NAT'S Behind the Scenes: AMA-AFA '77 NATS Riverside
THEY SAID it would be hot—very hot—and it was. They also said it wouldn't rain. It didn't—not during Nats week. But two days after the Nats ended there was more rain than Southern California had seen in August for over 50 years.
Some of that rain would have been welcomed at the Free Flight and RC Soaring sites during the Nats. These areas were plagued by dust that constantly coated cars, equipment and people. Attempts to reduce the problem by watering the areas each day were almost futile.
The watering was also necessary to reduce a fire hazard from super-dry brush. With thousands of acres of forests being consumed by fires in other parts of the state during the Nats, everyone was hypersensitive about preventing fires—especially during the FF Rocket event which featured burning Jetex fuses for engine ignition. Special precautions, however, kept the situation under control.
Another freak weather situation just missed the Nats. It came the day after the Nats ended and just before the rains and would have wiped out all model flying in a tremendous duststorm that grounded B-52 flying at March Air Force Base!
But the '77 Nats lucked out. Aside from the heat and dust all events went on schedule. However, Free Flighters quickly learned to get their flights in early—afternoon winds were stronger than had been predicted. Thus, the elements combined to neutralize contestant happiness about the huge Free Flight site. The weather problems, plus a prohibition against motorbikes for retrieval (a requirement of the property owners), prevented the greatest Free Flight site in Nats history from being enjoyed as much as had been hoped.
Others had troubles too. The Control Line Combat people were unhappy throughout the week since they did not have what they considered an adequate area to fly from—the lack of green grass and an abundance of sand and gravel in their circles was a major source of complaint. But they flew there all week long anyway, as attempts to locate a better place were frustrated by legal, noise, and other problems.
RC Pattern and Pylon fliers generally had a much better situation, but they had a unique operating problem to contend with on occasion. Schedules for B-52 operations (March Air Force Base is an active part of the Strategic Air Command), combined with wind direction problems, required on several occasions that one of the huge jets taxi through the RC area. Naturally, RC flying had to stop during these periods. But the problem was minimized by good Air Force communication and coordination with AMA officials. In the end all the intended RC flying was accomplished so the interruptions were only a distraction. In fact, it was a treat for many to see such B-52 operations from a front row position.
Aside from such problems it was a successful Nats, from the standpoint of getting all the flying done that had been planned. Most events were well-run and many officials were complimented on their operations.
Helping the situation in most cases was a comparatively low turnout of contestants. The exception was RC Soaring—this activity had the largest turnout since it was added to the Nats in 1974. After a slow start the soaring events got going in high gear and it was typical to see 10 sailplanes in the air at a time.
Most events finished earlier than scheduled. Even RC Scale, which many worried about having enough time allow- ance, finished with several hours to spare—after three rounds of flying. It was the same in many events. It was generally agreed, however, that if the number of contestants had been the same as for the '76 Nats, there would have been many problems in '77.
The biggest effect of the overall low contestant turnout was financial. The 1976 Nats produced almost $42,000 in entry fees, as compared with about $27,000 this year. Considering that it takes more than $50,000 to put on a Nats, the lower income was a serious problem.
The reasons for the low turnout were discussed widely during the Nats. But most were incorrect. It was, for example, lamented that contestants from east of the Rockies had largely stayed away from this year's Nats. Frequently mentioned as a contributing factor was the fact that the Canadian Nats had been held in the "east" a couple of weeks earlier. But Nats Executive Committee members noted that the Nats is always a mostly "local" event, with only a small percentage from more than a day's drive away. In this respect the '77 Nats was typical for California; consistent with past Nats history.
It was also noted that many West Coasters who were contestants at other California events did not show for the Nats. A prime example quoted was the annual Bakersfield RC Pylon meet which had more contestants than were seen at Riverside.
One of the side effects was that over 100 Nats trophies were not presented, simply because not enough contestants were entered in many events. The Free Flight and Control Line events were particularly plagued with this problem.
Yet it was not a small Nats. There were over 1000 contestants. Almost 200 were late entries, registered at the Nats rather than pre-entered by mail. In addition to 1,067 contestants there were 419 mechanics. Thus, there were almost 1,500 registered participants. In addition there were well over 400 officials.
RC had the most contestants—456 total. Outdoor FF had 351, Control Line had 341, Indoor had 140. The large RC total was noted to have resulted from the fact that most contestants were entered in one event only. Thus, Quarter Midget fliers typically did not fly Formula I, Pattern, Scale, or Sailplanes; likewise for all RC events.
By contrast, many FF contestants entered several events in this category; same for Indoor. Control Line fliers—different—Combat fliers mostly flew only Combat, but they had several Combat events to fly in. Similarly Speed, Racing, and Carrier fliers had several events to enter within their specialty.
Noteworthy this year was the large number of women officials in key positions. Patty Sasnett was Control Line Category Director, the highest ranking spot for a female official. She did an outstanding job. In another key spot was Betty Stream, RC Pattern Event Director. Bev Wisniewski, aided by her whole family, was CL Speed Director. Marlene Chisolm, a longtime AMA Contest Director, was a key official in the HQ Tabulation operation, as was Beverly Kuntz.
Anne Redwine, also a Contest Director, led the Bakersfield Barnstormers during the Sunday air show. Pat Groves, along with husband Monty, helped run the RC Scale event. Barbara Lien was another key Scale official. There were many others, mainly serving in field event tabulation positions. There were also many more behind the scenes in the headquarters operation.
The great number of women in this Nats was a real asset. Besides being competent they exerted a calming influence - contestants tended to be more rational when complaining and protests seemed to have less of a crisis nature when presented to one of the gals in charge.
Having a Nats again in California after
NATS Behind the Scenes: AMA-AFA '77 NATS Riverside
Having a Nats again in California after 10 years was a good experience, in general. For many contestants it was their first Nats—they weren't around during the Navy Nats of 1967 and prior years. In fact, this was the first non-Navy Nats to be held in California.
The Air Force people were excellent hosts. Although prevented by a tight military budget from allocating any money or personnel to the Nats operation, March Air Force Base officers were very helpful. They were hospitable, positive in attitude, and did all they could to minimize any interference from military operations.
Great support was also provided via the Military Affairs Committee of the Riverside Chambers of Commerce; also by the Jaycees. This local civilian community support nicely complemented the AMA and Air Force participation. They provided the food concessions, portable toilets, poster distribution, sign posting, garbage collection, youth program assistance, tourist and sightseeing information, souvenirs, and many other items behind the scenes support.
Most outstanding was the effort of the Riverside RC Club under the direction of President Denny Hackthorn and his assistant, Nick Nichols. They and many other club members provided direct physical assistance to all Nats events regarding material, equipment, supplies, and manpower assistance. Their hours began before most events started and continued long after field activities ended. AMA's Executive Council voted the club the Distinguished Service Award for a tremendous job exceptionally well done.
What about the '78 Nats? At press time nothing was certain. There were different problems in all directions but there was hope that one possibility or another would develop positively before the year's end. Discussed was the possibility of returning again to Riverside in '78 (with the idea that a repeat would help recoup '77 losses since a second year in the same location is usually a cheaper operation). But this weighs against the general AMA policy of moving the Nats around from year to year—although we returned to Lake Charles, LA in '75 after the '74 Nats, for many of the same reasons that prevail following the '77 Nats.
Lake Charles is also a '78 possibility. Most support, however, seems to favor a return to Ohio in '78. But there are problems, since some conditions that were present at the very successful '76 Nats have not changed. New possibilities, but with doubts that they could be available before '79, are Ellington Air Force Base in Texas and Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
All possibilities are currently being explored, with the goal of an AMA Executive Council decision at its October 1 meeting. It may not be possible to make the final decision at that time but a definite push for one or two possibilities is likely to result from the meeting.
In the meantime the '77 California Nats is appreciated for having been made possible by the persistent efforts of many local people who worked long and hard. That's what it takes, and the Californians delivered, with lots of West Coast help to operate the event with minimum support from outside the area. Several hundred Californians—and others—served as officials, through many months of planning as well as during the Nats itself. They are owed many thanks, and their volunteer efforts will not be quickly forgotten—they have helped assure that the Nats will again come back to the West Coast, sooner or later.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
