CL Combat

F2d Combat at the AMA Nationals is the most prestigious of any event flown in the USA. The winner is deemed the National Champion, and Austin Minor was destined to take the top spot. He remained undefeated until his final challenger, Andrey Nadein, gave him his first loss. Austin came back from his narrow loss and took the final match. The crowd agreed, Austin was hot!

The final day of the 2023 Team Trials looked to be over by early afternoon, as just a mere twelve contestants remained. The short day turned out to be a very long affair, thanks to a record number of re-flights.

It looked a little dim for the Team Trials Saturday morning, with heavy rain and occasional lightning. By midday, the bad weather vanished and was replaced by a beautiful day. During the transition, there was a fair amount of wind which made matches flown during that period fast and furious with most maneuvering downwind at accelerated rates.

What a perfect day to start the Team Trials for the 26 hopeful candidates. The temperature was in the low 80s with just a whiff of wind, a blue sky, and no rain … yet.

The 2023 AMA Nationals (Nats) is the 100th anniversary of the first Nats, and it is also the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Miniature Aircraft Combat Association (MACA). The F2d Team Trials have been expanded from the normal two days for the triple elimination contest to three days for this cycle. The regular AMA events will follow the team selection starting on Monday. That's eight days of combat!

The 2022 CL Combat Nats has come to an end.

Photos of the CL Combat Nats provided by Mike Londke.

Thanks to Mike Londke for providing photos from Monday and Tuesday's Big Block Fast and F2D Fast contests.