RE: Earned Advancement
The concern I hold is when I see a pilot or pilots flying in higher classes, sacrificing what I believe to be the fundamentals of pattern flying and that is precison and gracefulness, in order to "get through" the more complicated maneuvers.
A square loop with rolling elements in the straight lines should look like a square loop first and fourmost, not some four sided figure where the straight line segments and radi are used to correct for wobbly rolling elements.
Getting through the maneuvers isn't the challenge, for me it's about maintaining the precision and gracefulness despite the complexity. You don't learn to play the piano by someone standing behind you calling the sheet music while you try to press the right keys and it takes more skill to play the Chopsticks well, than to play Fur Elise poorly..