ORIGINAL: hezik
I have never seen a top level pilot fly, so keep this in mind when reading my remarks.
On the wing level issue.. keep in mind the position where the judges sit. The contest is not to fly everything straight and level. The contest is to make the judges think everything is straight and level. This is how it is possible that a figure, of which a bystander in another position thinks 'that was crap', gets a high score..
From what I've heared of people who have seen flying on this level, these pilots are champions in hiding stuff from the jury.
However, on the other issue the jury guidlines are pretty clear. If someone is flying at 200~220m deep, he should have at least 1 or 2 points substracted each figure.
Hello Hezik, Hello All,
As I read the rules, flying at 200 ~ 220 m should net 3 or 4 points downgrade per maneuver.
Yes, judging is difficult and thankless, but two interesting effects are are at work here:
1) The separation of the 20-person Finals judging panel into left-side, middle, and right-side judges emphasizes (incorrectly) a strict adherence to the 60 degree side-lines and provides competitors impetus to fly farther out in order to comply. This was not the intent of the box rules as written long ago!
2) We Pattern-People can easily be mistaken for lemmings: those furry critters that mythically march off cliffs en-masse. A willful, clearly stated, agreement to disregard the rulebook so completely would be unthinkable ... Yet, the herd-mentality can take us there inadvertantly, if not innocently.
The solution: the judges need to have the guts to use their judgement!
Regards,
Dean Pappas