My intent in posting that information was an answer to the idea that the 5kg rule with electric and nitro/gas weighed differently was somehow written in the Holy Stones of FAI. I do not think it was done as a means to increase participation in the US or at the AMA NATS. It was a response to the desires of those who participate in the event. The heli guys saw a need for a change, and made it.

Interesting thing about helis. Most people who fly them have little interest in precision flight competition. Consider that the heli NATS will have around 25 total entries and 3 weeks later the IRCHA Jamboree, held at the same field, will have over 1,000 participants!

Beyond that, it appears that the consensus in the pattern community is that change is bad and change should only be made if it decreases costs or increases participation. There should be some consideration to doing things that seem logical, and weighing one type of plane without fuel and the other ready to fly makes no logical sense. There is also a clear precedent in FAI to make a change to address that logical inconsistency. The bottom line is that rules should make sense and be rooted in some kind of logic.