When I was eight years old, I flew for the first time at the Brodak’s Fly-In. Nearly eight years later, control line flying has taken me all over the country with my family. Throughout those competitions I have competed in stunt, carrier, racing, and speed, although some of my favorite memories still come from events like Junkyard Wars and Balloon Bust.
In 2024, the FAI World Championships were held in Muncie, IN. Hearing everyone talk about the competition made me wonder if someday I could represent the United States on the F2B team. At the time, that goal felt pretty far away. I figured my performance at my fourth Nats in 2025 would tell me whether trying out for the 2026 team was realistic.
Unfortunately, the 2025 Nats did not go the way I hoped. I regressed in the field of Advanced fliers because of poor advice that was given to us while constructing my new SV-11, as well as trim issues. During the Senior Open, I was consistently losing to the other Junior pilot by 60+ points each flight. After that performance, I convinced myself that qualifying as the Junior representative was out of the question. However, right after the Nats, we received a text saying that the other Junior pilot was not planning to attend Team Trials or compete in the 2026 World Championships. I felt like the door opened. Maybe—just maybe—I had a chance to qualify.
Angstrom with his father, Brendan, and his SV-11 at the 2025 Nats.
My dad started calling people for advice about competitive take-apart airplanes that we would be able to get out to California, and ultimately Perth, Australia. Dennis Adamisin was kind enough to give me his amazing take-apart Esprit. I loved that plane immediately. It flew incredibly well, which motivated me to practice daily and boosted my confidence.
At the same time, experienced F2B fliers kept telling us that to be truly competitive internationally, we needed something like a Raptor or Shark. My parents were hesitant because of the cost, but eventually decided that they wanted me to be as competitive as possible. We ordered a Raptor in August, figuring we wouldn’t be able to fly it in the Team Trials but we would have it for the Worlds. The Raptor still had not arrived by late September due to tariffs complicating the shipping process, so the Esprit was solidified as my airplane for Team Trials.
This Esprit, a gift from Dennis Adamisin, helped Angstom’s flying progress quickly.
Next, we focused on the pattern. My dad overhauled our backyard practice circle. He installed 10-foot poles with 5 foot markers every 45 degrees around the circle. It sounds simple, but those markers made a huge difference in helping me improve the shape, size, and consistency of my maneuvers. I also received incredible coaching and advice from Todd and Michele Lee. They graciously traveled to my house several times to ensure that I was prepared for the competition.
After just under two months of serious preparation, I boarded my first-ever commercial flight to attend the Golden State Championships and Team Trials in Granite Bay, CA. When I arrived, I was shocked. The Junior pilot who handily beat me at Nats, and said he would not be attending the Team Trials, was there to compete. Honestly, I was not rattled. I had practiced as hard as I could and knew I had prepared myself for this exact situation. I was prepared to earn my spot on Team USA.
The Eberenz family at the Team Trials (L to R): Xyndl, Toni, Angstrom, and Brendan.
During the Golden State Championships I won PAMPA Advanced, which gave me confidence heading into the Team Trials the next day. Then the weather turned ugly. The wind felt like a steady 15 mph with stronger gusts, but I still wanted a practice flight that morning. Not surprisingly, I was the only person to put up a practice flight before the contest began. Even in the rough conditions, I felt ready.
After round one, I led the other Junior pilot by four points. In round two, I lost ground and found myself trailing by 36. Everything came down to the final flight.
My reverse wingover on that third flight was stellar. But as the flight continued, the wind shifted dramatically, forcing me to move my stunts. I noticed judges repositioning throughout the flight, which made everything feel more chaotic. Trying to regroup, I flew a few extra laps and continued with the pattern.
Then I realized something awful. I had forgotten the horizontal eight. Despite the missed maneuver, I was only outscored by four points in that third round. Overall, I lost by 40 points. Because of FAI scoring, even an average horizontal eight would have secured first place and a spot on Team USA. I was completely devastated by my mistake.
My family kept reminding me to focus on how proud they were of my training my clear advancement through training, my maturity in the situation, and my dedication to reaching a goal. Even if you can’t reach your goal, the journey is more valuable than you may realize. Still, it was hard not to replay that missed stunt over and over in my head.
With his Team USA gear and Raptor, Angstom looks ready to fly against the best.
Over the next several weeks, my family convinced themselves, and the rest of the family, that not making the team this year was for the best. Meanwhile, the Raptor finally arrived at the end of October. Even though I wasn’t attending the World Championships in 2026, I was excited to fly it and hopeful that it would be my Worlds plane at some point in my life. Unfortunately, winter in Pennsylvania arrived quickly. I only managed a handful of flights in November. It felt so different from the Esprit; I did not feel confident with the Raptor.
Then in December, about two months after the Team Trials, my dad said he had a message for us all to hear before we had dinner. The message was from Tom Fluker and he was congratulating us on being promoted up to the team – the other Junior officially withdrew.
At this point, you would probably expect excitement and some over-the-top reaction. That’s not what happened. After weeks of hearing from my parents why it was good that we were not going to Australia, I genuinely thought there was no chance we would go. My mom, sister, and myself just kept looking at each other in silence. Then I looked at my dad; he was crying tears of joy. Then everything changed. We were all in.
Angstrom shares the Junior podium with Hongqi (China) and Bayasgalan (Mongolia).
Every day we talked about “preparing for Australia.” It was quite a scramble making sure we had backup electronics, batteries, props, handles, etc. The control line community offered an unbelievable amount of help by providing spare parts, monetary donations, and valuable advice. Unfortunately, there are too many people to list here to thank, but we are incredibly grateful to each and every person.
Winters in Pennsylvania are not conducive to flying, which was frustrating. The few flights I was able to get in did not help build confidence. The Raptor simply was not flying well. By spring, we realized we needed help. Thankfully, Bob Hunt and Joe Daly met up with us in March and quickly identified several trim issues. After their advice, it was a night and day difference in how well the plane was flying. That left me with about six weeks before the Worlds. Between school, bad managed roughly 140 flights before leaving for Perth.
In late April, we began our adventure to the other side of the world. Fortunately, we had zero problems transporting the plane, the batteries, and all the backup equipment. After arriving in Perth on a Monday evening, we took Tuesday to try to recover from the jet lag and do some sight seeing. Starting Wednesday it was game on. If it was daylight, I was either practicing, competing, or having a meal.
One of the best parts of the experience was meeting pilots from all over the world. I loved seeing different airplane designs and learning how people approached flying. I was also anxious to see how I would place among the other fliers, especially considering how little quality practice I had managed over the winter.
My performance in the World Cup exceeded my expectations. I finished 2nd in Junior and 15th overall out of 41 competitors, ending up just 60 points behind the 1st place Junior. That confidence boost helped going into the World Championships. Everything had been going smoothly.
Angstrom at his first Nats. He’s come a long way since then!
However, that changed a bit during the World Championships. On day three, I was sitting only nine points out of 2nd place and hoping to make up ground. The near disaster struck during an early-morning practice flight. Right after takeoff, one of my wheels came off. I spent several stressful minutes figuring out how to land the airplane with minimal damage. I was able to whip the plane around and land it fairly gently. The only real damage was that the landing gear got scuffed up, and the wheel pant flew off also getting scuffed. After repairs, I got to do the calibration flight for the judges. I was thankful for that opportunity because it allowed me to confirm that the airplane would hold together during my official flight.
By the end of qualifying, I sat in 3rd place—18 points behind 2nd and 25 behind 1st—which earned me a spot in the Junior fly-off. Time to practice more! Later that same day, during another practice flight, the other wheel pant flipped down over the wheel after takeoff. Unbelievable! We had already tightened and rechecked everything. Once again, I had to make a stressful landing. At that point, we decided to remove both wheel pants entirely. I was concerned because I had never flown the airplane without them. I could feel a difference, but after a few flights I adjusted. At least I didn’t have to worry about those wheel pants causing more problems.
In the end, I finished 3rd Junior in the World Championships and 21st overall out of 44 competitors, just 30 points behind the 1st Junior. I was proud of how much I closed the gap between myself and 1st place compared to the World Cup.
More importantly, I surprised myself with how much more progress I made during my two weeks of flying in Perth. Eight months earlier I struggled at NATS and nearly gave up on even trying out for Team USA. Somehow, after a missed maneuver, an unexpected promotion to the team, Raptor problems, and a crash course in international competition, I found myself standing on the podium at the World Championships.
Perth renewed my excitement for competing. This summer, I am looking forward to flying in several contests and getting back to some of my other airplanes—the Esprit, Pathfinder, newly built Smoothie, newly built Baby Combat Streak, carrier planes, and even the Stuntwagon. After that, my focus will return to the Raptor.
The goal now is simple: qualify for the 2028 Worlds.
