8178...I think everybody has gotten your message, (over the years), and knows the WM Intruder isn't true to the original . After all, the thread specified WM Intruder in the title didn't it. When he said "original", he meant the original WM Intruder...no reason to be offended.

Approval of the WM version was based on the "word" of an influential SPA member at the time as being true to the original. When it finally was released and they saw it wasn't, it had already been approved, so they made a decision let it stand.

It has turned out to be very beneficial to many pilots, (and SPA) who need a quick plane to put up or practice with, and for newcomers who want to see what competition is all about. In the end, it simply isn't a "deal-breaker" to the majority of SPA competitors...it would be nice if it were totaly authentic, (for example, we certainly have nothing against the new Phoenix 7 ARFmany have been ordered by our members), but the Intruder's other advantages far outweigh its most obvious disadvantage, (that the Intruder is not "faithful" to the original). If being faithful is more important than anything else to an individual, then don't buy one, but I'd advise leaving others alone who want to try it without the constant reminders that it's not authentic.... and making them feel the airplane is second-rate.

If the fact that many SPA-legal planes have been modified some, (mostly to accomodate the 4-stroke engines instituted due to noise rules at one of the organizations' primary contest locations), and you can't stand it, then, (as you have done), don't join SPA, (or have a good time competing and fellowshipping with others). The "genie" has been out of the bottle long before many of us even joined SPA...that decision to allow mods was made long ago, and most of us follow our own dictates with a live-and-let-live attitude. Joining in and accepting conditions as they are is more important to most of us than being a purist and staying away. It's still a free country...I think.