gow359,
I don't know..... straight flight out, procedure turn, and straight flight back gives a lot of opportunity for mark downs. Is a 4 point roll (for instance) harder to score well on? That's a topic for discussion. Rolls do seem to be so much more subjective. I know for my lightly loaded, slow Eindecker, it took forever it seems to complete those three maneuvers (especially when it's turbulent).

And (as you probably know) you can do just the proceedure turn alone.


Fryman,
I love a loud 1 to 1 scale airplane as much as the next guy (Vultee Bt-13s are my favorite!). But that guys T-6/SNJ was too loud for a model airplane at a competition (IMHO). While I'm not certain, I bet it busted the AMA noise guidelines. I've been flying before when a similarly noisy plane came out of a power off maneuver and hit the gas just off to one side, and you think for a moment they're right on top of you. That is distracting and potentially dangerous. Whether or not that caused the guy with the Gee Bee Y to botch his landing or not is hard to say (true, you shouldn't depend on hearing the motor). Sometimes sh... happens.

That's my .o2 worth.