Dick,

You hit the nail squarely on the head with that comment. The Pattern(s) today are flat ugly!

Yeah, I'm one of the old fly-by set where grace and style were King. Somewhere along the line the moniker "ballistic" was applied-----wrongly so. We were simply getting the power we needed and managing the speed, as you well know.

My "for myself" flight still is the '77 FAI schedule although there are many combinations that are flowing and pleasing to the eye----both the practiced and the uninitiated eye by the way.

We also used to fly close in where you could actually recognize those with grace vs. those with just the mechanics. It was fun to fly and fun to watch.

I'm afraid '---we should live so long' applies to your hopes--------but those are my hopes as well.

Pattern folks themselves have driven most away. Pattern used to be King-----long live the King.