I did get replies from both Bruce and Mickey at SPA. Mike Hester is right that most of the requests come from people outside the SPA. Bruce said the same thing in a very nice reply to me.
My big issue is not the retracts....I don't like retracts because of the added compexity and weight. They caused me too much woe when I flew pattern. For my level of competition they were not necessary for me and were more of a hinderance. The new crop of 2 M pattern planes proves that retracts are not necessary....the planes flies almost as fast and as well with fuse mounted strut gear and wheel pants.
My issue is being able to fly the planes that were used before the change to turnaround and unlimited engines.
It is also right that most of the winning planes that flew in the early to mid 70s were piped. The Curare that Hanno flew was definetly piped! RE engines were also making their debut.
Just looking for a notch where these planes can fly rather than having to be elbowed out and left to fall between the cracks.
PilotFrog