The three-view and airfoil need to be accurate, but the structure is open, as it is in classic and OT flying. A profile version of a full-body plane or sheet wing version of a built-up plane do not qualify.
Whittier Narrows is just east of central LA at the intersection of the 60 freeway and Rosemead Blvd. Go to the KOTRC.org website for contest details. Actually, they may be posted in the competition section of this forum. If not, I'll see that they are. Here is the flyer as an attachment.
An interesting thing we discovered as this event evolved is that in order to get "good" judging, we needed to mix our flights in with the "big" guys. Otherwise, there was a "that's pretty good for a small model" bias. Judged accurately on the basis of size, bottoms, shape, intersections and smoothness, we can push 500 points. I think that as the designs and understanding engine performance evolve, we can fly superb patterns in reasonably good air. Of course the small planes are more suscepable to wind and turbulence than the large models, but otherwise, we need give up nothing in performance. Usually we now fly mixed in with the intermediate flyers and kick a..s . They flew in the high 300s and we were in the mid to high 400s. Of course, that was before the rules change, so with 25 points or more gone, the final scores are yet to be determined.
The bad old days of "He who gets a decent engine run wins" are long gone, thank goodness. We have learned a lot about how to get both the Cox and modern engines to run through a pattern. Much about this is available on this website if you search it out. In a nutshell, Medallions are fantastic as is, but moderate power. Tee Dees need to run pressure, probably with a fine thread needle from one of the suppliers ( Kirn Kraft, Kustom Kraftsmanship, and now adays Texas Timers). Both will run large (6x3) props and 25% nitro.
The Norvels and AP Wasp need small props (5x3 Cox, 5.7x3 APC 5.5x2 APC, and the like) and low nitro (10% to 15%). The Brodak .049 and .061 Mk 1 with the Nelson head run right with the Norvel and AP Wasp with the same requirements. The Brodak Mk 2 is a mystery as to how to get good performance as a stunt engine.
Sadly, one of the really powerful .061s, the MP Jet, just has escaped our ability to get a really consistent, steady, stunt run. If anyone has the trick, PLEASE let us know, as it is a powerhouse.
The challenges are very interesting, and it is really a kick to have someone say "I never would have believed seeing a 1/2A go through a whole pattern", especially when you just scored better than they did....