Its a sad fact to see precision (pattern) flying is getting less popular, both planes and helis....

I started many years ago with planes, back then pattern flying is the norm.... I still thinks Hanno is god, and those Curare and Magic are sexy....

The last decade I participates actively in heli F3C contests, especially the Worlds. In the heli scene, F3C is dying, less and less people participates, and the brass at FAI knows about this. So they introduces new maneuvers that makes the helis flies like a plane, which further kicks the old guy out, but did not attract much new guys....

Lately, getting a bit tired of the heli scene, I come to planes, but sadly same thing happen to precision heli flying now also happens to pattern planes... Flying buddies at the field despise pattern as they think pattern planes doesn't look like real planes, boring both to fly and look at and too "stiff" feeling...

I guess the "wow" factor pushes people both planes and helis from the precision flying style into 3D style... Spectators like to see planes that hovers, and helis does knife edge... Flight path that we precision fliers preach most does not mean anything to the regular spectators who don't know the schedule... Many times after a practice heli flight I always heard guys comment how boring I am to just hover above the flags and not do some "serious stuffs" with my helis... Now with planes I might hear some comment about the other guy who does a waterfall is a skillful flyer, while no comment on how good the flight path is of the top pattern guy at the field who just flew... Not that I care about what these people says, but I know many who flew precision flying before goes 3D because of words like these...

My 0.2 cent...