I believe the rules as written back 40 years ago may be in need of an overhaul personally. The best answer for it would be for a new rule set to come out and become the new law. Some would complain but within the first contest year all arguments would subside and things would move along. The hobby has changed dramatically for the most part. If we stay with the builder of the model rule we may only continue to drive the extinction of this segment of competition. Frank Tiano and the Top Gun program has driven the competitive scale arena for the past decade and kept it alive at a truly national level. Some would say the Nats do this as well as the Scalemasters, but all in all they rarely see the article coverage as Top Gun does. They are still very viable contest but as we try to compete in the current economic times, if you as a competitor was to only be able to attend one of these three events, which one would you elect to attend?

From that statement I think Frank continues to work the issues thart arrise every year after his event. For example when those who built models they loved (let's just say a Piper Cub or Sopwith Camel) and had a hard time competing at Top Gun with the wonderfull winds of hell, the jets would routinely dominate in the flight arena due to their higher wing loadings and tricycle landing gear. Frank adjusted the rules to try and even the bar. Reason for this is he did not want ot loose or leave anyone out. All in all his ideas worked quite well. Most of those jets had (fully built at a factory) composite structures which made framing the model quicker. Not really easier, but a bit quicker. It wasn't until the lipstick came to life that the model came to life, and in the end that is what scale modeling is all about.

As the world has continued to grow and change this past year we saw a Skymaster ARF jet perform in the Expert class. Now it was repainted, with more detail than was done at the factory and it did well. Some would probably blow a gasket but the bottom line is Frank knows what is going on here and is trying to keep the segment alive and strong. End result in my opinion is builders are going away. He allowed this to continue to keep the event strong. This could be the program for the future. If you think builders are alive and well and in large numbers take a look at what the main manufacturers are bringing into the market; they are not kits my friends!

I like the 51% rule and if it can keep the scale competitive segment alive then so be it. Times are changing and we need to keep up to ensure we stay ahead of the game. Dave Johnson spoke on here earlier and if you have ever had the opportunity to see one of his Albatros's I can say this with absolute certainty. No matter who frames that model (believe me Dave builds his own from the beginning and always will!) it is the way Dave finishes that model that will blow you away. The detail of radiator lines, corrugations in the radiator, covering, etc that makes that model what it is! Who glued in F-1 and F-2 doesn't make a darn bit of difference; it is Dave's touches that delievr the high 98+ static scores in the circle! Like I said Dave does it all and does it at a professional level most only dream of. The key is to keep the segment alive and going for another 20+ years!