Tony,

I agree. The weight limit has never been changed. I did not say "raising the weight limit has always caused a raise in the costs". I said the cost would go up IF the weight limit were raised. That is a prediction, and is perfectly valid. Historical occurence is not a prerequisite for a prediction.

The weight limit was never "in play" with prior rules. With a 2C 60 engine limit, the available power was the real limit, and changing the weight from 11 lbs to 12 lbs or unlimited weight would have no effect on the cost of the event (because none of the planes were close to 11 lbs). The weight rule had minimal impact with the 120 4C limit (more power, some planes close to 11 lbs, but still not enough power to be competitive at >11 lbs). With the current lack of restriction on engine size and 2M dimensional limit, the weight limit is very much "in play", as is evidenced by the large number of planes close to 11 lbs. My opinion (prediction) is that if the weight limit were raised at this time, it would increase the cost of the event.

I have presented plenty of discussion and rationale with historical reference and basis as to why the event would get more expensive IF the weight limit were raised (now that the weight limit is in play). When limits that are "in play" get raised, the cost of the event goes up. There is no exception to this in the history of pattern than I am aware of.

So far as 2M truly keeping the size of the planes limited....it has had a limited effect. If it were truly limiting, we'd still be flying skinny 2M designs (Pythons, Prophecies, etc, when we were limited to 120 4Cs). We aren't, because when the engine limit was discarded, bigger 2M planes (that fly better and cost more) evolved, taking advantage of the added available power.

The weight limit now is restrictive in that it does effectively limit size and power (especially for electrics). If the weight limit were increased, the power of electrics would also increase - and the direct result would be more cost for the bigger batteries, motors, and ESCs. Secondarily, IF the planes also got bigger (and they can, without exceeding 2M), then that would be an additional added cost.

We both agree reducing the cost of pattern would be a good thing. I don't expect we will ever agree on how to reduce the cost of pattern, and that is cool, and there are others out there reading this stuff. Quite honestly, I don't think reducing the cost would bring droves of new guys to pattern, considering how much $$ is being spent in other areas of the hobby. If the rules were changed in an attempt to reduce the cost of pattern, I'd prefer to see a return to limiting the power - hard to do with both electrics and IC in the event, and not something that I think the current pattern community would support - but - I think it would reduce the cost.

Regards,

Dave