RC Plane Shows and Events: Where to Watch and Participate in 2026

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If you've only ever flown at your local flying field, the first time you walk onto the grass at Triple Tree Aerodrome during Joe Nall Week will rearrange your idea of what this hobby actually is. Hundreds of quarter-scale warbirds lined up wingtip to wingtip, a giant-scale line running from dawn until well past dark, and thousands of people who all showed up for the same reason you did — because somebody, somewhere, is always flying something worth watching.

The trouble is that most "best RC plane shows" lists floating around the internet are years out of date. They still list the WRAM Show as a must-visit East Coast event — it closed for good in 2016. They still point readers toward the AMA Expo — last held in November 2019 and never revived. Following that advice means driving to a venue that hasn't hosted a model show in nearly a decade, or planning a trip around an event that no longer exists.

This guide covers the events that are actually running in 2026: the giant-scale spectacle of Joe Nall, the relocated and rebranded Top Gun scale competition (now ACE of ACES), the national championship grind at Muncie, the trade-show-and-swap-meet circuit that keeps the hobby's parts economy alive, and the warbird and jet rallies that draw specialists from across the country. For each one, we break down what a spectator gets, what a pilot needs to participate, and what the community actually says about attending.

Whether you're planning your first trip as a spectator, thinking about registering to fly at a sanctioned event for the first time, or just trying to figure out what's happening within driving distance this year, you will get there with the right expectations — and the right gear.

Quick Reference: The 2026 RC Plane Show Calendar

Two names you'll still see recommended elsewhere aren't on this list on purpose: the WRAM Show, which ended its 46-year run in 2016, and the AMA Expo/Expo West, last held in November 2019. Neither has been revived, and any current guide still sending you toward them is working from stale information.

How to Actually Find a Show Near You

Before getting into the individual events, it's worth understanding where this information actually lives — because the RC show calendar shifts every year, and no static article (including this one) will stay perfectly current forever.

The AMA event calendar at modelaircraft.org is the closest thing the hobby has to an official source. Every AMA-sanctioned event — from a small club fun-fly to Joe Nall itself — gets listed there, along with contact information for the organizing club. If you're trying to figure out what's happening within a few hours of home, that calendar is a better starting point than any blog post, including this one.

Beyond the AMA, most of the larger events maintain active Facebook groups (Joe Nall, ACE of Aces International RC Scale Invitational, individual warbird fly-ins) where organizers post real-time updates on schedule changes, weather calls, and camping logistics. Community-maintained calendars — RCUniverse's long-running "Jet Events" thread being the best example for the turbine crowd — track niche circuits that even the AMA calendar doesn't fully capture. If you're chasing jet rallies specifically, that thread is worth bookmarking directly rather than relying on any single article to keep pace with a schedule that changes month to month.

One consistent truth across nearly every sanctioned event on this list: current AMA membership is effectively mandatory to fly. It's not just a formality — the liability insurance tied to AMA membership is what allows clubs and venues to host these events at all. If you're planning to participate rather than just watch, budget for that membership before you budget for anything else. Turbine events layer on an additional turbine waiver requirement on top of AMA membership.

Giant-Scale Fly-Ins: Joe Nall Week and ACE of ACES

If you only attend one RC event in your life, the community consensus is unanimous: make it Joe Nall.

Joe Nall Week

Joe Nall Week runs May 8–15, 2026 at Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina — a 400-acre purpose-built model aviation facility that exists almost entirely because of this event. The 44th running drew over 1,100 registered pilots from more than 45 states and 15 countries, plus tens of thousands of spectators over the week. It's earned the nickname "the Oshkosh of model aviation" for good reason: it's not a judged competition so much as a giant-scale celebration, with dedicated flight lines for giant-scale, warbird, electric, helicopter, and even float/lake flying, running nearly around the clock.

For spectators, admission is a flat day-rate at the gate — no advance ticket required, just show up and walk the flight line. For pilots, participation requires current AMA membership and event registration, and the facility is built around giant-scale aircraft; if you're flying a small park flyer under roughly 80 inches of wingspan, you'll be restricted to the dedicated electric line rather than the main giant-scale flight line.

The event runs a noon manufacturer demo slot Wednesday through Friday — six-minute showcase flights from sponsored pilots — which is worth timing your visit around if you want to see the newest airframes in the air rather than just parked in the vendor village.

What the community actually says about attending: camping at Joe Nall is first-come, first-served, released "when the horn sounds" (typically midday to early afternoon on the Friday before the event opens) — staking out a spot early gets your markers removed by Triple Tree staff, so don't bother. RV arrival is far easier during daylight hours; the facility is genuinely difficult to navigate with a large rig after dark. Campers on the south side of the property have been relocated north during heavy rain due to flooding risk from the adjacent Enoree River, so pack for mud regardless of forecast. The recurring sentiment across forums and recap videos is that Joe Nall is fundamentally a people event that happens to have airplanes in it — the fellowship is as much the draw as the flying.

ACE of ACES (formerly Top Gun Scale Invitational)

The biggest structural change to the 2026 calendar is the relocation of Frank Tiano's legendary Top Gun Scale Invitational. After running at Paradise Field in Lakeland, Florida since 2010, the event has been revived and rebranded as ACE of ACES International RC Scale Invitational, moving to Triple Tree Aerodrome for April 8–12, 2026.

Historically billed as the largest RC scale competition in the world, Top Gun drew 150+ aircraft across nine judged classes, with static and flight scoring determining a "Mr. Top Gun" title and cash purse — a rarity in a hobby where most competitions offer trophies rather than money. It's invitation-only: competitors typically need prior placings at recognized scale events before being invited to enter, and AMA membership is required on top of that.

Whether Frank Tiano's original Top Gun brand continues to run separately in Lakeland in 2026 is unclear — treat any listing claiming a simultaneous Lakeland event with some skepticism until you can confirm directly with the organizers. For 2026, ACE of ACES at Triple Tree is the version to plan around.

Gear for a week at either event: both are outdoor, multi-day affairs in South Carolina heat with essentially no natural shade along the flight line. A pop-up canopy and real sun protection aren't optional extras — they're what separates an enjoyable week from a miserable one.

• Check Price on Amazon — a 10×10 pop-up canopy for shade at the flight line
• Check Price on Amazon — mineral SPF 50 sunscreen for full-day outdoor exposure

National Competition: The AMA NATS

If Joe Nall is the spectacle, the AMA National Aeromodeling Championships are the grind. NATS runs across July and into early August 2026 (July 5–Aug 5, by discipline) at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana — a 1,000-acre site that functions as the AMA's home turf for national competition. Indoor disciplines run separately at the UWM Sports Complex in Pontiac, Michigan.

Unlike Joe Nall's open fly-in format, NATS is pure competition, broken out by discipline and date: RC Scale runs July 9–12, RC Scale Aerobatics/IMAC July 14–17, RC Soaring July 15–26, RC Pylon July 4–11, and RC Aerobatics (precision pattern) July 27–31, alongside control-line and free-flight events running throughout. Many disciplines require class certification or judge certification beyond plain AMA membership, so this isn't an event to show up to cold if you're planning to compete — check the specific discipline requirements well ahead of time.

For spectators, NATS is free or low-cost to attend and offers something genuinely different from the other events on this list: a chance to watch the best competitive pattern and scale pilots in the country fly at a level most club fields never see. It's a quieter, more technical atmosphere than Joe Nall's carnival energy — worth knowing before you plan a trip expecting airshow-style spectacle.

If you're a newer competitor, the AMA runs a "Nats Newbs" onboarding track specifically to help first-timers navigate registration, protest procedures, and event logistics — worth seeking out if this is your first time competing at nationals. Separately, the AMA National Fun Fly returned to Muncie June 25–28, 2026, offering a lower-pressure open-flying event with vendors, a swap shop, and a raffle for pilots who want the Muncie experience without competition stakes.

Trade Shows and Swap Meets: Toledo and Perry

Not every worthwhile event involves watching planes in the air. The trade-show-and-swap-meet circuit is where a huge amount of the hobby's actual commerce happens — discounted new stock, used gear at real prices, and vendor demos you won't find at a fly-in.

Toledo R/C Expo & Swap Meet

Running April 10–11, 2026 at the Glass City Center in Toledo, Ohio, the Toledo R/C Expo & Swap Meet is the current standard-bearer for the Midwest indoor trade show — the closest thing left to the role once played by the Weak Signals Toledo Show and the now-defunct AMA Expo. Last year's event filled 700+ tables. Beyond straightforward buying and selling, it includes a static model competition (the Joe David Memorial Award, sponsored by NASA), an indoor fun-fly, and an auction benefiting the AMA Foundation.

Admission runs a flat gate fee, with women and children under 12 admitted free. For anyone hunting discounted kits, discontinued covering film, or used transmitters, Toledo in April is one of the best single days on the calendar to do it.

Perry Swap Meet (GAMARC)

Held March 5–6, 2026 at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, Georgia, the Perry Swap Meet — organized by GAMARC — bills itself as the nation's largest RC aircraft exchange event, and the numbers back it up: over 200 vendors across three buildings totaling more than 119,000 square feet, and 1,000+ tables of RC product. Admission is cheap, with a discount for buying online in advance, and a Friday ticket carries over to Saturday.

For Southeastern modelers, Perry has become the de facto season-opener — a good place to stock up on gear before the spring fly-in season kicks off with events like Joe Nall two months later.

Warbird Fly-Ins: Rockies and Midwest

If your interest skews specifically toward WWI-through-jet-era scale warbirds, two regional fly-ins are worth building a trip around.

Warbirds & Classics Over the Rockies, held at the Arvada Associated Modelers Airpark in Arvada, Colorado, is historically a September event drawing more than 150 pilots and 5,000 spectators from as far as Australia and Western Europe. It's structured as a fun-fly rather than a judged competition — no scoring beyond an informal "Best of" banquet vote — with full-scale flybys and pyrotechnics adding to the atmosphere. The event has historically donated proceeds to Mental Health America of Colorado. Confirmed 2026 dates weren't available; check the Arvada Associated Modelers site directly as the event approaches.

Warbirds and Classics Over the Midwest, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, runs August 13–15, 2026, as part of the broader Warbird & Classics Alliance ("Keep 'Em Flying") network of regional events. It pairs naturally with Illinois's Fox Valley Aero Club Windy City Warbirds & Classics for anyone building a Midwest warbird circuit into a single summer trip.

Both events require AMA membership to fly, and models must fit the warbird or classic-scale definition — any era, any size class. If you're deciding which warbird build to bring, either event rewards genuine scale detail over raw performance.

Jet and Turbine Events: Florida Jets and the National Rally Circuit

Turbine and EDF flying runs its own parallel circuit, and it's worth treating separately because the entry requirements are meaningfully steeper than anything else on this list.

Florida Jets, historically held in March at Paradise Field in Lakeland, is described by the AMA as the world's largest event for jet-certified pilots — roughly 130 pilots flying 200-mph turbine replicas, some exceeding ten feet in wingspan. Exact 2026 dates have not been announced yet.

Beyond Florida Jets, a broader national rally circuit runs essentially year-round: the Florida eJet Fest International (EDF-only, no turbine requirement, running early February at the Imperial RC Club in Lakeland), Jets Over Miami in early December, plus regional rallies including Best in the West (California), the Superstition/Arizona Jet Rally in Mesa, and Jets Over Georgia. The EDF-only events carry a noticeably lower barrier to entry than turbine rallies, since they skip the turbine waiver requirement entirely — a reasonable starting point if you're building toward turbine flying rather than already there.

Given how frequently this specific circuit's schedule shifts, the community-maintained RCUniverse "Jet Events" thread is genuinely the best resource for current dates — better than any static list, including this one. If jets and turbines are your focus, bookmark that thread directly.

Full-Scale Airshows with RC Content: Sun 'n Fun

Not every worthwhile RC-adjacent event is actually an RC event. Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo, running April 14–19, 2026 at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida, is Florida's largest annual aviation convention — full-scale aircraft, over 550 exhibitors, and roughly 3,000 aircraft on the field, with 2026 ticket sales reportedly up 25% over the prior year's 210,000-visitor turnout.

The RC content lives specifically in the Sunset Aerial Circus, a nightly show (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) that mixes RC airplane aerobatics with STOL demonstrations, paragliders, and other niche aviation acts. It's genuinely worth catching if you're already at Sun 'n Fun for the full-scale program, but it's not a reason on its own to make the trip — this is a spectator event built around manned aviation, with RC as an invited performance act rather than the main draw.

Admission is ticketed, with advance online purchase recommended and children 12 and under requiring a ticket despite free entry. Expect significant walking distances and heat; a shuttle runs roughly every 25 minutes between parking and the main grounds, and local guides consistently recommend photographing your parking location before you leave your vehicle — the lot is large enough that this isn't a joke.

• Check Price on Amazon — compact binoculars for watching flight-line action from spectator distance

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The RC show calendar rewards a little planning and punishes reliance on stale lists. Skip anything still pointing you toward WRAM or the AMA Expo, and build your year instead around whichever mix of these events actually matches what you fly and why you fly it — giant-scale spectacle at Joe Nall, precision competition at NATS, elite scale craftsmanship at ACE of ACES, or straightforward bargain hunting at Perry and Toledo.

If you're new to attending any sanctioned event, start as a spectator before you register to fly — walk the flight line, talk to pilots between rounds, and get a feel for how a given event actually runs before committing your own aircraft and AMA membership to it. And if you're building toward participation rather than just watching, get comfortable with your local scene first: a strong home club and a reliable flying field are what make the jump to a national event feel like a natural next step rather than a leap.

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