Totally agree! There is a lot more inverted action going on.

Arch,
I also agree that spending more time in Advanced is good BUT we don't really have a say in whether we move up or not. We have to follow the rules and if you attend even 3 contests, it's very easy to "have to move up".

Joe L. also said that K5 maneuvers are not allowed in Advanced so it makes it hard for a pilot to get use to the higher maneuvers.

I spoke with Derek last night and we had a very good conversation. The reason that there is not an "Expert" class is that he didn't get the support when this was tried a few years ago. Derek said that they actually created an "Expert" class in 2009 in D7 and many of the Masters pilots flew it. They didn't want to add to the cost of the event for the CD so they didn't expect trophies. He said it went well for an experiment. He suggested that we try this on a local (District level) and talk to the CD's and see if they would be willing to allow us to do this. Obviously, at the NATS we wouldn't have it but it could be a good test for the rest of the nation.

Here is what I'd like to propose: If enough are interested, I'll design the sequence. We don't have any guidelines but there's no reason why we can't design the sequence using a nice bridge between the PROPOSED2011 Advanced and Masters class...maybe stick 1 K5 in there. Let's fly it and take it from there. I am more than willing to do all the leg work if there is enough interest. Otherwise, it's great to discuss but really we're not doing anything about it. Let me know what y'all think! If enough look interested, I'll start a new thread with this discussion.

What it all boils down to is Tony Frak is correct. Masters should be more difficult for the seasoned Masters fliers. They have a choice to stay in Masters or move to FAI. Advanced fliers don't get this luxury. Because of this simple fact, there needs to be some way to bridge the gap. We can't really increase the difficulty of Advanced because we need to consider the Intermediate pilot moving up. It's a huge chain reaction. So, this shows the obvious need to bring back an "Expert" class. Tony, Glen Watson and others should all have the chance to be challenged in Masters but the Advanced pilots ready or required to move up should have a fighting chance with pilots at their skill level.

I'll do the work if y'all are interested. If we get enough support, we can take this back to Derek K. and he will help us move forward. What do y'all think?