Pattern is similar to any competitive Sport (can I use that term?): some people think that they can simply "buy" their way to the top while in fact there's much more to it than that. The people who will actually be sucessful know that it's not going to be that easy - right from the start. It's actually going to require work, sacrifice and determination. Yikes! They usually take a more deterministic approach, often with used equipment as well as practicing under less than ideal conditions. I've seen good pilots with not-so-good airplanes beat not-so-good pilots with extraordinary airplanes. THAT's what makes Pattern great! The playing field is always level as long as you realize who your competition truly is (yourself).

I did a bit of circle track racing when I was younger. I don't think I EVER saw anyone exercise the claimer-class option in Street Stock (I think it was $2500.00) and I know for a fact there were cars on the track with $10,000.00 engines (I know because I built a few of them). Those cars went into the wall just like the thrown-together beater cars if you didn't know how to drive. The guys who won consistantly were the ones who had a reliable car that was relatively easy to drive i.e. properly "trimmed".

So my answer is: No I don't think we need a claimer class for Pattern but there are some other things that we could borrow from racing - like tech. inspection BEFORE letting an airplane fly at a contest. That would be nice if we had the manpower available to make it practical.

John Pavlick