Editor’s note: The following article first appeared in the November 2011 issue of Model Aviation as part of the ongoing “History Preserved” series from the National Model Aviation Museum.
For 25 years, the National Model Airplane Meet, National A.M.A. Model Airplane Meet, or National Model Airplane Championships—now known simply as the Nats—was held in conjunction with the U.S. Navy, utilizing its staff, financial backing, and naval air stations (NAS) across the nation for modeling events. The Navy was rewarded with good advertising, goodwill, and influencing a new generation of model (and full-scale) aviation enthusiasts.
Station locations rotated every few years and included the following:
• NAS Olathe, Kansas: 1948 – 1949, 1968
• NAS Dallas, Texas: 1950-1951, 1956, 1960, 1964
• NAS Los Alamitos, California: 1952, 1955, 1959, 1963, 1967
• NAS Willow Grove, Pennsylvania: 1953, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1969
• NAS Glenview, Illinois: 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970-1972
AMA was fortunate to have had the Navy’s backing for so long. As the 1970s loomed, the Navy’s budget for these types of activities dwindled. In fact, the 1972 Nats was in jeopardy!
According to an AMA announcement dated March 30, 1972, “Navy hosting of the Nats has hung by a slim thread for many years. Several times since about 1964 the Navy came close to dropping out of the Nats program. Each time there was a reprieve—usually at the last minute. AMA officers waited out very critical and trying delays in 1970 and 1971 as the Navy sought various ways to somehow retain the program despite severe shortages of funds, facilities, and manpower.”
A letter from the Department of the Navy, dated March 27, 1972, stated, “We do not have the men or resources to continue to support your program or others like it … We regret the necessity to terminate Navy sponsorship of the National Championships this year … ”
With AMA providing more financial and staff assistance than ever before, and still with the possibility that the whole thing would be canceled at the last minute, the Navy and AMA were able to squeeze out one more year for a 25-year run.
The 1972 Nats was held July 24-30 at NAS Glenview, near Chicago. Despite heavy rain the first day, the event went well and more than 2,000 registered participants attended.
The Navy had professional photographers on hand at the events. Because of this, the National Model Aviation Museum’s archives include quite a few boxes of great photographs from various Navy Nats.
The staff photographers documented their photos with lengthy descriptions of the subjects. Few photos from previous or post-Navy Nats are as well documented.
—Jackie Shalberg, Museum Archivist
jackies@modelaircraft.org
SOURCES:
Model Aviation, November 2011
library.modelaviation.com/edition/model-aviation-201111
A2017.20.113
David and Walter Erbach Collection, #0417 Donated by the Erbach family
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind.
2012.17.20
From the estate of John Worth
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind.