4x a Grand Champion: 1960 Nats Trophies

In 1960 the Nats were held at the Naval Air Station in Dallas, TX. Robert K. Sifleet had turned 21 a few months before and it was his first time competing in the Open age division. It was also his first time winning the Grand National Champion, as well as Open National Champion.

This black and white image, as scanned from a magazine, shows a Navy Admiral wearing a pith helmet. He's presenting a trophy to a young man in a white shirt.
Admiral Pirie awards Bob Sifleet the Open National Champion Trophy, picture from the November 1960 issue of American Modeler, copy in the Lee Renaud Memorial Library Collection of the National Model Aviation Museum.

Here’s the trophies he won!

A trophy on a wooden base with a metal column flanked by two wood pieces. A Victory figure stands on the base and a model airplane on top of the column.
1960 Nats Open National Champion Trophy.
This trophy is has a wide metal column sitting on a tall wood base The column supports a loving cup and victory figure. Additional victory figures are on the base in front of the column.
1960 Nats Grand National Champion Trophy.

Bob shared his memories of competing in the 1960 Nats.  Click the picture to watch!

Bob speaking - this video serves as a video link.
The above pic links to a 5 minute video about Bob’s experiences at the 1960 Nats. If you are interested in hearing his full tale, click here.

In many of the Free Flight events, Bob was flying the Maximus, a model of his own design. This was published in the June 1961 issue of American Modeler. If you’re interested in the article about this model please get in touch with mariav@modelaircraft.org!

Stay tuned for #SifleetFriday every Friday this summer!  And, don’t forget, you can see Bob’s trophies in person at the museum between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2018.

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For more information on the National Model Aviation Museum, including our location, hours and admission fees visit: www.modelaircraft.org/museum

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