AMEN..!
I especially loved to see the individual contributions made to competition model design, before that eventually became an ARF COOKIE CUTTER deal as well.
Control line combat used to be just as much fun to fly as it was to walk through the pits and talk to the designer / builder / pilots about their latest creations.
I always showed up to these events with a pencil, ruler and clipboard to sketch the latest design ideas and also rummaged through the trash cans full of crashed models to glean information that way as well.
At the height of this event's popularity we used to draw 80 to 100 contestants for an all weekend contest and there would be some guys flying a common, proven design, but there was never a lack of "Top Secret" new stuff getting rolled out to gawk at. Regardless of the design's origin, 99% of the flyers built their own models while still managing to raise their families, work 50 hour weeks, keep the car washed, grass mowed, etc.
Once the event evolved to ARFs from Russia and RTR Nelson combat engines, much of the original charm was lost. The event became "serious [and more expensive] business" and participation has dwindled to a tiny fraction of what it once was.