ORIGINAL: danamania
On the other hand we have some who are also beyond the Sportsman, CDs and Judges perhaps, who remember the Sportsman as a kinder and gentler schedule flown when smaller craft prevailed and many tried their hand, when glow fueled flight times were not limited by single LiPo capacity. When the current Sportsman sequence is examined in long form, we see that while the right manuvers are in the mix, <u>the schedule itself</u> stands to get in the way of the skill demonstration for the new competitor due to its lengthy complexity. The question here is do we need so many repetitive elements in the demonstration flight to judge the Sportsman's skill level; repetitive here as evidenced by entering and leaving the box 3 times; 2 straight flights; both a half Cuban and a REV half Cuban; a 45 downline and a Cobra without rolls; double-I and an Immelmann; or a vertical upline when one of those is already performed as part of the Stall Turn? And then there is the question of all-centered manuvers vs. the current turnaround format. In the end, the benefit of reducing the schedule is not that it will become easier to fly; rather it will allow the new and nervous pilot to focus on executing a few key manuvers as well as can be done, without the distraction of managing a longer flight over extended airspace.
My take is that we need to define the skill set first for sportsman class and then go to pick the elements. Constant, leveled, and centered are the three key elements of pattern fly and should be demonstrated in the sportsman class. If you want to take any one of them away, you really do not achieve anything in pattern. Beyond that, there is the element of thinking ahead. That is, position the aircraft well during the exit phase of the current maneuver for the next one.
Now on the actual elements in the sportsman.
1. Enter and leave box. I would think more the better because it gives the pilot more time to position the aircraft.
2. 2 straight flights. If you count in the wing direction, there is no repetition.
3. half Cuban and reverse half cuban. They are different maneuvers. Each requires different strategy to fly it well.
4. 45 downline Cobra without rolls. Agree there is some repetition here but minor.
5. double-I and Immelmann. no repetition, and is also different from the stall turn (straight line up and down).
On reducing the complexity of the sportsman. My argument is that though you could find more sportsman pilots entering a contest but it becomes difficult to
1. differentiate the skill level for the top ones
2. transition to the next class