It is this observers opinion that in the conditions that the Top 5 was flown, power train wasn't the deciding factor. It was mild temps, maybe a bit humid, and very light and variable winds, if you could even call them that. No one was fighting into any strong winds in their overheads, or getting blown down in their verticals, or got wound up in their consecutive tricks. It was, just about, stunt heaven as they say.
I watched all the flights. What separated the pack was the ability to not lose concentration, not panic or choke on a trick, and just fly accurate. Easier to say than do, trust me. To be honest, I thought all 5 flew better in qualifying than they did in the fly-off. I kept waiting for someone to put in a real barn burner to be the deciding factor and run away with it, but it turned out to be a game of inches. Everyone made some mistakes, some more glaring than others.
It's a long, grueling week, and every round is a fight to keep your concentration peaked. What, with getting up at 5 or 6AM and flying possible until around 8:30PM or so every night because the Sun is still up, then off to a very late dinner, I about wore myself out on long days on my feet and only 4 or 5hrs sleep every night. If I kept that pace and had to fly with the pressure added in the Top 5, I'd probably have been a gibbering idiot by then, well, more so than I already am. Heh.
Sorry folks, if you were looking for a controversy, there's nothing to see here, move on...
EricV