Soooo... is the future of F3A (and AMA pattern by corollary) going to be very much different than what we have today?  Are the changes to our very small (numerically) aerosport likely to be also small, incremental even, if at all?  A lot of threads point out that we are consumers in a niche market where production is expensive and there are few buyers (compared to other RC hobby mass markets) for our highly specialized product needs. There are innovations in electronics that are finding acceptance in the mass market that may not be welcome or relevant even to the pattern world, i.e., telemetry and/or stabilization for the smaller models.  While competitive aerosports may have driven innovation with "trickle-down" to the sport flyer hobbyists in the past, I wonder if that is still true, as it seems that the RC hobby may now be big enough for industry to innovate to capture market share and sales irrespective of what builders or competitors are doing to win RC flying contests.  Given the relatively high cost of competing on even the regional level (practice time, effort, driving to contests, meals, accommodations, toll on marriage), I would think that the majority of us do not want too much change at all, as the variable costs each season compete with what most can spend on replacement equipment. While my friend Matt can always build his way out of a major rules change, I would think that many of the small ARF makers and their very small customer bases might suffer if change were other than incremental in nature: meaning last year's airframes are no longer compliant or competitive and not just "out of fashion?"<div>
</div><div>Which begs a question about future pattern fashion: what is the next trend in the cycle of designs that we enjoy seeing, buying, owning, and flying? Are biplanes the next big thing coming around again?  After that?  (All in the spirit of fun and good conversation of course, with all due respect to the serious rules conversations above.) If everything old is new again, what fun can we have with our future of F3A fashion prognostications? Cheers!</div>