Interesting discussion. I only flew Sportsman for one season before moving into Intermediate the following season. It was probably a bigger step than I anticipated, but my measure of success was pretty simple, try not to come in last. So far, I have only partially successful and I fine with it.

At any rate, my first foray into pattern was with a somewhat underpowered Extra 330 S. The plane would fly the sequence well, except for the vertical upline; however, if I kept it short (say 100 ft for the straight segment) the plane managed OK. I never felt that the turn around maneuvers were particularly power hungry so I am not sure about the comment regarding the tall turn around maneuvers.

In order to make the Sportsman sequence more accesible, maybe the sequence should be flown with a normal sport plane (ie Kaos 40, a SIG 4*40, or something similar) before the sequence is decided upon by the NSRCA.

I have been "helping"a few of the guys in my club start flying sequences (IMAC). One of the biggest issues I have seen seems to be power management. Either they fly with the throttle full forward all of the time or they start the manuever before bringing the power up, thus running out of steam. This could be a reason why the planes appear underpowered.

Maybe, as part of a contest, an informal training session could be held on the Friday night before the contest to give the Sportsman pilots a few tips.

Teo