The possibility of permitting water for FAI class ships in future
contests at Parowan was discussed informally by a few of us there last
week. It is my opinion that limited ballast (perhaps to 9 lbs/sq ft)
would be feasible given that some ships launched (such as motorgliders
and some two-seaters) already were at that wing loading. Only one of
the six tow planes would have been problematic, in my opinion.

The bigger problem is that of administering weight limits at a contest
given the requirement for weighing at a facility with very limited
space to maneuver (this is the first contest I've been at where a
fight broke out over tie-down space!). It just might be too difficult
to manage a ballasted contest there.

Also. if you look at the speeds achieved, this was a fantastic contest
even without ballast. However, next year I'm going to adopt the
suggestion of one of the ridge runners to use their technique of
stuffing a pillow above my head to avoid bashing it on the canopy so
often in the ten+ knot thermals.

Mike