Hi Pugs,

I'm with you on the flying as much as possible part, but here's a few things to consider. Some can't take time of on Friday or Monday for that matter. They still make the meet, but it's nice to get some rest on Sunday before the next grind starts. Others have kids in school that compete, which is a great thing, but it's hard to spend the whole weekend away, leave the meet at 6 PM, drive seven hours home and explain to the wife why the kids slept through school on Monday.

You can never satisfy everyone. Keep practicing. It's to make you better pilot, not so you can show off how hard you've worked. Go to the meets and ENJOY YOURSELF, it's really not important that you didn't get to fly 3 or 4 more hours. Be thankful that you got to spend the weekend with some good friends doing what you enjoy.

This is only my opinion of course so ymmv.

Willem