ORIGINAL: bjr_93tz
It will become a huge hardware gap between what novice pattern pilots needs to develop their skills and what a top level flyer needs to perform the maneuvers. I'd bet very few would disagree that a good model from the 1.40 era is a better deal for a novice pilot performing schedules that have minimal integrated rolling and maneuvers designed to bleed energy (eg, upline snaps) than some of the current crop of F3A machines.
It's perception more than anything else. A contra driven, properly designed model doesn't exist yet. The contra is too new....
So people have built all kinds of gadgets on their planes to perform the highest level stuff
with minimal effort on the pilot's part. That's the key really....many current models, without any gadgetry installed, will perform the highest level maneuvers just fine, albeit with more pilot "interference". Good thumbs will never be trumped by model design.
The problem is that guys early in their experience will think they must have the latest and "greatest" to be competitive. Hence the perception of a "tool gap".... The way I see it, it not the saw; never has been