One thing I think we could do to increase participation is to totally change the Sportsman sequence and go back to what we had 20 years ago. Back then you could be competitive in "Novice" with a good .40 size sport plane. Unfortunately, we have added maneuvers that require a lot more power, such as the vertical upline on center. These maneuvers are tough for smaller, .40 size planes. It is definitely a significant advantage in Sportsman now to use a full blown pattern ship. While it was helpful back then, many contests were won with .40 size Kaos type planes. Back then, the 3 loops were the hard maneuver. They were hard to do well, and you learned a lot doing them, but they were not power hungry maneuvers. I would like to see a much less power hungry sequence, with even less "box" time. I would also like to see Intermediate go back in time and incorporate some of the older maneuvers in it. I bet many Advanced guys couldn't do 3 rolls now, even though the planes are bigger, slower, and roll easier. There will always be a jump between classes, and I think we need to accept this instead of trying to adjust every pattern to be a smooth transition. If you try to fly a new sequence and are not at all uncomfortable at first, then I think the challenge is not great enough.

Making pattern easier to fly with any airplane out there will help encourage participation. I know people will say that you can do it now, but the entry classes today, definitely favor larger ships. Making it to where a .40 size plane can be competitive would definitely encourage more participation. Teaching someone how to go straight up on center really doesn't accomplish a lot in my opinion. The key to the lower classes should be attracting people and making it fun.

Arch