ORIGINAL: R_Belluomini
Ok guys I was standing 25 feet behind BV and saw it unfold.
It was BV's first flight as they got there late (4:00 pm). The sport area was busy as it was the best time of the day to fly.
BV was asked to move his flight path further out as his upwind line would take to the back edge of the center flying area.
The air boss asked him to angle his flight path further out. I think BV was trying to adjust his flight path but it is hard to judge the angle. The air boss made a second request that could have been handled differently and BV reacted to being yelled at while flying his jet as ANY of us would have. I think the whole situation could have been managed better if the air boss would have quietly asked BV's spotter, Dustin to advise BV that he was flying along the back side of adjacent flight space.
I was not at SEFF to see what went on – the comments I'm gonna make here apply in general rather than being directed only at one event / person etc.
You may well be right that it could have been handled better by the airboss – however there is also an opposite side to that coin, which is that the airboss can NOT afford to take lots of chances with other people's aircraft and personal safety by being "too gentle".
I spent some time doing pseudo-airboss duties at a reasonably busy event this year (not as busy as SEFF though), and I gave one pilot & his spotter two "pleasant" reminders to stay in the pattern. After I was ignored on both occasions I was just about to step forward and get tough when that pilot's aircraft came within inches of taking out another model in a mid-air due to it flying counter-pattern, and some pretty strong language started flowing from one pilot station to another. In retrospect I realized that I erred in being nice twice rather than just once, because I allowed an unsafe situation to continue longer than I should have.
So, it's quite possible that in this case the airboss was actually being smart in getting much tougher with his second warning than with his first, and that he realized that being gentle for too long is dangerous.
You mention that BV got there late. Did he know what the flightline restrictions were before he flew ? It's been my experience that guys who show up after the morning pilots' briefing is already over often don't take the time to find out what they missed regarding flightlines, safety rules etc. IMO anyone who turns up late should go out of their way to find out about what was missed at the briefing, and anyone who registers a pilot after the briefing should also go out of their way to make sure the pilot is aware of such points.
Gordon