I agree with Doug. If you aren't getting anything out of pattern when you are the field practicing and no one is watching, then it probably isn't for you. That is a mistake we commonly make is that everyone will enjoy pattern. In this society of instant gratification, pattern is not what you need. You wont fly for 3 weeks and be a world champ...it doesn't work that way. You have to be willing to pay your dues. You have to have a certain level of dedication to be competitive. We keep talking about the decline of pattern, but it is cyclical. When one district is down, another is growing. District 2 was hurting a few years ago, now they are growing like crazy. D6 has been very steady. D1 has some young talent that comes out and I'm hoping we can grow from there. In my opinion 3 classes would KILL pattern. A guy jumping from Intermediate to FAI is just asking for a crash and knowing for 4 years they will be learning rather than being competitive. We talk about pattern like it is dead. I don't see a major decline. I would bet the turn out this year at the NATS is up significantly, why because the worlds are here. I know of people who did NOT attend last year to save up and stockpile vacation time so they could be out there for 2-3 weeks this summer. I don't think it matters what you do at this moment until the economy improves that you will see a major change. If you want to increase participation, leave pattern alone and figure out how to get gas down to $1.00 a gallon again.

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