Chad,
I know we went talked about this a month ago, and I do agree with you on quite a lot of what youre saying.
I never said that you had to have a 2m plane to be competitive. Look at the article they did on the Majestic in MA this month. The pilot made it up thru the advanced schedule with the majestic and an os32. It can be done, I do not doubt that. But it can be done alot easier with a larger airframe. The larger planes do fly better.

I'd love to go out there and spank some 2m guys with a 40 sized plane, but you have to admit it can be very intimidating to go to your first contest and see what youre up against. I think the psychologial factor does play a part in competition. They (utoh, theres that dreaded "they" person) say that your first year in pattern is going to be the hardest, not because of the schedules, but because of the newness of competing(judging, flying in front of people, pressure, etc) . I can understand that. In most cases, it's going to be the year that youre going to be beaten the most (by more experienced pilots) and have the least amount of confidence in your abilities and your hardware. I think thats why alot of guys either never bother competing, or they dont come back after a year or two. I also understand and agree with your comments about burning fuel, and becoming zenlike with your airframe. There is no substitute for that.

Steve

(I may have to go to the bank downstairs to get another roll of pennies, I'm runnin low on $.02)