Jim sorry mate but I totally disagree with you.
F3A Pattern flying is Aerobatics for the purist.........I fly full size aircraft for living and I can tell you it gives me a much greater amount of satisfaction putting my GALACTIK through its paces without the aid of Gyros ...just me and the elements.
Whats killing the sport is the cost of the airframes.......in some cases as much as a small car....no youngster can afford that.
Unfortunately we have lost the skills of building models and the top end manufacturers are taking advantage of us.
Also we need to make the lower class schedules easier to encourage more people .
IMHO
Regards