Bill,

I actually went to college and studied the engineering process in both the electrical and software fields. I also had access to a wind tunnel, and the aero guys enjoyed putting the little 1/2A proto plane in my picture in the tunnel. It did very well considering the requirements of the 1/2A proto class and the engine profile. The high aspect ratio wing (7.2:1) was very low drag for level flight, which is what the plane was designed for.

I had a lot of friends in the aero department, both students and teachers, and I learned a lot from them.

A lot of my next year will be spent designing and building airplanes, and I will practice when I can. After they cut the corn off of my new flying field, I hope to get it leveled and planted as soon as possible. Then I'll be able to practice more next year.

I don't expect to be competitive at the national level until 2004-2005. That was my plan from the start. My next couple of years are going to be spent developing planes and techniques, and practicing and racing when I can.

Knowing a lot doesn't make someone competitive at the National level. It takes a lot of practice and participation to become competitive. There are a lot of TV analysts that know a lot more about the technical aspects of a game than the head coaches that actually win the games. The NASCAR team managers know more about the car than the driver does. The driver specializes in driving talent, the team manager specializes in organization skills, and his engineers specialize in aerodynamics, structural analysis, etc.

You seem to equate performance ability with knowledge. Maybe that's because you're a mechanic, and not an engineer. Not looking at the big picture is a rather infantile view.