"Joe Cutright, I'll keep reminding you of your required attendance at the Nat's for next year... "

Im sure you will, Matt! You and Jerry put on one heck of a battle congrats to both of you!!! See you guys in Camden in a few months??

I'd like to also thank the NATS staff. Everyone stepped up when it was needed and then some. We had people helping people all over the place...

Marian and Ty, congrats, there are not two better people than yourselves that are more deserving of the award.

Gil and Curtis, to say this was a very well done NATS just does not seem to convey my actual thoughts on how well you guys did. There was not a single time I had to wait to find out where I was judging next. I can only think of one time I had to track Curtis down to find out where I needed to be and still, he already had it planned out. All other times, he would see me going from one spot to another and update me where I would be next and approx when, which BTW, the timing in regards to the schedule was great.

Just a warning for everyone, if Curtis is having anything to do with the next NATS, and I hope he does, you better get used to hearing the word "Scribes" over the PA system

Very Very well done everyone

BTW... Does anyone have a picture or two of the A-10 that came down the right side of the flightline?

Originally Posted by Tseres

You guys need to quit whining about the judging. There were 5 dedicated judges and some fill ins. We could have used your expert help. You guys are obviously expert at seeing everything all the way from Georgia. Think how useful your eyes would have been from a judging chair. I spent my time scribing for 3 different judges all 4 days. Any of you Questioning their integrity is an idiot. Those judges were overworked and could have used a break but you guys weren't there to help them.

Congratulations to all the participants. You are all winners in my eyes.

Thanks to all the crew that made it happen. Your hard work was noticed and appreciated by all.

You're a great group of people to be around. I had a blast.

I was one of those you scribed for and I am certain by your post and what I know you learned from all 3 of us that you have a new found respect for what judges do in a contest such as this. I am also positive you are more than ready to be a really good judge.

Getting judges at anytime is tough enough, getting judges based on the criteria that was set forth for this year made it even harder but 5 people stepped up as full time judges not to mention the countless stand-ins that did there very best. At some point I talked to all of them.

My theory on the downwind spin, personally I find them the easiest of all spins to judge, there is going to be much more pitch, hence making the stall way easier to see.

Hey Bill, I got a few shots of the A-10. Shoot me your e-mail and when I get home I'll e-mail it to you.

Chris

I woke up in my own bed next to my lovely wife, rested and ready to go practice for the next event.

This was my first Nats and it was an awesome experience. This was not your run of the mill local contest. I was blown away again by the IMAC community of friends. I made a few new ones from all over the county. I hung out with Dave Villwock from the NW region, what a nice guy. He drives a Hydroplane Boat at over 200 MPH and flies IMAC for fun. Dave has a race this weekend, go get’m Dave!

Thanks to all my friends back home that posted and texted my encouragement all week. I didn’t post all week because I didn’t want to get too distracted.

Tom and Geoffrey flew very well all week and Geoffrey came on strong on the last day when it counts the most. Congratulations to Geoffrey.

Originally Posted by Judge

One comment on judging. As noted, it is an imprecise endeavor. However, anything that involves subjective human judgement is. This is why there are at least 2 judges, the scores are normalized, and low rounds thrown out. The hope is (proven by lots of experience) that at the end of the contest the right person wins. So far that seems to work.

Another thing. I used to tell people to draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. Label one column "I got screwed". Label the other "I got a gift". Check each side as you get hosed or get a gift. Do enough flying and you will likely have an equal number of marks in each column.

One last thing. I think IMAC should have a rule that you cannot whine about judging until you have spent at least 100 hours sitting in the actual judges chair!!

DITTO...........well said.
Jeff Williams

For those who haven't seen it, the AMA also posted newsletters each day from the event. You can see all of the AMA Nats News (including the pylon, control line, scale, and other events going on now) at:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats/natsnews.aspx

Just got back home and had a few thoughts:

Marian and I had a great time, thanks so much Wayne, Gil, Curtis, Phil, Ronda, Tina, Cheryl, and all involved with putting a very well ran event together.

Thanks to the judges, Curtis, Gil, Marian, Ray, Tim, Mark, Bill, and the contestants that stepped up to judge and scribe.

Thanks to Tom and several others that were there to observe and stepped up to do so much scribing!

Thanks to Chris for his coverage of the NATS and all the work he put in.

Thanks Dave for the score keeping and work through out the week.

Thanks for the BBQ dinner, who ever got that venue changed deserves a huge thank you!

Thanks to the AMA, nothing was ever left undone or needed. They kept it clean, mowed, serviced, let us in the museum after hours, and took great care of us all week!

Thanks to all of our friends we have made along the way. There are way to many to list here but I appreciate you all very much and am blessed to spend time with you. Also, thanks to Ivan, Nick, and Mike for coming down from Canada and giving us someone to blaim for everything <LOL>.

Thanks Marian for being a part of this hobby with me and enjoying it as much if not more than I do! Congragulations to Marian and Ty for the Presidents award, very well deserved and you two are appreciated.

Thanks Muncie for having a Texas Roadhouse!!!!! Matt, we will for sure have an evening out there another tiime when we don't have 20 of us sharing the same space.

Yes there was pressure, some wind, some rain, and a couple of crashes, but there was by far more nice weather, fun, flying, and fellowsihip than one could expect.

Will Berninger
P.S. Ryan, you were cranking by the end of the contest!