I am excited about the prospect, but we have to do something about the rampant "tweaking" of the old designs…

This “can of worms” has been opened many times before, usually by those outside of SPA who have as yet not competed, and have only a partial knowledge of the philosophy of the organization. This new Northeast SPA chapter must be formed under SPA rules the same as other chapters, or it cannot be an official chapter. Naturally a person of your accomplishments and stature would be a welcome addition, but I would ask you to respect existing rules, and give us a chance before pointing out all the things you’d like to see changed. I am not making any apology for SPA, I only hope to better explain the reasons for any changes to the original design.

I belong to BOTH groups, (somewhat rare), and have an appreciation for both viewpoints---for VR/CS, the focus and emphasis is on the AIRPLANE, with greater rewards given to those who labor the most to make the plane as close to the original in every detail. The competitive aspect in VR/CS is only a small part, relatively speaking to the whole VR/CS experience. SPA places the primary focus on COMPETITION WITH vintage airplane designs, and catches the “spirit of” AMA pattern back then—namely being competitive within the rules to best perform the current maneuvers. While SPA members respect the original model, being absolutely faithful to the original design is not the driving principle—affordable and simple competition with an eye toward making each participant’s experience enjoyable is what it’s all about.

“…Either we are flying a "nostalgia" event, or we are just flying non-Turnaround with designs that pretend to be nostalgia driven…”

This makes good copy, but is way over the top. The airplanes are not “tweaked” nearly as much as you might think. Changes are small in nature, no “scaling up or down”, no substitution of one airfoil or wing with another—the planes are supposed to look very close to the original. Adding an inch or so to the fuse length to help the plane balance with a 4-stroke, (VR/CS allows 4-strokes also), or whether the plane has two or three wheels, (although my personal preference is to stick with trike gear), hardly makes the plane a “pretender”. The reason for small changes has to do with the current SPA maneuvers which span ALL THE WAY to the 1-1-76 cut-off date—many of the maneuvers didn’t exist when the original plane was being flown. Small changes, (emphasis on “small”) are sometimes made to help these earliest planes be more competitive.

While VR/CS makes a point of staying exactly true to the original plans, (in many cases right down to the dowels and rubber bands), back at that time, there was quite a bit of experimentation in an effort to have a bit better flying plane. SPA doesn’t allow experimentation anywhere near as much as pilots did back then, (such as the swept winged Taurus Howard Thombs flew), out of respect for the original designs.

“…The rules for the 1975 cutoff event have been bent to the point where it is dominated planes that were never originally intended to be flown without pipes and/or retracts…”

Again, more important than the planes being exactly like the original, the over-riding principle is to keep competition basic, inexpensive, and fun. Pipes and retracts are just fine, but they were clearly intended as performance-enhancing devices, (and the planes fly just fine without them). Isn’t it interesting that AMA didn’t allow them in Novice, (presumably to attract new pilots and keep things simple). SPA just extends that idea to all classes.

For those who prefer pipes and retracts, it looks like the BPA is well on its way--only time will tell if they will hit on a workable formula, and the events will be well-attended.

I agree that Antique Class, (whenever it makes a comeback), should be 1965 and before, and primarily be a “purist” and nostalgia-driven event, but the rules will have to be changed by Mickey Walker and the Board to make that happen.

The bottom line is that the rules developed back in 1991 work well for us, and we have a great time flying “real” vintage designs. The emphasis is on competition and flying skill, not on absolute exactness to the original, and we hope many people in the Northeast will come on out, give it a try, and put their skills to the test. After you’ve flown a couple contests we’ll have a better basis to talk.