Not on a good hill on a good day. The really amazing thing about flying slope pattern on a good hill is the "terminal velocity" on a really clean and capable slope plane is MUCH faster than what you'd dare to do with most powered pattern birds. The name of the game in modern pattern is "constant speed". Slope pattern is much more reminiscent of old time "ballistic pattern" except you really can use your energy much more efficiently than the old thick winged chariots we know and love. Combine that with being ON TOP of a really big cliff, and you can dive repeatedly at yourself at very high speed so you can hear everything as you streak by, and then carve super big and fast valley filling loops== flying below your feet for a long time until you use up your energy and come back for more. On the really big hills, it feels like the entire sky is rising, so you can really just put your plane anywhere you desire, a true "cursor in the sky" == just like a pattern flyer would want.

When you fly a really fast heavy bird like that, there is a rule which you learn pretty fast == What comes down, must go UP! That means you've got a lot of energy to play with after each dive, and it's up to you to decide where to spend it all. Like I said, on a really good hill on a good day, you really won't miss having a motor if you just want to fly patterns.

It's when you want to do multiple snaps, successive spin recoveries, extended KE maneuvers (any type of energy killing move), or any real 3D stuff that the slope falls short. But for max speed and adrenaline, the sheer size of the maneuvers, and breathtaking places to fly, it's still among my favorite ways to spend a few hours (or weeks!)