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<DIV>I believe that this may open a different can of worms. It's true that
some guys attend contests simply for the fun and camaraderie of the flying, but
there is a whole nother set of troops that attends to compete. In my opinion,
this is the largest of the two, by wide margin. These folks want to win, place
or show and really try hard to do their best. The former group may not care
as much about doing its best; just being there is good enough. But it is still
an extremely important group nontheless.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It seems to me that there are a bunch of guys, (Masters in D3 is a good
example) that are very good in their present class(most of us are quite evenly
matched), and some of these may decide to drop down a class and park for a
while. Taking that skill level down to Advanced could demoralize the Advanced
level guys that want to really compete, and could actually have the exact
opposite effect from that desired. I wouldn't want any Advanced competitor to
leave the sport because of an infusion of Masters class guys re-entering the
class</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We agree on the fact that the points system is silly and
unenforceable.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Having said all that, I wouldn't be aversed to a trial run of such a rule.
Reconvene after the trial period was over and make a decision on its
success--failure. Then make a final decision and have buy-in from the CB up
front to either make a change, or not. Having CB buy-in up front will alleviate
some of the acremonious debate we have seen in past issues. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I recommend caution either way. This indeed is unchartered territory, at
least in my 27 years, and demands careful thought. I like the fact that the
committee is thinking in different and challenging ways to improve the sport for
everyone, eventhough THIS committee's charter is to build schedules and not
rules.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>MattK</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>PS- one more thought on this: it may turn out that no self respecting
Masters competitor will move down to Advanced, or Advanced down to Intermediate.
Then this suggested approach could work. Convincing the AMA CB will be the
trick</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 3/8/2005 4:20:51 PM Eastern Standard Time,
patternrules@earthlink.net writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>From:
Troy A. Newman <BR>To: discussion@nsrca.org<BR>Sent: 3/8/2005 2:18:31 PM
<BR>Subject: [SPAM] Rules changes Advancement<BR><BR><BR>Buddy,<BR>I have been
really quiet lately. I don't think the changes you are looking<BR>at are going
to increase pattern participation. The weight and box limits<BR>in my opinion
are good and don't need jacking with......<BR><BR>I know you and Don are
working hard at it. We on the sequence committee are<BR>as well. I don't think
changing the box is going to help us. I really don't<BR>think changes to the
weights or sizes is going to help us....<BR><BR>I want to weigh in here so to
speak on something that I feel will help<BR>pattern grow in changes to the
rule book. I feel most changes to the rule<BR>book are going to make us more
elite or a more secret way you have to do<BR>things. Guys that are even in our
ranks don't read the rules so why make<BR>them even more specialized..and so
on.<BR><BR>BUT there is a single set of things in the book that I feel and
others feel<BR>need to be addressed.<BR><BR>Advancement to the next
class.<BR><BR>I think we should just NIX all advancement rules. Let the pilot
fly<BR>whatever wants too and when ever he wants too. Let him jump around
if<BR>needed. The reason its not used. I have been from sea to shinning sea
ATL<BR>to CA and have never actually heard anybody keeping track of their
points.<BR>The AMA says its up to the pilot and they provide a little card to
fill<BR>out. I have been flying pattern since 86 and have never seen one of
the<BR>cards! Its not enforceable. There is no database to keep the records.
It<BR>takes too much time and energy. We spend our time and energy in
other<BR>places more rightfully so....So lets eliminate the advancement
system.<BR><BR>Reason #2 is we don't have the numbers we once had to push
people up to<BR>another class when they may not be ready. SO would we rather
push a pilot<BR>up to the next class and maybe out by peer pressure...... or
have him<BR>staying in the same class.<BR><BR>My opinion is I don't care if
Dave Brown himself came back and flew<BR>Advanced. I think we could all
benefit from him being a the contest and<BR>participating in the
events.<BR><BR>Prime example I witnessed two district Champions last season
move up to the<BR>next class and neither one was ready to go. But they felt
obligated to go<BR>since they won the D champs. The reality was that they went
to enough<BR>contests to get the points. The reality also is they don't have
the skills<BR>they needed to learn in the previous class.<BR><BR>Pattern is
about perfection and precision. I see our pattern ranks getting<BR>smaller and
smaller and the skill sets getting weaker and weaker. The pilot<BR>that
survives the Intermediate sequence for a couple years maybe even wins<BR>some
stuff around locally then moves up. But the reality is just because he<BR>won
everything locally with maybe 2-3-4 pilot doesn't mean he is now ready<BR>for
the next show. The quality of flying in the lower classes seems to be<BR>lower
that it has been in the past. Our numbers seem to be much much lower<BR>too.
Pattern flying is about perfection and flying that perfect sequence.
I<BR>think if we eliminate the advancement stuff over time we will gain
back<BR>some of the old dogs for another run. And new pilots that have not
learned<BR>the required skills can get them before moving on. It has been
brought up<BR>that back in the old days pre-turnaround...a local guy would
dust off his<BR>model and support he clubs local event. Maybe if we let him
fly whatever he<BR>wants then we might get him to come back after 5-10 years
off. This could<BR>also could encourage new people. No pressure to move up.
Enjoy the<BR>competition at a level you are comfortable. Right now we
reward any margin<BR>of success with more and more challenge. Maybe this
pushes people away.<BR>Many people in their lives are content to be right
where they are. They<BR>want to play and have fun with the group...but are not
comfortable up with<BR>the next group. WE SHOULD NOT TURN THEM
AWAY!<BR><BR>Some pilots will never be ready for a jump from Intermediate to
advanced.<BR>regardless of the current large steps between a couple classes. I
feel that<BR>there are some career Intermediate pilots like my father in-law
Jerry. He<BR>is one of the best pilots at his local club. He is the man for
test<BR>flights, and advice among the crowd. But He is happy and challenged
with<BR>Intermediate. He will continue to be happy and challenged with it for
a<BR>long time to come. <BR><BR>The cheer from the crowd in the awards of the
contest is always move<BR>up...move up. Especially in Sportsman.Is pushing
people away...in my mind.<BR>We need to pat them on the back and say good
job...not jump IN and get<BR>eaten by the sharks.<BR><BR>I think this defeats
ourselves a little. <BR><BR>If we let someone jump around classes and he got
in too deep he could<BR>always come back without AMA, DVP, and so on approval.
Just fly what ever<BR>class you want to fly!<BR><BR>The question is would we
rather have a guy sand bag a little and still have<BR>him at an event or call
him a trophy hog and push him out. This goes for<BR>older more seasoned pilots
as well. The guy is getting up there a little in<BR>years like my buddy
Pastorello <picking on you man I like to pick on Bob<BR>because he fights
back!> and flew at a very high level of competition but<BR>now
wants to not practice all the time...maybe doesn't have the best model<BR>for
the job....Let him move back from a masters to an advanced and fly<BR>there.
He has a bunch of knowledge and can help people at the events.
Plus<BR>sometimes he is even fun to fly with!<BR><BR>Would we rather have him
or Not?<BR><BR>This does a couple things. Keeps the pilots that can't make it
at the<BR>higher level what ever the reason...and it also improves the skills
of the<BR>lower classes. A newer pilot will have to be more prepared to
win an event<BR>and he will not readily jump to the next class as there is
nobody to fly<BR>against in the current class. Competition is a motivation
factor. If a guy<BR>is out there doing his two loops really well...then it
will inspire the<BR>another pilot to "work on my two loops because old Bob is
going to kick my<BR>butt when we get to the contest next week."<BR><BR>For
most people the biggest factor for them being here in Pattern today is<BR>they
wanted to learn to fly better. But that success and flying better<BR>today
pushes them into another class that is more difficult yet. You know<BR>Mark
Martin is still running the Busch Series and he has been a Cup<BR>champion and
Busch Champion before too. Even though many look at the Busch<BR>and Truck
series as a kind of minor leagues to the Cup cars.<BR><BR>Just some
thoughts<BR><BR>TN</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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