ORIGINAL: Nathan_L
I see what you are saying to a point...that's why I said 35% which I would say in my part of the world by far most IMAC competitors in all classes combined fly over a 42% (which I own both).
Most of the money from going from 35 to 42% planes in IMAC is size in nature. Bigger engines, bigger planes, more servos etc....not really related to shedding more weight for a given size. You'll run the same exact servos just more of them, same brand/type of engine just a bigger one, same make/model of plane just a larger one.
What if IMAC had a minimum weight for a 35% plane and they had to weigh 22lbs or less and 42% planes had to weigh 32lbs or less as an arbitrary example. The size would stay the exact same but the price would go up tremendously.
I guess what I'm saying I don't see where the arbitrary number that pattern uses came from. The maximum size AND maximum weight seems counterproductive.
If you are flying a plane of either power source and you are well under the weight limit that is currently in effect, what disadvantage do you get for flying against someone who has the same exact plane (or smaller) that weighs more than yours? That's the thing I don't see.
I understand that most people fly 35% airplanes in IMAC contests. That's the same around here. However it's not fair to think that everyone flies an Oxai or whatever have you, and the latest and greatest everything. It's not the same in pattern, just like it's not the same for you guys in IMAC.
As far as size and weight limitations go, pattern is something that's contested around the world. There are many countries that pattern is really the only discipline that's contested, and the maximum size and weight were put there to make airplanes that could be flown in noise sensitive areas of the world, like parts of Europe and Asia. They also had to be small enough to transport and store. I think the Volvo XC90 is the largest car in Europe, not including some of the cargo vans. Things are very tight everywhere else, and you get reminded of it very quickly when you go somewhere else outside of the US.