Nats 80
Like most Nats, but perhaps more so, the 1980 version was a mixture of good and bad. For many, it depended upon what event was flown. If Control Line Combat was your thing, the chances are that it was a great experience—the site was good, as was the event operation, as was the weather most of the time (until it rained and turned the site into a muddy mess). RC Pylon fliers, however, were mostly unhappy—there were site problems, schedule problems, weather problems, and Quarter Midget had one day less than previous years.
Indoor fliers had problems due to a reasonably high building being ruined by strings and other trash hanging from the ceiling, no food or drink concession, and other issues, with the general feeling that they would rather have been in West Baden, IN, which wasn't too far away. RC Soaring and Helicopter enjoyed a fine site at Wright Field, except for having to process models and transmitters at Wilmington, 40 minutes down the road.
Control Line Speed fliers griped about having to fly from an old runway in poor condition. But the circles for Precision Aerobatics and Team Race were on excellent concrete. Unfortunately, due to site layout problems at Wilmington, most of the good concrete had to be used for RC parking—there wasn't any place else.
And so it went, with various problems plaguing various events. Yet many agreed that a Nats, even when it doesn't go right, is a great experience. It's the people that make it so. In the end it seems to get down to who you saw and what they flew—the total accumulation of people and models and the conversations is what makes the Nats what it is.
Attendance and scale
There was some expectation that the 1980 attendance might top the last Ohio Nats (1976), which was a whopper with over 2,000 participants (contestants plus mechanics), but the total this year was about 1,500—a reduction apparently caused by the current high cost of traveling. Even so, this Nats was bigger than the last three—double that of Riverside, CA in '77 and about 50% bigger than the last two (Lake Charles, LA in '78; Lincoln, NE in '79).
With 66 competition events, this was the most ever attempted at any model contest in the world—too many, maybe, but most were accommodated reasonably well. Over 300 volunteer officials served, and there were almost a thousand trophies. No wonder this is the world's biggest model meet!
Weather and events
Rain threatened to ruin the RC Scale event on the last Nats day, but it held off just long enough to get the final flights in. Then it came pouring down to delay the Nats-ending model air show, but eventually the rain eased off so that the thousands who came to spectate got to see a fine performance by several AMA show teams and various Nats winners.
The weather was more good than bad overall, and there were lots of winners, so more contestants were apparently happy than those who weren't. However, the basic problem in staging such a massive project is finding a suitable site to satisfy all interests and then getting a full week of good weather. Mix about 2,000 people together (contestants, mechanics, officials) and the odds are somewhat against a completely happy contest.
Housing and lodging
Having dorms right on the airfield at Wilmington was great for the over-300 who stayed there. Even though those dorms were of a lower standard, the convenience made up for a lot, and a great evening atmosphere prevailed among those who were together on the field rather than isolated in various motels for miles around. Many campers enjoyed the same convenience—their campground was right near the dorms.
Because there wasn't enough dorm space at the Wilmington airfield, many had to be lodged about three miles away, at Wilmington College. Still more—mostly Free Flighters—were in dorms near Dayton, at Wright State University. It took every motel and almost every dorm bed, for miles around, to accommodate everybody. This lodging was a major behind-the-scenes problem for the Nats staff, but eventually everybody got a place to sleep, including some campers who were drowned out by a storm—they had to be housed overnight on the floor of one of the Wilmington school buildings until their tents could be restored and their gear dried out.
Many contestants and officials commented on the friendly atmosphere in the small city of Wilmington. The Nats was obviously a big financial boom to restaurants, motels, service stations and stores in general. Welcome signs were up everywhere. Fuel and food were cheaper than where most Nats participants came from. One store noted that Nats week was a small but significant statistic: instead of selling 200 pounds of packaged ice per week, they were selling 300 pounds per day. A local service station ran out of gas and a restaurant ran out of food.
Sites and logistics
Two organizations were the hosts at Wilmington. The Airborne Express organization provided the airfield (formerly Clinton County Air Force Base) and the Laurel Oaks Career Development Campus provided the dorms and other buildings for the Nats. Assistance was provided by the Jaycees and the Jaycettes in operating the AMA Cub (Delta Dart) program. Other help came from the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and Southern State Community College for printing the daily Nats News.
At Wright Field the Air Force provided the flying site, and it was well enjoyed except that the food and drink concession provided by the Air Force Exchange was woefully inadequate—not mobile, too small, and located too far away from the action. There were also traffic and parking problems which added to aggravations. But it was a generally good site, with mostly good weather and a better lodging situation than at Wilmington.
The 40-minute driving separation between Wright Field and Wilmington was a big source of complaint which detracted from the desired unity of a Nats. It also made Wright Field participants feel somewhat like second-class citizens, because only a bare-minimum HQ operation, using the AMA mobile office and only one or two people, was possible.
At the end of the Nats the people who operated the Wilmington airfield indicated that, if the Nats returned in the future, more space could be made available to help solve CL and RC problems. The college indicated that their dorms would be improved and more beds would be available.
Results and scoring
A large effort to produce event standings via computers was compromised by many factors which prevented the timely posting of results. Many contestants didn't know how they placed. It wasn't for lack of hard work—the volunteer computer crew worked long into each night to solve problems. For example, printouts were bogged down by limp paper caused by high humidity; an air-conditioner had to be purchased and installed at the Wilmington HQ to solve that problem and a similar one affecting a photocopy machine.
Volunteers and organization
The basic problem is how to make such a massive project work successfully. It was a major volunteer undertaking: over 300 officials, a thousand trophies, and many behind-the-scenes helpers. Despite a constant series of problems all through the Nats week, the event went on. While not likely to be rated the greatest, it was bigger than most, and a great experience for many. The challenge for next year will be to better the odds for more people.
In the meantime the Western Ohio Radio Kontrol Society (WORKS) is to be thanked for making the '80 Ohio Nats possible. Under the leadership of Bill Elliott, as chairman of the local support Nats staff, the following had key assignments:
- Chuck Shade, Assistant Chairman
- John Markunes, Manpower
- Steve Webendorfer, Housing & Facilities
- Walt Akridge, Operations
- Bob Christopher, Finances
- Dick Nutting, Publicity & Promotion
- Bill Keller, Concessions
Also helpful, especially during the pre-Nats preparations and post-Nats cleanup, were members of the Clinton Model Aviators, the AMA-chartered club in Wilmington. District III Vice-President Dave Brown was a major contributor behind the scenes, as was Ron Hesselbrock of the Cincinnati Aeromodelers.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
