ORIGINAL: cmoulder
With all due respect, what is more likely is that the new weight limit will quickly be exploited to create more advanced airframes and power systems, which will both cost much more. And everybody will feel they need the best stuff in order to be competitive, much as it is seen now by many with the current rules.
As it stands now, airframe and power system designs have reached a certain stasis that has allowed advances within the 2x2/5kg box to trickle down to much more affordable models.
One could argue that it has never been cheaper to acquire an extremely competitive Pattern ship.
Bob,
Throw in the noise limit in your numbers. We developed as much for noise abatement as we did flight in yesteryears. Today electric poweplants have greatly reduced the modeling/tinkering/innovation aspect of noise abatement with off the shelf components
I suspect the same regarding exploitation of any new, higher weight rule. This has been proven several times in the past whenever a change to the limits (any of them) was granted. Cost leaps followed, of course.
We shouldn't forget that Don won F3A US Nats about 8-9 years ago with a Focus. The Focus was obviously competitive in that day's schedules and was inexpensive to own and feed.
No, I'm afraid that competitive models in the 90's cost less than today's...... competitive models in the 80's cost even less than those of the 90's. And in the early to mid 80's guys were still building their own stuff. I suppose if you paid yourself $50 an hour for building and finishing your own model then cost might be in similar territory. But I think that kind of analysis is reserved to thosefor whom modeling is notits own reward
The masses have always followed those at thetop of the heap. One key thing missing in today's Pattern landscape is the top pilots with guts enough to win with simple, inexpensive equipment.....And international and domesticjudge panelsthat weren't so "blinged out" to allow such wins.....I will always admire Hanno for at least trying