once upon a time, not all that long ago, 70" airplanes dominated the flightlines at imac contests. 40% anything had not been built yet, and only a few guys had worked out the kinks in 33% and larger airplanes. all that changed, when a bunch of big airplanes became available, as well as the engines to drive them. and all of a sudden, came this belief that if you didn't have a big airplane, you would not be competitive. now, to address a couple of points:

precision flying is about skill and discipline. there is no question that larger airplanes present better, but you have to start somewhere, and there are plenty of 1.2 pilots who can win against larger hardware. it's also about fun, and one of the easiest ways to pschye yourself out is to beleive that a big plane is going to put you higher up in the standing. if you want to compete, great, go out and do the best you can. sure you will be pitted against guys in basic with big airplanes and fancy gear, but you fly against yourself, not them. find out what the judges are looking for and give it to them. let the other guys argue with them.

the size of an airplane has NOTHING to do with the class of the pilot. there have been calls from the masses for years to force a big airplane into the higher classes, and sense has always prevailed. sportsman means unknowns, and the last thing you want is to have a pilot with mediocre skills trying to wrestle through an unknown with a 40% airplane. i've heard this argumet twisted all kinds of ways, including that the guys who fly big airplanes are superior pilots - but a lot of us know that's bunk. if the guy wants to compete, he belongs in the class appropriate to his skill leve, not the size of his prop.

done!