shannon Ort