2026 Junior FAI Outdoor Free Flight World Championships in Prilep, North Macedonia - a recap of our experience

Wednesday July 22 – Arrival

We touched down in Skopje, North

Macedonia past midnight to find ourselves lacking any internet or cell service due to a huge storm the day before that downed many power lines and towers. This made us realize how much we have come to depend on technology for communication\information over the years. We managed to connect with our driver who would take us to a local hotel for the night where we could get a little sleep before the car rental desk opened later that day. Our friendly driver told us that North Macedonia was one of the biggest suppliers of tobacco to Philip Morris as well as a big opium producer, with their opium being 10x stronger than opium produced elsewhere. So there’s a bit of trivia for you. We got a bit of sleep and with the help of screenshots of directions that were saved earlier on our phones, we headed to our hotel in the city of Bitola. The Hotel Sumski Feneri is a very cute family-run inn at the base of Pelister National Park. The owners came out to welcome us and it is very clear that a lot of care is put into the relaxing holiday ambiance of the hotel (for you skiers, the hotel offers backcountry cat skiing in the winter). Some of the families that arrived got together for dinner at the hotel. “Cheese mixed in furnace” was a hit with the juniors, consisting of a casserole of hot gooey melted cheese with fresh made bread to dip into it. Schnitzel and salads were also delicious. Plans were made to fly after hotel breakfast the next day.

Thursday July 23 – Practice Day 1

We woke up to a cool, bright morning and a lovely breakfast spread handmade by

the hotel owners with fresh fruits, French toast, sausages, eggs, breads with homemade apricot and plum jams, honeys from nearby Pelister mountain (a lighter honey derived from the base wildflowers and a darker one from the pines at the top of the mountain), a variety of cheeses and meats, muesli, and chocolate loaf cake that was a clear winner with the younger crowd. After a peaceful breakfast, we hit the road to the field. Halfway to the field, we hit road construction that narrowed a tiny 2-way street into a very tiny 1- way, with many semi-trucks going in both directions, eventually ending in traffic coming to a standstill. Unfortunately, during the standstill, one of our team’s cars battery died, making a secondary blockage (which resulted in cars trying to go around us, thus creating an even bigger clog). Coach Sevak was running up and down the street knocking on the windows of all the cars and at around the 20th car, managed to find someone with jumper cables and purchased them right off the owners. After the surrounding cars all made their way through, we were off again. We got to the field and there were members from Teams Israel, France, Germany, China, Ukraine, and more out already flying. The temperatures were mild and sunny, and everyone had a productive day test flying models and making some tweaks. The hard work the team put in working on trimming their planes before leaving for North Macedonia paid off. The bulk of the testing was with the recently acquired F1Q models. Winds started picking up substantially at noon allowing for some high wind practice flights and after 5 hours on the field, everyone’s primary models were looking pretty good. It was time to pack it up and head back to the hotel to rest and purchase provisions.

Friday July 24 – Practice Day 2

We hit the road at 5:45am. The weather was 65 degrees and overcast, perfect to sport our team jackets. Today was a tougher day as Daniel’s F1A glider was not flying well in the low wind conditions and needed some extra trimming.There were some hiccups with a couple of the F1Q planes that needed addressing as well. Johnny’s F1A that broke just prior to leaving the US was having some issues, knocking that plane out of commission for the time being. He went to the next plane in the lineup for trimming. Coach Sevak’s instincts were spot on from the initial settings, so it only required a couple flights to dial in a low wind setting. By 10am the winds picked up and some sprinkles were coming down so most everyone took a break to enjoy the lovely brunch the hotel packed for us, with tasty ham and vegetarian sandwiches literally the size of my face, hard boiled eggs, cake, fruits, and water. F1A flyers were still in action, trimming for higher winds. At one point, a contest was held amongst the juniors to retrieve John’s plane - winner gets a gummy candy. Adith was in the lead but slipped and Aurelius took advantage of the situation, ultimately winning the candy. By 11am the winds were very strong, so we packed up to leave. Overall, it was a tougher day on the field with F1Q and F1A plane problems presenting themselves. The F1B planes seemed to be in good shape overall. The F1P fliers had to sit tight as fuel was being driven to us and unfortunately due to travel complications, was delayed. Rains started around noon, so the families had a late lunch at the hotel and went back to their rooms to have some personal time (and for some, catch up on work). Coach Sevak was extremely busy working on the models late into the night and would summon the flyers at various times, which reminded me of getting called up to the principal’s office in grade school, except this time you knew you were getting help and not detention.

Saturday July 25 – Practice Day 3

We left at 6am and temperatures were cool in the morning. Thanks to the rain, the field and roads were less dusty. After long nights of Coach Sevak working his magic, one by one, each competitor’s planes were ready for competition day. With Daniel’s primary plane dialed in, he moved onto his second plane. Unfortunately, during a test flight, the plane failed to DT, resulting in a bad landing, breaking a wing. Coach Sevak’s personal plane now became the new backup. We had another packed lunch. I know I said it last time we were here in 2024, but the peaches here are simply the best and totally unlike peaches at home, being very crispy and not particularly fragrant, yet so sweet and refreshing.

The Smith family was able to obtain a little fuel from another team for some F1P test flights. Emrick went in and launched his #3 plane and it went screaming into the sky. As it shot up, Aarav yelled, “Tonight we’re going to steal the moon!” It captured the bold excitement we were all feeling.

Mid-afternoon, the some of the German team showed up and along with them, our F1P fuel! A big thank you to the team for delivering it! Our F1P flyers immediately got to work to send up a few test flights while everyone else took a little break to enjoy the pleasant weather, chatting and snacking. The F1P test flights were fantastic and everyone felt positive at the end of the day. We headed back to the hotel where the owners had been busily prepping a special dinner for the team. We were presented with traditional dishes starting with a variety of salads including shopska (cucumber, tomato, salty cheese) and Macedonian (like shopska minus cheese and the addition of peppers), followed by a platter of cured meats, cheeses, homemade flatbreads, fried zucchini, and ajvar (a red pepper-based spread). The main dish was a local style moussaka (their version consisting of layers of sliced potato and meat (or zucchini for the vegetarians) in an egg-based sauce. And for dessert, pistachio baklava with ice cream. A couple of the older juniors found the joy of a sauna and made a beeline for it after dinner.

Sunday July 26 – Registration Day and Opening Ceremony

The F1P families plus Dads Alagiri and Jason went to the field for some early morning F1P test flights. Overall, it was quite successful. The only mishap was that Reema’s third plane had broken upon DT mid-air and was put out of commission, but she still had her #1 and 2 planes.

In the afternoon, the team went to the city of Prilep for model registration. There was a lot of hustle and bustle with one desk each for each model type accommodating both the Jr World Champs and the European Open Championships. The juniors that had been through the process before went first so the others could observe. Once every model part got stickered up, the team headed out for an early burger dinner at a restaurant called Burger Bros.

Feeling very full (portion sizes are very generous here), we walked to the Prilep Town

Square for the opening ceremony. All the teams were organizing on one side of the square for the parade, and we waited across the street in the Stone Scene Plaza by a statue of

Alexander the Great. The parade kind of fell apart at the end as the plaza filled up with junior and open teams so the US team got shunted off to the side and this short author could not see them come in. The teams made a large circle, and in the middle, local youth dance teams performed. Due to some confusion with the dance kids, the performances were repeated, so we got to see the performances twice. Afterwards there were some words from the competition organizers and awards for the Prilep Cup competition. By the time the ceremony concluded, it was getting dark and we had to get back to prepare for the big day. Unfortunately, due to the longer parade and performances, there was no time to run around and take pictures and chat with other teams like we had done last time.

Monday July 27 – F1P Day

We were on the road at 4:45am. The hotel owners worked hard making box

lunches for the team and pulling espresso after espresso for the parents in the early hours. The morning temps were cool, the skies clear, and the winds calm.

Round 1: Emrick had a beautiful launch right at the open of the round with an easy max high in the sky. Next up was Reema who waited patiently as the field was filling with planes coming down quickly and people flapping everywhere. After about 40 minutes, Reema went with a great launch that went very high. The plane began to sink, and the team ran out to flap to give it a little lift and it stayed up for a max. John was up next, but the air was dead. Our team (and every other team that still had a flyer up) was ready to flap for anything. After waiting for a wisp of air for 15 minutes, John’s plane went up high and everyone on the field was flapping and he made a max.

Round 2: Some cloud cover came in during the 10 min break between rounds. Round 2 opened and the sun came out and Emrick went early in the round with a beautiful max. The temperatures were beginning to rise. Reema was up next and caught a small thermal, riding it to a max. John waited a bit and went up. His model went straight for a thermal and got a nice high max.

Round 3. During the break, the temperature got noticeably cooler and we could see some darker skies far away. Winds started to pick up, and flags were flapping out straight. Emrick waited a good 20 min then launched high for a max. Reema had a nice, but lower, launch. Her plane hunted and caught a nice thermal for a smooth max. John launched and the plane circled twice and then caught a little thermal to ride for a max.

Round 4: Emrick started the round but when he launched, the motor suddenly cut off after 2 seconds, unfortunately causing the plane to come down quickly. Reema was up next, but she was having issues with starting so John stepped in quickly to launch. His plane missed the thermal, so it fell short of a max. Reema was back up but was still having some issues, so Emrick and John ran in to help her. Reema got a quick start into the air and with a little flapping by the team, her plane caught a thermal and climbed to a max. During this round a RDT got dropped in the fray of chasing but luckily a couple of girls from the Ukraine team found it. Upon retrieval, John’s plane was found broken with the fuselage torn off. Time for the backup model.

Round 5: Reema was up first with a beautiful flight to a nice max. The winds picked up a lot, so this author had to hustle to our homebase tent to keep it and our chairs from flying off. Emrick was up next. He waited until there was a small opening in the strong winds then went up high and far. Everyone on the flightline started piggybacking. He had a big max and the chasers had a big job going way out to fetch the plane. John went up and out for a max as well. Emrick’s plane was missing as the GPS didn’t work, but luckily members of the German team came across it.

Round 6: Reema launched, as well as many others, but it was a small bubble and came down short. Emrick launched high for a max. Our chasers had to go far out past the field entrance to retrieve it. John followed with a max high in the sky. A few sprinkles of rain came down. At the end of this round, no competitor was clean.

Round 7: Reema had a nice launch and everything looked good, but the plane seemed to hit a downdraft and came down short. Several other planes suffered the same fate. Winds kept starting and stopping with intermittent rain sprinkles and maybe the sound of distant thunder. The winds were getting stronger and Emrick was patient waiting for some good air and finally launched and caught big air for a max high in the sky and very far away. John followed with a great launch for a max. With the regular rounds scores in, the F1P team clinched Team Gold! Everyone was thrilled and so proud of the team. John’s score resulted in a tie with a competitor from Team China for first place and a flyoff would be held for a tiebreaker.

During the break time before the flyoff, an engine problem was noted on the plane and Coach Sevak and Dad Kevin used the entire time working on remedying it.

It was flyoff time! John waited a bit for good airthen started his engine. The flyer from Team China immediately followed John. John had a fantastic launch! Flappers were ready (but not necessary) and chasers in cars were already positioned. The plane was still high when the Team China plane came down.1st place for John! The entire team was so excited and John (plus innocent bystanders) got drenched with a cooler full of ice water in celebration! Back to the hotel for dinner and the F1A team charging planes and prepping for tomorrow.

It was a successful first day of competition and the new juniors and their families now had the experience of a world championship competition day on the field, which was unlike any of the other competitions they had experienced before.

Tuesday July 28 – F1A Day

We were up and on the road just before 5am. The F1A set up was way more chaotic than the day before. No tents were supposed to be erected anywhere near the flight line, yet

there were tents and cars lined up just perpendicular to the flight line. The whole field was filled with people putting up test flights. Our team put up a couple test

flights that went flawlessly and were ready to go.

Round 1: Daniel was up first and waited for air. During that time, there were lots of issues with flyers having to reel out in the direction directly toward the tents and cars, with some of the flyers having to pick a line to run between the obstacles. While the tent owners were told to move, it wasn’t a quick process and aggravating to the competitors. A few cars also drove in right through their path as well. After 40 minutes, Daniel launched. The team was out flapping but missed a max, having to DT just before hitting a person. Johnny was up next and had to run to reel out in opposite directions several times as the winds kept changing. He had a good launch but there was a wind shift and he hit a downdraft and no one could flap because they could not run in the way of other flyers reeled out in different directions, so it came down quickly. John had a few minutes to wait with a nice launch, caught a thermal and flew to max.

Round 2: John waited 30 minutes and had a good launch. The plane sank a little

then caught a thermal for a max. Daniel launched next, but the plane looped and came down in time for a second attempt. While the Daniel’s plane was being retrieved, Johnny reeled out and waited. A nice launch, but just like last time, the wind shifted aggressively mid-tow and the plane came down quickly. Daniel reeled out again for a second attempt, but the plane looped again and was down. During all this, the field was still chaotic with tents still posing as obstacles as well as random spectators out in the field with the flyers as well as many spectators lining up right along the flight line clogging up each pole.

Round 3: The flight line was finally moved far enough away from the tents so that they would not be impeding the competitors. Winds were pretty strong and flags were flapping out straight. There were still people in the middle of the field and along the flightline and that persisted throughout the day. John went first and after 40 minutes, he launched high for a max. Johnny was next up and upon launching, his line did not detach, and the plane came down in time for a second attempt. His next launch went sky high, but the winds were working against him, and the plane went right into downdraft and down again. Coach Sevak and Johnny seemed to be plagued with bad luck with the wind. Daniel launched but his plane looped a couple times before coming down in time for a redo. Daniel reeled out again and launched. The plane nosedived but managed to dive right into a thermal that carried the plane to a max.

Round 4: John was first up with a high launch that sent his plane flying far away for a max. Johnny had a great launch that caught a small thermal for a max.Daniel’s launch looped and DT’d resulting in a broken stab on landing. He was able to go for a second attempt with his #2 plane and had a nice launch for a max. The team was a bit scrambled this day as a GPS went missing in action and as well as some of our walkie talkies. Electronics were not happy as the sun was out full force and the temperatures rose to the mid-90s. This author’s phone overheated multiple times. The phone wasn’t the only thing overheating as there was lots of “colorful” language on the field. It seems the English language must have the widest repertoire of colorful words to choose from as one could hear people from other countries choosing to use English words to express themselves.

Round 5: A big thermal came by and John (and many others) launched high into it for a max. Some stronger winds were coming in. Johnny reeled out and was positioned well, but again the wind shifted during his launch, causing the plane to go sideways and come down. Daniel launched into a giant thermal that just circled above home base the entire time for a max.

Round 6: John started the round with a beautiful launch that went for a max high in the air. Johnny launched next but his plane ended up colliding with another plane midair, doing a couple spins, then gliding another 30 seconds to the ground. The plane unfortunately did not survive the collision and both wings were broken. Due to the collision, Johnny had an opportunity for a second attempt. As he was getting his backup plane ready, Daniel had a great launch into a thermal that carried his plane high up and far away for a max. Johnny was back and had a great launch with a max high in the sky.

Round 7: John had a huge launch for a max securing a spot in the flyoffs! Johnny followed with a sky high launch for a max. Daniel had a low launch that went straight into a big thermal for a max. Everyone finishing with a max was a good way to finish off the rounds. The competitors did a great job working together throughout the entire competition, helping each other reel out, clearing crossed lines, and standing at the line with Coach Sevak helping to pick air for each other. It was a rough day for Johnny and Daniel but the camaraderie with teammates and excitement for John helped keep spirits up and smiles on their faces. One of our tents (as well as other nearby tents) got uprooted from the ground and blown away by the winds and broke in the disarray so everyone sought shade under the remaining tent to try to cool down and rest during the break.

Flyoffs: John had a great launch and made the 6 min max easily. The plane flew far and our intrepid chasing crew fetched it from the little village next to the field. It was now down to three competitors. For the second 8-minute flyoff, it was decided John and Coach Sevak would use nonsensical code words to communicate what they were feeling when gauging the wind, which was funny to listen to. Another great launch by John. John’s plane and the plane from Team Isreal looked close in time, so everyone waited for the return of the planes for altimeter readings. At first,Team Israel started cheering before the plane came back, then when the planes were returned and the altimeters read, it was announced that USA won. We started celebrating John’s win and John got another ice bath. However, a few minutes later, we heard cheers from Team Isreal and was informed that the altimeter graph showed the plane continued to move upwards after the low point where the time was first read, thereby giving the competitor from Team Isreal the win and John getting 2nd place. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for everyone, but ultimately a truly amazing performance and huge win by John.

Looking forward to having a break day tomorrow, we headed back to the hotel for dinner and bed and for some of the competitors, the sauna.

Wednesday, July 28 - Break Day

It was a welcome day of rest after a long, hot day on the field the day before. We all had a lovely hotel breakfast before heading out. Some families chose to lounge in the hotel and rest. Others went to visit the city of Ohrid to view the beautiful Lake Ohrid, Ancient Theatre, and Tsar Samuel’s Fortress. And another group went to Pelister National Park, one of the oldest national parks in the Balkans, to hike amongst the Molika pine trees unique to that region.

Thursday July 29 – F1B Day

Ready for another day of competition, we headed out by 5am. By competition start time, we could already start to feel the temperatures rise. It was going to be a hot one (temps climbed to 97°F).

Round 1: Adith started the round with a great launch for a nice max. Reema up next, had a good launch, but the plane flew a little lower. Teammates did a little flapping and the plane cleared the 4 min max. Aurelius had a high launch and the plane circled for a max just 15 ft off ground. Johnny was last in the group. His launch was a bit shallow, but with a little help from some flapping, his plane also maxed about 15 ft from ground.

Round 2: Adith up first again had a lower launch. His plane circled a couple times then bounced a couple times and hit a thermal for max. Reema was next, but her motor broke. Aurelius was not set up to go, so Johnny was up. Adith was doing a great job directing the team and helping everyone. Johnny had a nice launch that went high for a good max. Reema was ready to go. All signs were looking good and we even saw a plastic bag swirling up in the air. She had a nice launch but unfortunately hit a downdraft, coming down short. Aurelius had a huge max with his plane going over the hills and commencing a long arduous day for our chase team.

Round 3: Adith kicked off the round with a great launch and many flyers following him. His plane stayed the highest in the air for easy max. Aurelius’s plane was still not back from over the hills, so Johnny was up. Johnny waited a long time for air before launching. His plane went up, did a couple bumps, and went into a thermal for high max. Aurelius went up for another high max. Reema followed with a beautiful launch and we even heardsomeone yell, “Poach it!” Big max for Reema. Reema’s plane was selected for spot processing and passed without issue.

Round 4: It was sweltering on the field. Adith had another big max with his plane flying

with the birds. Aurelius was up next and waited a long time for air, launching for a big max. With 20 min left in the round, Johnny’s motor wound oddly so he pulled a second one out to wind. The 2nd motor was falling off the tube and Coach Sevak came and gave Johnny a

little guidance and calming drink of cold water. Johnny had a nice launch into a big thermal for a max. Reema had less than 8 min left in the round and sent a huge launch up for a max. During this round, as each competitor finished their flights, they quickly moved their stooges to another part of the flightline as too many flappers kept running through the middle of our team’s staging area and it was nerve-wracking trying to protect the models and stooges from swinging towels.

Round 5: Adith maxed followed by a nice max by Aurelius. Johnny had a great launch but right after the prop closed, the plane spontaneously DT’d on its own and sank. Reema had a great launch but hit downdraft, narrowly making a max. Later in the afternoon, Johnny was able to commiserate with a member from Team Germany who had the exact same unfortunate spontaneous DT experience.

Round 6: Adith and Aurie both had big launches with planes maxing far away. Our chase team was being pushed to the limits enduring the unrelenting heat and traveling (cumulative) miles to retrieve the models and get them back to the flight line in time. Johnny launched with an easy max. Reema was up, but her plane landed just shy max. Adith’s plane returned with a cracked part.

Round 7: Last round and both Adith and Aurelius finished clean with big maxes for both of them! The temperature was it its peak at this time and everyone was feeling it. Johnny was up but blew a motor winding. He was able to wind another motor and sent his plane up for a max. During this time another teammate who had been retrieving planes suffered a bout of heat exhaustion so our team had a break to address it. Once everything was in the clear, the round resumed. Reema had a great launch, finishing the round with a max. It was time to head to the tent for some shade and a very special treat of ice cream bars Dad Brandon brought in!

Flyoff: Six-minute flyoff and Coach Sevak had the enviable position of having two competitors in the flyoff. Adith and Aurelius were both calm and collected and both had great launches at the same time. No competitor maxed. Aurelius’s flight came in at 328 seconds clinching the bronze medal! Adith’s flight came in a bit short of that. Regular round scores were reported and together, Team USA won Team Bronze! It was another day of great flying and fantastic teamwork with all the F1B flyers helping each other out on the flightline and the chase team retrieving planes far away (and making friends with local dogs in the nearby village). It was another ice bath for the flyers, but this time it was John doing the ice dump.

We had a nice team dinner at the hotel with the dads checking their step counts and realizing they were getting 10 regular days’ worth of steps in a single day. A few competitors hit the sauna and everyone else went straight to bed looking forward to the break day and sleeping in.

Friday July 30 – Break Day

Some families rested and explored the local city of Bitola. The families that didn’t go prior, ventured to Ohrid where they marveled at the views from the Church of St Jovan Kaneo and some of the juniors had fun in the cool lake waters on paddleboards. The team returned to the hotel for dinner followed by sauna time for the sauna lovers and bed for the rest.

Saturday July 31 – F1Q Day

Another early morning out to the field! When we arrived, the European Open F1B flyoff was already in motion. The team put up a couple test flights before the competition. Kiana’s plane was showing some issues, so she was moving to backup models.

Round 1: Aarav was first up. He had a nice launch and many F1Q as well as F1C planes from the European Open competitors also went up at same time, but there was not enough loft and fell short a max. Kiana’s plane was having problems, so Leah went up next. Leah had a nice launch, but it flew out of the thermal and fell short. The air was very tricky and Coach Sevak and other coaches got their bags of fluffies out to help them read the air. Meital launched next and got in a max 10 ftoff the ground. Kiana was ready to go and had anice launch, but the model flew low. Team members did some flapping, giving it lift for a max.

Round 2: Meital had a low launch thatcaught a small thermal to squeak out a max.

Kiana was next with a high launch and similarly, just got in that max. Aarav had a great launch into a thermal for an easy max. Leah finished the round to eke out a max. Adith stayed by the flightline and helped the competitors, notifying them when to prepare, head to line, and be ready to take someone’s place in case of failure, as well as offering words of encouragement. The rest of the team was out in the fields helping flap and chase.

Round 3. Kiana led the round early with a big max. Meital followed with her plane going up way high for easy max. Aarav was next with a launch resulting in a max that was sky high in the air and took just as long as it was up to come back down. Leah had a nice launch that caught a thermal to go nice and high for a clear max.

Round 4: Kiana was up first. She had a great launch and lots of other planes followed. The plane went up high but then the wind picked up drastically, preventing her plane from turning, causing it to drift out of the thermal and come down, landing just short of a max. Meital was up next but her plane malfunctioned on the start. While Meital was troubleshooting her plane, Aarav stepped up to the flightline and launched. Unfortunately, the plane missed the thermal and hit a downdraft, coming down short. Meital was ready and launched right up into big thermal for a high max in the sky. Leah followed suit launching into a huge thermal and a big max.

Round 5: Meital started the round with a nice launch that went up high. The plane started sinking quickly but still managed to clear a max. A big thermal was felt coming through but Kiana’s plane had a problem with its start, so Aarav quickly jumped in and launched into the thermal and watched his plane go up and away for max. Kiana was ready and you could hear the buzz of a lot of F1C’s from the European Open going up. Kiana launched nice high and many F1Q’s followed. Kiana’s plane had a high max and kept going up even after DT. Kiana’s plane was sent to spot processing after it finally returned. No issues. Leah was up but slipped on rock when launching, causing it to go sideways and low, but the plane recovered and glided into the thermal for a max. The temperature was 96°F and the air felt uncomfortably drier than any of the other days on the field. The team was very vigilant about hydrating and constantly checking in with each other to make sure everyone was drinking water and the moms were busy handing out sliced peaches, oranges, and watermelon.

Round 6: Meital was up first but her plane malfunctioned. Kiana came in and launched and her plane went out far but started coming down for a low max. The winds really started picking up and hats and umbrellas were flying away. Moms were holding down the tent at home base and flyers were taking wings off their spare models. Aarav was up next with a nice launch that went high and over the hills. The chase team’s job wasn’t over yet! Meital was back on the line and her plane went up and almost flipped, but made a turn and glided fast and far and made a close max. Leah had a nice launch for a max.

Round 7: The winds were strong and models were going very far. Meital was first up in round with a good launch and finished the regular rounds clean with a max! Into the flyoffs! Kiana was up next and her plane went up high in a thermal, turned out of the thermal, and bounced into another for a max. Aarav launched for a high max. And lastly, Leah launched and her plane flew very fast away for a max.

It was a nice strong finish for everyone on the team! Together, Team USA garnered Team Silver! Another great day of flying and teamwork! At 5pm it was announced that due to the winds, flyoffs would be postponed until 6am the next morning with a 10-minute flyoff. We quickly packed up and headed back to the hotel and the F1Q team managed to escape getting an ice bath. Maybe we can save that for the next time they are together back home.

Sunday August 1 – F1Q Flyoff and Banquet

The team left at 4:30am for the field. Meital had a couple test flights with her primary and backup models. Flyoff time – Meital’s launch was a little low at first but climbed into the sky and gently flew around the main field the entire duration. Four timers (2 official timekeepers, Coach Sevak, and the World Champs Contest Director) timed her flight and all got 370 seconds, the highest time posted in the field! At the judges table, the judges had to be corrected as they originally read the time on the card as 310 and not 370. Neat penmanship is important! Unfortunately, the plane was not fitted with an altimeter and the team did not have one on site to install before the flyoff and as such, the flight was disqualified. Team Hungary also posted a high time however their altimeter did not record properly so their flight was also disqualified. It was a big disappointment for the competitors to have their flights disqualified and lose podium positions despite having flights timed by multiple timekeepers and landing in sight on the field. Regardless, the team was incredibly proud of Meital’s performance. We headed back to the hotel for breakfast, napping, and packing to go home.

That evening, we attended the banquet and closing of the 2026 Jr FAI Outdoor Free Flight World Championships. We are very proud of our team’s achievements with multiple individual and team awards and were extremely happy to win Team Gold for the overall 2026 F1 World Championship TeamChallenge, which is awarded to the team withthe highest cumulative score across all events!

• 2026 Jr World Champion F1P - John Kim

• 2nd place Female F1P - Reema Bharadwaj

• Team Gold F1P - Emrick Smith, John

  Kim, Reema Bharadwaj

• Silver Medal F1A - John Kim

• Bronze Medal F1B - Aurelius Lin

• Team Bronze F1B - Adith Alagiri, Reema

  Bharadwaj, Aurelius Lin, Johnny Mah-

  Gersting

• 1st Place Female F1Q - Meital Zayats

• 2nd Place Female F1Q - Kiana Lin

• Team Silver F1Q - Aarav Alagiri, Leah

  Park, Kiana Lin, Meital Zayats

• 2026 Jr F1 World Champion Team - Team USA – Aarav Alagiri, Adith Alagiri, Reema

  Bharadwaj, John Kim, Aurelius Lin, Kiana Lin, Johnny Mah-Gersting, Leah Park, Emrick Smith, Daniel Son, Meital Zayats, Manager Sevak Malkhasyan

Before the awards ceremony, the juniors got right into team shirt trading and everyone was thrilled to be able to trade a couple shirts with other teams to bring home as souvenirs. The awards ceremony was long because awards for the European Open F1ABCQ Championships followed the awards for the juniors. Dinner started to be served at 10:15pm and the music started at 10:45pm, by which time the younger juniors and many of the parents were startingto nod off. We headed back to the hotel by 11:30pm and everyone in the cars (except the intrepid drivers) fell promptly asleep.

Monday August 2 – Heading home

Some of the families left very early and those with later departures enjoyed one last big breakfast at the hotel before heading to Skopje. While a few families tried to visit Matka Canyon by Skopje, due to the crazy traffic and lack of parking, only one family found success seeing the canyon and taking a scenic boat ride on the river through it. That evening the remaining families got together to watch the newest Spiderman movie to while away the hours before going to the airport.

This week was a culmination of all the hard work by the competitors, their families, and especially Coach Sevak. Special thanks to the dads who did a great job standing out in the fields without shade all day, tracking and retrieving planes and handing them off to the juniors to ferry in the last leg to the flightline. It was genuinely a one-of-a-kind experience, and we are truly grateful to have been given this amazing opportunity. We experienced a plethora of emotions and made incredible bonds with our teammates and look forward to continuing to fly together. For those who will be moving beyond the junior years, Adith, Reema, and Daniel, we wish you great success in all you endeavor, but before you head off to the next chapter (and even during your next chapter), let’s go fly! Thank you to all who donated to the team as well as those who supported all of us newcomers these past few years. We still have so much to learn and truly appreciate the time, guidance, and grace you give us. A HUGE thank you to our Coaches, Sevak Malkhasyan and Tim Batiuk, whom we lost a year ago, who had the vision and passion to bring new families into the world of free flight and persevered day and night to make this dream real...and what a fantastic dream it’s been! Thermals!