ORIGINAL: rcpattern
Matt,
I know you are a fairly proficient Advanced pilot, and maybe that is part of the reason it seems boring. I agree that the patterns now are somewhat easier than they should be, but its not the sequence committee's fault entirely. The rules by which they have to play by are rather stringent, and they probably need looked at. The planes, and equipment continue to improve, but the restrictions on the sequences have not changed. I know those guys work their butts off, as I have been a past member of the sequence committee. It is not easy. There are things in both new sequences that I think could be improved, but that will always be the case. Overall, I don't think these new sequences are an issue.
I think the bigger issue is that we need a significant change to the Sportsman pattern. Actually, not a change, but go back to a mid 1990's sequence and leave it alone forever. The idea of Sportsman is to introduce new people to pattern, and it should be done in a way that doesn't require a high end pattern plane. I see no reason to ever change the Sporstman pattern. If you can't be competitive with a .40 size sport plane, then there is something wrong with the pattern.
Arch
Agreed on the Sportsman sequence.
I have no doubt that the Sequence Committee puts forth a significant amount of time and effort to develop a new sequence. I'm not discounting that.
Chuck, I apologize for the tone, and it wasn't really directed at any person in particular. My simple point is: either the rolls are integrated or they aren't. If they are, put it in the wording. If they aren't, the rules need to clearly state that, and in addition to that they should specifically state that the loops do not have to be superimposed on each other.
As the current description reads, the maneuver will drift downwind, no matter how slightly, and the bottom of the second loop will not meet the start of the first.