2025 CL Precision Aerobatics Nats Recap

Two men kneeling beside two red and yellow model airplanes on a runway.

Control Line Aerobatics

As seen in the October 2025 issue of Model Aviation.

Two men on an airstrip with a remote-controlled red and yellow plane. — (L-R): Assistant ED John Paris presents the Concours d’Elegance award to Don Jenkins and his beautiful Vertigo II. The finish was just flawless! Photo by Dan Winship.

DREAMING OF NEXT year’s Control Line (CL) Precision Aerobatics Nats starts for many of us on the long ride home from the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. First, we think, "What if I would have just … " Those thoughts are usually gone by the time you hit an interstate! Then it turns into, "What am I going to do next year? What are my goals? What should I build or should I not build?"

I personally am always trying to expand on what happened this year and improve. I wanted to build a new airplane, I wanted to solidly qualify, and I wanted to make my two best flights of the week on Top 20 day. This year, I can say that I achieved those goals, and I hope many of you accomplished your goals as well! Flying CL Precision Aerobatics is hard!

Many of the Nats competitors arrived late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. On the L-pad, quite a few of us were practicing and checking out who had new airplanes and who was bringing back trusty old ones.

Sunday marked the start of the competition, and we opened with Beginner and Intermediate on the grass circles. The winner in Beginner Junior/Senior was Conner Smith. The Beginner Open winner was Toni Eberenz, and Intermediate was Jim Mynes.

Monday was a very busy day with Classic, Nostalgia 30 (N-30), Old-Time Stunt (OTS), and appearance judging. Many competitors also practiced for Open and Advanced on the L-pad.

This year, Classic had 14 entries. Bob Hunt flew his Caprice and edged out Joe Gilbert, with Tim Stagg coming in third place. In N-30, Robert "Sparky" Storick took the win over John Saunders in second place and Jordon Segal in third place. In OTS, Joe finished ahead of Keith Trostle, who came in second, and John Paris came in third.

Everyone then headed back to their rooms to clean up and add extra shine for appearance judging, which was held at the very nice Union Chapel gym in Muncie. Every year, some of the best-looking model airplanes in the world are placed in the gym. This year, Don Jenkins won the Concours d’Elegance trophy with his flawlessly finished Vertigo II.

Tuesday and Wednesday were qualifying rounds for Open and Advanced. The top five on each circle of Open went on to the top 20, and the top four on each circle of Advanced proceeded on to the finals. The weather all week was very good; the only complaint was that we wanted just a little more air! There were a couple of circles that were decided by only a few points and some by appearance points (that finish does matter sometimes!).

Thursday is what I think was the hardest day of competition in Open—two flights and no throwaways to determine the top five. Any little thing could put you out of the running. The morning started out with little to no air moving and finished with Stunt heaven! After 40 flights, Tim won Rookie of the Year in Open, and we had the top five set: Orestes Hernandez, David Fitzgerald, Derek Barry, Doug Moon, and me.

Two men launching a small model aircraft on a sunny day, with fields in the background. — Dale Berry launches his son Derek Berry’s Cutlass during the official flight of the top five Open finals. Winship photo.

Two men with a model plane near a cornfield runway. — Orestes Hernandez’s Shark comes in for a landing under the watchful eye of judges (L-R) Mike Stinson and Christian David Chacha. Winship photo.

Man controlling a model plane mid-flight on a sunny day. — This is a great shot of Tim Just holding an inverted flight with his Timpact during an official flight. Winship photo.

Three people with model planes and trophies on an airstrip. — (L-R): Senior National Champion Gabe Alimov, Walker Cup and Open National Champion Orestes Hernandez, and Junior National Champion Wesley Smith. Winship photo.

In Advanced, the top 12 had a shootout for the Advanced National Champion. In the end, Don was victorious, followed very closely by James Mills in second place, Mike Alimov in third place, Tom Fluker in fourth place, and Darrell Harvin in fifth place.

Friday was the top five in the Open, Junior, and Senior finals and the Walker Cup flyoff. The weather again was very good, starting with light wind but finishing a little windy. After 15 flights, Orestes was the Open National Champion for the sixth time! David came in second, Doug was third, Derek was fourth, and I was fifth.

In Senior, Gabe Alimov came in first place and Angstorm Eberenz came in second. In Junior, Wesley Smith won first place. Orestes, Gabe, and Wesley battled it out for the Walker Cup, and in the end, Orestes was crowned the Walker Cup Champion!

All in all, the Nats was very well run. A special thanks goes to all of the people who made it possible. I want to thank all of the judges, tabulators, runners, pit bosses, Assistant Event Director (ED) John Paris, and ED Frank Williams. Without them, we would have no Nats!

We all wish John Hill and Mark Overmier speedy recoveries and hope to see them soon.