I hope when fall opinion poll questions are created it will incorporate thoughts from outside the RC. My guess is that response from the petition and this thread was a surprise. It was a surprise because the right questions on this topic have not been asked in prior RC opinion polls.

Obviously there are enough pilots to field one FAI rules based class. There is no reason to make this an "all or nothing" change. Most US pilots want and should fly contests under the current format. Don't change or throw out the book. Create a new FAI US Club Class from the ground up for those who want it.

Sean Franke, HA

We certainly need to separate the question "use IGC rules" from the question "what should a club class nationals look like." Many pilots may want to see a separate club class nationals using US rules, and many pilots may want to fly their 15 meter gliders under IGC rules.

My own opinion is that mixing rules this profoundly different at US contests will cause havoc.

Contest A uses 5 mile radius US start with 2 minutes, start out the top, and credit for extra distance; miles and feet; credit for distance in turnpoints, soft buffers for minor mistakes, the US finish.

Contest B uses a 10 km start line, no top, groundspeed limited, kilometers and meters, no credit for distance in turnpoints, no buffers for minor mistakes, etc.

If John Seaborn can get confused, imagine Joe Pilot. Imagine poor Joe CD who has to keep two totally different sets of rules and procedures in mind. Contests are full of enough screwups and poor understanding of the rules, as it is! This strikes me as a recipe for confusion.

But, we'll hear what everyone has to say.

I don't get your first comment. Of course the poll incorporates opinion from outside the RC. That's why we send it to all 600 pilots on the seeding list, not just 4 RC members! That's why we do it! That's why there is a free form comments section, and we read every one of them. That's why we have SRA meetings in advance to know what the issues are

John Cochrane