Yeah Bob I kinda gathered that, but it's cool.

To me it's just frustrating because I feel very strongly that we are dealing with myths, not facts. Name a myth, we've probably put it to a test and disproved it recently. Pick one:

1. AMA pattern flyers are snobs and unfriendly

-to this I say when was the last time you were actually at an AMA contest? This is utter BS.

2. Pipes and retracts give an advantage over a 4 stroke with fixed gear

-This is just pure BS. The only way to prove it was to actually hold a contest and let the 2 intermix, with varying skill levels of pilots...from rank beginners to the likes of Jason Shulman and Don Lowe. We tested it. We flew it. We scored it. There is no difference. Perhaps judging has simply improved in the last 20 years?

3. SPA guys have more fun and are more friendly and helpful

-than what? I'd agree most of the SPA guys I know are awesome people. VERY friendly. But it also seems like a vast majority of the animosity is coming from the SPA camp. This is judging from my personal experience.

4. Piped planes with retracts cost more

-Again, than what? A specially built Daddy Rabbit with a $350 engine with digital servos? That's odd, my first 2 meter cost me a grand total of about $900. Only because I had to buy every single screw that went in it, and that included a couple hundred worth of PPG paint too. by the time you have one of THOSE Rabbits geared up, how much is in that one? I bet not much less. So....BS.

5. There is no REAL interest in ballistic pattern planes

-umm....one word: Huntsville. BS again.

6. turnaround killed pattern

-This one is my favorite!!!!!! because turnaround made a bunch of people go elsewhere. Guess what? We have 40+ people at AMA pattern contests right now and they are growing again. We fly turnaround even in the entry class. I only mention this because a lot of people see the screamin demons as the last stand before full on turnaround. And a lot of the planes we fly in BPA were turnaround planes. They were just really fast and smooooooth. And FYI AMA pattern ain't dead guys. Far from it.

7.

Never mind I'm gonna stop there. but you get the idea. I KNOW for a fact that we are dealing with BS myths that are the sole cause of any friction, real or imagined. And it frustrates me to no end.

But that's ok, because we now have BPA! And now the guys that have been practically begging SPA to let us play with our toy planes WITH THEM for years, have a playground....and it's brand new!!! But the best part, and I mean this seriously, is that we can fly with SPA pilots that do not HAVE to get a special plane to come fly with us! It doesn't make us better, just less stringent. Off the record, I DO think it's a shame that SPA will not see this and is determined to keep things as they are. But remember this is MY opinon and I am not a member of SPA...so take it with a grain of salt, it's worth exactly what you paid for it.

-M