Competition Newsletter

1986 F3E (Electroflight) Team Selection Program Announced

Team Selection Committee Chairman Joe Beshar has announced the program which will be used to select the nine-member team of fliers to represent the U.S. in the 1986 RC.

It's almost time for the 1985 NATS! The closing date for advance applications is July 3. Any applications received that are postmarked after July 3 are subject to a late entry fee of $15. Of course, you can still enter the NATS right up until closing time for registration in your event; but it's best if you get your forms into HQ as soon as possible.

Hotel rooms near Westover Air Force Base are filling up fast! If you plan to attend, you should be making your reservations now. The hotel situation has been tight because of a convention in the Chicopee area that has booked a lot of space for the first weekend of the NATS, July 27 and 28. Most NATS participants will need to be in town that weekend for registration and check-in. If you don't plan to arrive until later in the week, please be sure that you arrive in time to register for the event you're flying in. This is especially important in RC events, since if your transmitter isn't processed, you won't be allowed to fly. In most cases, registration and RC transmitter processing is held the day before the event.

If you find that you can't get a hotel room close to Westover Air Force Base, you might want to make a reservation at a hotel located a little farther away and move to a closer spot later in the week. This should be possible after Monday, July 29. The hotels listed below are in rough order of distance from the Chicopee area. We suggest that you call the closer ones to find out when they have room, even if they are full for the rest of the weekend. (The Quality Inn on Burnett Road in Chicopee is the NATS HQ site early in the week and the Convention site later; it is totally booked through the NATS.)

If you'd like to stay in a dorm room, check the box on your NATS entry application. We will send you a dorm reservation form. Fill out this form and return it to HQ for processing. Dorms are available on a first-come, first-served basis to contestants and those accompanying them. Don't hang onto your dorm form until registration, or you might find that the dorms are full.

HOTELS

• Quality Inn, 296 Burnett Road, Chicopee, MA 01020. (413) 592-7151. This is the site of NATS Headquarters until Wednesday, July 31. The NATS Expo will be held in the Quality Inn Ballroom August 1, 2, and 3. No more rooms are available.
• Best Western Chicopee Motor Lodge, 463 Memorial Drive, Chicopee, MA 01020. (413) 592-6171. No more space available.
• Ramada Inn, 357 Burnett Road, Chicopee, MA 01020. (413) 592-9101. No room on the first weekend, but rooms were available starting July 29 when we called. Single rooms are $46, doubles $54; mention AMA when reserving.
• Sussex Chalet Motor Lodge, Johnnycake Hollow Road, Chicopee, MA 01020. (413) 592-5141. No more rooms available.
• Creative Pines Motel, 1508 Memorial Drive, Chicopee, MA 01020. (413) 533-2776. $38 and up for singles; double room $46. They still had rooms when we called on May 1.
• Parkview Inn, 450 Memorial Drive, Chicopee, MA 01020. (413) 592-7722. No more space available.
• Westover Motel, 591 James Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. (413) 536-0570. No more space available.
• Best Western Black Horse, 500 Riverdale St., West Springfield, MA 01089. (413) 733-2161. Rooms with one king-size bed $56, with two queen-size beds $66. They still had rooms when we called on May 1.
• Howard Johnson's, 1150 Riverdale St., West Springfield, MA 01089. (413) 739-7261. They had rooms available when we called May 6.
• Sheraton Inn West, 1080 Riverdale St., West Springfield, MA 01089. (413) 781-8750. They had rooms when we called May 6. A single room begins at $62, and doubles at $72.
• Mutual Motor Inn (formerly Travelodge), 700 State Street, Springfield, MA 01109. (413) 739-2161. They had no rooms available when we called May 6. The rate is $30 plus tax for two people.
• Skyline Inn (formerly Holiday Inn), 71 Dwight Street, Springfield, MA 01102. (800) 626-6500. They had rooms available when we called May 6. Single rooms are $45 and doubles are $53.
• Marriott Springfield, 1500 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01115. (413) 781-7111. They had rooms available when we called on May 6. Group rates are $55 for singles and $65 for doubles; be sure to mention AMA when reserving.
• Holiday Inn, 245 Whiting Farms Road, Holyoke, MA 01040. (413) 534-3311. They had rooms available for the whole week when we called May 6. A standard room (two double beds) costs $57, and one king-size bed costs $60.
• Suisse Chalet, 1515 Northampton Street, Holyoke, MA 01040. (413) 536-1980. When we called May 6, they had a few single-bed rooms available at $35.
• Yankee Pedlar Inn, 1866 Northampton, Holyoke, MA 01040. (413) 532-4949. They had rooms when we called May 6. Single rooms begin at $36, and double rooms at $44.
• Howard Johnson's, Amherst, MA 01035. (413) 586-0114. They had rooms when we called May 6. Their rate is $55 per room, single or double.
• University Motor Lodge, Amherst, MA 01002. (413) 256-8111. They had rooms available when we called May 6. Single rooms are $39 and doubles are $48.
• Autumn Inn, 259 Elm Street, Northampton, MA 01060. (413) 584-7600. They had rooms available when we called May 6. Single rooms are $48 and double rooms are $56.
• Hilton Inn, Northampton, MA 01060. (413) 586-1211. They had rooms available when we called May 6. Single rooms are $48 and double rooms are $58.

CAMPGROUNDS

We suggest that you call ahead to be sure that space is available. (At the present time, there is no camping on Westover AFB itself.)

• Sunnyside Campgrounds Incorporated, 200 Hillside Road, Westfield, MA 01085. (413) 568-3005.
• Sealedge Campgrounds, West Granville, MA 01034. (413) 357-6494.
• White Birch Campgrounds, 122 North Street, Whately, MA 01093. (413) 665-4941.
• Lake Wyola Park, PO Box 83, Montague, MA 01351. (413) 367-2627.
• Barton Cove Nature and Camping Area, RR 1, Box 377, Northfield, MA 01360. (413) 863-9300.
• Lakeridge Campground, 300 Route 202, Orange, MA 01364. (617) 544-7111.
• Springbrook Family Camping Area, RFD 1, Box 52, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370. (413) 625-6618.
• Wagon Wheel Camping Area, Wendell Depot Road, Orange, MA 01364. (617) 544-3425.

Sport Aerobatics

The International Miniature Aerobatic Club originated RC Turnaround Aerobatics at Toledo in 1974. Its official AMA format was adopted by the Tournament of Champions in 1978 and by the FAI in 1984.

Most RCers are familiar with Aerobatic competition as flown by such legendary pilots as Bevo Howard, Rod Jocelyn, Bob Herendeen, Art Scholl, Leo Loudenslager, the Eagles, Charlie Hilliard, Gene Soucy, and Tom Poberezny. They have all won distinction as champions in International Aerobatic competition, which is now represented by the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB (IAC). The IMAC is the "miniature" counterpart of that organization and is dedicated to "duplicating full-scale aerobatics with RC aircraft in a realistic manner that is challenging for the contestants as well as interesting for the spectators."

Categories and format

The format is the same as for full-scale Sport Aerobatics, offering Sportsman, Advanced, FAI, and Unlimited categories and providing exciting competition for all levels of experience. Maneuvers duplicate those of the International Aerobatic competitions and are flown and judged in the same manner as full-scale. The 4-minute Free (anything SAFE goes) is graded on originality, versatility, harmony and rhythm, and execution.

Specifications

Entries in IMAC Sport Aerobatics contests must be sport-scale replicas of aircraft known to be capable of aerobatic competition within the airframe known as the "box." Weight and engine upper limits are the same as for AMA Giant Scale. The average model will have a 25-oz. wing loading (1,000 sq. in. @ 11 lb.) and a .090–.120 cu. in. engine for power. Biplanes are given a 5% bonus in Sportsman and Advanced, and 10% in Unlimited. Virtually all models are capable of competing in the Sportsman category; however, substantially more performance is required in the Advanced, FAI, and Unlimited categories. Several pilots may fly the same model in competition, as the "builder-of-the-model" rule does not apply. The event is a measure of piloting skill, duplicating the full-scale activity.

If you like realism in RC and have a desire to fly something more challenging, join the IMAC and participate in AMA Sport Aerobatics. We currently have over 600 members from all over the world and have combined precision aerobatics, realism, and individuality in a fresh approach to RC.

Membership in the IMAC is $10 annually, which entitles you to receive a competition number, membership card, decals, and an informative newsletter having event calendars and current information on "Sport Aerobatics International." Send your check and AMA number to: IMAC, c/o Glenn Carter, 2020 Gill Port Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94598. IMAC cap patches and lapel pins are $2 each. Achievement Awards for each category must be earned by scoring a "five" or better on all maneuvers in your sequence. An Achievement Award earned in competition is designated "with star."

Go IMAC!

I’m unable to reliably extract the Competition Newsletter continuation from the provided image — the page is a rotated scan showing aerobatic sequence diagrams and small, low-contrast text that I can’t read with confidence. I don’t want to produce an inaccurate transcription.

Could you either:

• Upload a higher-resolution, upright (not rotated) scan of this page, or
• Give me permission to do a best-effort transcription from the current image (I’ll note uncertain words)?

If you provide a clearer image I’ll produce the corrected, line-by-line transcription (only the Competition Newsletter text) as you requested.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.