This is my personal opinion. I fly Advanced and am in transition to Masters. This is going to be a little bit off an "off year" for me as school, work and family with 4 children take precedence I feel that I did fairly well last year winning D6 Advanced Champion losing only 1 competition and a total of 6 rounds over 6 contests as well as finishing second at the Nats in 2011. I am not saying these things to impress anyone and certainly not trying to honk my own horn but to give a little background of me and my ability.<div></div><div>During the off-season and even a little last year, I began flying the current Masters routine. It was absolutely daunting! Each individual maneuver is not that difficult but stringing them together is a different story. Flying the current Advanced sequence only gives you the slightest insight into what it takes to fly and be competitive in Masters. In my opinion, one of the hardest maneuvers in Advanced to do well and score well is the Cuban 8. There are many facets to this maneuver, any of which done wrong can blow the entire maneuver. The next hardest is probably the inverted entry Triangle Loop with 2/4 on top. It's hard because of the setup from the maneuver prior which is a full roll on top /half outside loop. If you misjudge wings level, you're either coming in our out unless you correct it. The 4-point and the slow roll should be your money shot.</div><div></div><div>Moving from these maneuvers to doing an inverted entry 4 of 8 pt roll / slow roll reversed, negative snap, triangle with snaps and a maneuver that, even at the NATS , few people do well...the 3 rolls in opposite directions is asking a lot from a guy...even one who does fairly well. I'm not saying it's impossible but it is a giant leap. Now, the Masters fliers are saying their pattern is too easy but we should leave Advanced alone. I couldn't disagree more. The purpose for the classes is to develop the skills to continue to move up the ranks. The current Advanced sequence doesn't come close to preparing a pilot for Masters.</div><div></div><div>I've seen some incredible pilots comment on this thread that fly FAI and Masters with respect to feeling we should leave Advanced alone. I think we should ask some more Advanced pilots that are currently flying it, just moved into it and just moved to Masters. I do understand that these pilots that have said leave Advanced alone are seriously looking out for the interest of all patterns and how to follow the Sequence Development Guide that is the Bible for building sequences. I understand that they have much more knowledge than I do but I do fly the pattern and honestly feel Advanced is not a good preparation for Masters.</div><div></div><div>As far as the loops with 1/2 rolls are concerned, I think this is a GREAT maneuver and quite fun to fly. If this is an "integrated rolling maneuver", then the Avalanche is the same. A downwind Avalanche will be difficult but it is also not that hard. You must have control of your aircraft to perform it but if this is too much to ask from an Advanced pilot, stepping in to Masters is out of the question. An Advanced pilot should have the skills to perform a downwind loop with an upwind snap. Maybe this isn't the right maneuver and I won't argue that but the elements of this maneuver should not be asking too much.</div><div></div><div>I don't deny that Masters should be tough. It is, after all, the top AMA class. To continue making Masters more difficult and challenging for the seasoned veterans but not changing the class(es) that lead up to it is a mistake. Let the pilots that are flying Advanced or just leaving that class and going to Masters have some input into whether it should be changed or not from cycle to cycle. Jon Lowe is correct, the pattern will be changed for 2013/2014 as voted on by the NSRCA BoD. Now, it's a matter of all our input as to how much it will change.</div><div></div><div></div>